Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Funding Improves Fresh Food Access through a Small Family-Owned Market with Tribal Roots
The Tsabetsaye family improves the food landscape of a small rural desert community in New Mexico through made-from-scratch, chef-prepared meals, baked goods, tailored butcher-cut meat, and other Native American staples. Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go, owned by the Tsabetsaye family, is one of the few Native-owned brick-and-mortar businesses in Zuni Pueblo, NM that provides fresh local food.
In 1988, Darrell and Roscelia Him Tsabetsaye opened their first grocery store and grew the business until they sold it in the early 2000s. After that, Darrell worked with the Pueblo of Zuni government as a Special Projects Officer and helped the US Congress and the President’s Administration pass legislation restoring the former Fort Wingate army installation to the Zuni people. His other projects included pushing for solar power development and the restoration of cultural properties on behalf of the Zuni people, as well as other business and economic development projects. However, the community’s desperate need for fresh food was always on his mind. Most community stores and nearby food markets predominantly sell packaged, processed food, such as what is typically sold at gas stations, including frozen pizza, soda, and high-energy drinks. These product offerings limited healthy food choices for community shoppers.
“As Native peoples, we have high rates of obesity, high rates of diabetes,” he said. In fact, nearly 30% of Zuni Pueblo adults suffer from diabetes, kidney issues, and cancer, according to Healthy Kids Healthy Tribal Communities data. “Health concerns are also quickly affecting our young population. The opportunity to provide healthy food choices then becomes paramount.”
Not only is fresh food a scarcity for the community of more than 10,000 Native families, but the town also suffers from “brain drain” of young people. The Tsabetsaye’s own children left for education and employment off the reservation due to limited opportunities. On top of that, the tap water in Zuni Pueblo often contains dangerous quantities of arsenic, making it hazardous for existing families and unattractive for those who have left to come back to raise their own families.
The Tsabetsaye’s decided to venture into the grocery business again and in October of 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, opened Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go, and according to Darrell, “It came back full circle.” For this dream to become a reality, financing from private philanthropic organizations such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) was necessary.
Many Native-owned businesses have limited access to capital because reservation land is held in trust by the federal government and therefore cannot be used as loan collateral. An additional $200,000 grant from Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a USDA Rural Development program administered by Reinvestment Fund, also provided much needed storage space, inventory, and broadband for the grocery store. Darrell explains, “The HFFI team has been incredible to work with. Without their support, we would not be able to survive and operate. We wish these programs would continue to support small businesses in America.”
“The HFFI team has been incredible to work with. Without their support, we would not be able to survive and operate. We wish these programs would continue to support small businesses in America.”
– Darrell Him Tsabetsaye, Co-Owner of Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go
The Tsabetsaye’s not only responded to the call for fresh produce in his community but also the opportunity to provide employment for family members closer to home. The market employs 18 Zuni Pueblo Tribal members, including the couple’s own sons, daughter, and grandson. Tsabetsaye’s son is a culinary-trained chef, helping prepare delicious staples of freshly prepared food, including salads, soups, pasta, and weekly specials. Roscelia is a baker by trade, overseeing the grocery department and product offerings, which include produce, fruits, organic and commercial dairy, and plant-based foods.
“We don’t buy canned goods to reheat. Everything is made from scratch, down to the salad dressing. We make our own mustard, our own mayo, and our hamburgers, wraps, soups, and sandwiches are never frozen, always fresh.”
Group outside Major Market.
Set up inside the market for an event.
Miss Zuni and kids at a Major Market table with candy dipped apples.
To the Tsabetsaye’s, Major Market represents more than just a store; it reflects a vision of food independence for the native people of Zuni Pueblo, where residents have few options for buying fresh, quality food locally. It’s also where healthy, culturally relevant food is grown, prepared, and shared by the community for the community. Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go offers a coffee shop, organic fruits and vegetables, a deli, ready-made meals, grocery staples, and most importantly, traditional Native American food, including corn used in religious ceremonies.
Zuni Pueblo butchers are also on hand to create custom-cut fresh meat for customers. The market also sells purified water utilizing reverse osmosis and three-stage purification processes for 40 cents a gallon, providing an affordable alternative to the dangerous tap water. The purified water meets and exceeds all national, state, and safe drinking water standards.
Major Market is also a vision into the future of Zuni Pueblo and where the Tsabetsaye’s see the community going. “We’re trying to do a number of things to help our community with the goal of healthy standards, and we’re trying to market our business so that we provide community information and support.” While it does not offer gas pumps, there are multiple electric vehicle charging stations. Solar panels over the parking lot also produce about 80% of the market’s electrical needs and Darrell hopes that a grant from the federal Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) can soon increase capacity and completely cover the electrical needs of the market. “Reaching and maintaining our dreams are a never-ending process and our hard work is beginning to take shape,” explains Darrell.
In order to keep the business buzzing, the Tsabetsaye’s work long hours in multiple roles. They also face supply-side challenges as a small market in a rural area because distributors often don’t deliver as far out as Zuni Pueblo. Darrell will drive his personal truck 80 miles round-trip to Gallup, New Mexico or 350-mile round trip into Albuquerque to meet suppliers. “We’re the janitors. We’re the package people. We’re the cashiers. We do everything. The mom-and-pops like us are at the bottom of the totem pole, and traditionally the costs have been passed on to us because we don’t have the buying power as larger retailers consolidate and force stronger competition against small retailers.”
Despite all the difficulties, the Tsabetsaye’s are committed to providing healthy food for the people of Zuni Pueblo and the community’s reciprocal support helps propel them forward. “I want these programs to continue. They can’t just be one-and-done type programs. USDA and other support programs are necessary in our industry to keep doors open.”