Local Agricultural Program With National Impact Relaunches School

It’s a national agricultural program with roots right here in northeast Oklahoma City.

“We’ve been over here in this community serving over sixteen years on Martin Luther King,” said National Women in Agriculture founder Dr. Tammy Gray-Steele.

With headquarters at 1701 N. Martin Luther King Ave., Dr. Gray-Steele started the National Women in Agriculture Sustainable Science Academy in February of 2008. “Black women specifically did not or do not have a place at the table are not heralded or respected as far as what we contribute to the agriculture industry as a whole,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

In just 16 years the program has grown worldwide. “We literally have sixty-plus chapters here in the United States and twenty-plus over in Africa,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

In addition to providing fresh locally grown foods to the community, they are now relaunching the school and daycare program that was paused due to Covid. “Our organization's childcare takes children from six weeks old to eighteen. So, therefore, when they turn eighteen, they will have a trust fund,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

Students in the program learn the value of agriculture as well as the normal school curriculum. “If you want to give your children a jump start as we said, we have, our children will be coming out by the age of five being bilingual,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

But none of this happens without funding locally and nationally. “We’ve been working with Congress as you may have heard, for over ten years and this administration, we now have a bipartisan-sponsored bill that is going to the floor in the next few weeks,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

It’s called the Minority Women and Children Equity and Inclusion Act, and Dr. Tammy needs the community’s support. “First going to our website and signing on to our petition, we’re trying to reach the five thousand mark before the bill is introduced,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

Dr. Gray-Steele is also seeking to have the bill introduced on a state level for local support. “The only thing that keeps me going and my staff and I keep them encouraged is because of the children,” said Dr. Gray-Steele.

For information about the daycare or the funding bill, visit www.niaa.org.