APPLETON, Wis. — Jody LaPlante said she cares about quality.

That’s one of the primary goals of the Tribal Elder Food Box Program at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, where she works.

“It’s like full circle,” LaPlante said about the program and how it operates. “It’s grown by the people from the tribes, it’s driven by people who are in the tribes to get to elders. It’s just fantastic.”

Her team of volunteers packed 1,700 boxes of locally sourced foods grown by indigenous farmers. They did so in a matter of hours. The boxes go directly to the 11 federally recognized Native American Tribes of Wisconsin. The food is hand-picked, free of pesticides, and culturally relevant, according to Feeding America.

“Basically, root vegetables that is familiar to their culture, so we have a lot of squash, carrots, we have cabbage, a lot of times we have potatoes,” LaPlante said.

Kara Black is in charge of curating and securing the food for each of the boxes that will ultimately end up in the home of a tribal elder. She said she knows she’s making a difference in the state.

“It seems like the elders feel valued, they feel heard,” Black said.

She said she’s worked dozens of hours each week getting the food from indigenous farmers at a price the nonprofit can afford. She said the program won’t work without those partnerships.

“The mission behind it is so strong and everyone loves it so much that they’re willing to just provide to the program and do it at whatever cost we need it to be at,” she said.

LaPlante said her team takes the mission seriously.

“All these people are here because it’s the tribal elders. It’s for our Native American friends,” she said. “I think it’s awesome.”