Across generations and migrations, our ways of feeding and being fed, of sharing good food and good company, have shifted, changed, been altered by often unfavorable conditions and circumstances. And yet, a seed, a memory, a pot of greens, a gumbo, una olla de fideo, a goulash—thick with garden-grown vegetables, flavored with tradition—bear us back to the kitchens of our grandmothers and to the many soils from which we’ve come. On April 12, 2025, bring your recipes and memories to Our Mothers’ Garden Book Festival at the Obodo Urban Farm as Cheyenne Kyle, urban farmer and Obodo Collective food programs coordinator, and Victoria Flores, founder of The Solidarity Fridge, an Indigenous-led community pantry, garden, and library, discuss our shared culinary practices and foodways.
Photo courtesy of Victoria Flores
Victoria Flores is a grassroots organizer, community doula and land worker with Nahua Otomi roots. She is the founder of Solidarity Fridge, a mutual aid community pantry and garden located in East Las Vegas, Nuwuvi Lands. TSF is an initiative that grew out of her home and is rooted in Indigenous principles of reciprocity and collective care - sharing food, seeds, stories, and skills through collaboration. Inspired by her matriarchal lineage and children, she carries forward ancestral practices of stewarding food sovereignty and autonomy. Honoring the deep connection between agriculture and traditional birthwork, she is devoted to rematriation and committed to empowering others through the spirit of communal care.
Cheyenne Kyle's love for food began in her grandmother's kitchen, where she first discovered its power to nourish both body and community. A graduate of the College of Southern Nevada with a degree in Culinary Arts, she has spent over 15 years working in the culinary industry from healthcare to fine dining, and on to food justice. Deeply committed to food sovereignty, Cheyenne has developed impactful programs, from teaching cooking classes and hosting large community meals, to stewarding a five-acre community garden and operating Southern Nevada’s first mobile farmers market. She is the visionary behind the Obodo Collective urban farm in Las Vegas’ Historic Westside, which has since expanded to include a green grocer, increasing food access in one of Las Vegas’ most food insecure communities. A TEDx speaker and certified permaculture designer, Cheyenne continues to lead innovative initiatives that bridge food, education, and sustainability, working to create a more just and resilient food system for all.
Photo courtesy of Cheyenne Kyle
This program is supported with funding by the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
