Native Roots Farm Foundation (NRFF) is a Native (Nanticoke) woman-led organization, founded with a mission to celebrate Indigenous cultures and protect open spaces – in particular, areas stewarded by the Nanticoke and Lenape communities who have called Delaware and the surrounding region home since time immemorial.

Through public programming and the development of our public Hakihakàn (Lenape for garden or farm), NRFF leads innovative and impactful community programs that recognize Indigenous ecological knowledge and the important roles native plants have played in Native cultures. Our work is focused on helping reconnect Indigenous people with aspects of our heritage. Utilizing a variety of educational programs and hands-on activities, NRFF shares this knowledge with the wider community and cultivates awareness of and appreciation for the natural world.

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we depend on grants, donations, and income-generating activities (including merchandise sales, programs, and raffles) to operate. Your support helps us rematriate culturally significant plants like Nanticoke Squash, revitalize palettes with the flavors of Mahchikpi (Lenape for Pawpaw), and share the beauty of Chàkinkwēm berries (Lenape for Pokeweed). You help us fulfill our mission. 

Cultural, familial, and agricultural histories are tied to this land – and it is vanishing before our eyes. From 2001-2016, development destroyed 2,000 acres of American farmland each day. Today in Delaware, farms are disappearing at a record pace. Concrete covers farmland once owned and stewarded by Native American families. Once developed, our community will never recover this land. We cannot afford to lose another acre.