Food, medicine and k’é: Where grocery stores are miles away, CHRs step in
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
CHR workers Natasha Roanhorse, left, and Karen Nez, right, pack boxes of food for distribution outside the Kinlichee Chapter on May 27 in Kinlichee, Ariz.
KINLICHEE, Ariz.
In the heart of the Navajo Nation, where at-risk families often live miles from the nearest grocery store and even farther from health care facilities, Community Health Representatives, better known as CHRs, continue to show up with boxes of food, medication, and a willingness to listen.
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Yellow bell peppers are unpacked for distribution outside the Kinlichee Chapter on May 27 in Kinlichee, Ariz.
On Tuesday, several CHRs gathered here to distribute food provided through a partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank. The monthly event, open to any Navajo citizen with an Arizona ID, brings much-needed nutrition to families grappling with limited incomes and scarce access to fresh groceries.
Roseita Cody, a CHR based in Kinlichee, said she has coordinated the monthly food distribution since 2021. The effort began during the COVID-19 pandemic when stores closed, and supply chains broke down. Though lockdowns have ended, she said the need has not.
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
CHR workers get ready to serve community members during a food distribution outside the Kinlichee Chapter on May 27 in Kinlichee, Ariz.
“A lot of our people barely have enough food,” Cody said. “They run out toward the end of the month, so I try to schedule St. Mary’s then. A lot of them say thank you because they need it and some say they’re out of food and come here to get more.”
To read the full article, please see the May 29, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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