This New Mexico Baby Food Does More Than Feed Little Ones

Bidii Baby Foods

In 2021, Zachariah and Mary Ben were expecting their first child. It was an exciting time for the couple, but also a frightening one, particularly when it came to feeding their baby. “It was post-pandemic,” Zachariah says. “There were supply chain issues. Shelves were empty. It was scary to us.” 

For Zachariah, a Diné’é (Navajo) farmer, feeding his child healthfully and maintaining his cultural identity were essential. So, Bidii Baby Foods was born with the mission of nourishing the youngest of children as well as equipping other Indigenous farmers for the unique challenges of farming on reservation land. Livability chatted with Zachariah to learn more about this New Mexico baby food and the company’s efforts to help farmers.

What is your background? 
I was born and raised in Shiprock, New Mexico. I am a sixth-generation farmer; my wife and I are building the seventh generation-in-training. We have been farmers in the Shiprock region for a very, very long time … My parents are subsistence farmers. They grow corn to make what we call neeshjhizhii. It is the base of cereal products, a value-added product that’s traditionally produced. 

Bidii Baby Foods

How do you plant and prepare the corn for Bidii Baby Foods’ neeshjhizhii? 
We do it all by hand. We have jabber planters we use and sing to those seeds when we’re planting so we have that spiritual component. We see and hear every seed that goes into the earth. 

Come harvest, we’ll dig these underground ovens and turn them into steam-pressure cookers. We start a fire and let that burn throughout the day.

While the fire is going, we’ll pick corn. We’ll seal (glowing charcoal and whole corn in the pit) for the night … We’ll wait 12 hours to open the steam pit. Fresh out of the pit the corn has a sweetness; it’s a really unique taste. 

We mashed some of those kernels up, and it was our son’s first solid food. 

What is your Farmer in REZidence program? 
Because we reside on tribal trust lands, we don’t own this land. It’s leased to us by the U.S. government, which sets us up for failure. We can’t leverage it as equity for a loan; we can’t build storage or manufacturing facilities on the farm. Those are unique challenges we face as tribal farmers. That’s why we have created Farmer in REZidence program. 

It’s a solution to building up young farmers. They have access to the resources we have: heavy equipment, training opportunities and mental health opportunities. It’s setting them up for success spiritually and mentally, too. 

Bidii Baby Foods is a social enterprise, and with Farmers in REZidence they break barriers. They can say, ‘Grandmother, Grandfather, I have the support of Bidii Baby Foods. I have access to capital and equipment. Let me farm these 10 acres that have been sitting there for 10 years. Here is my crop report, here are my assets.’”

This is how we see the success of the Farmer in REZidence program. When farms are idle on tribal trust land, you face a higher risk of losing your land and water rights. This is what we are protecting.