Tribal Business News recently featured the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative regarding delivery disruptions impacting the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) nationwide.

Here is an excerpt of the article. Click the button at the bottom of the page to read the full version.

Native food distribution program disrupted amid USDA warehouse consolidation

Tribal food programs across Indian country are experiencing delivery delays and missing items following a recent consolidation of warehouses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The warehouse switch, which was announced in February, transitioned the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) from a two-warehouse system to a single provider in April. While the USDA anticipated cost-savings, the move has resulted in disruptions for many tribal communities, according to a national group of food distribution program directors.

“Deliveries are not showing up, and we don’t know they’re missing until they don’t show up,” Mary Greene Trottier, president of the National Association for FDPIR, told Tribal Business News. “We’re hearing from almost every tribe participating in the program that they’ve been impacted in some way.”

Greene Trottier, who also serves as the director for the Spirit Lake Nation’s food distribution program, said the association has been “slammed” in the wake of the consolidation.

Prior to the warehouse consolidation, tribal FDPIR programs functioned smoothly, with on-time deliveries and departments able to plan distributions in advance.  Since the warehouse changes, the program has become “chaotic and frustrating,” Greene Trottier said.

Food packages are missing items or entire deliveries arrive late — or not at all. That’s created scheduling nightmares for staff scrambling to meet client needs. One tribal FDPIR office reported having to share pictures of empty shelves on social media to prove they had no food, Greene Trottier said.

“There’s people going without food, people who don’t receive the benefits they’re entitled for that month,” Greene Trottier said. “It’s reaching every warehouse in Indian Country that distributes FDPIR food.”

Missing distributions can be damaging to households that already face disproportionate levels of food insecurity. Carly Hotvedt, interim executive director for the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, said many households impacted by recent FDPIR disruptions included children and elders.

Hotvedt said 30 percent of impacted households included children, and another 42 percent have elders over the age of 60.

“Children are our future, and elders are knowledge keepers of our tribes,” Hotvedt said in a statement concerning the warehouse issues. “These groups are critically important to us and should not be expected to endure or go without.”