USDA Pressured to Fix Food Distribution Issues With Native American Tribes

A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the USDA to address what they characterize as “unacceptable” services a federal food distribution program is providing to Native American reservations.

The Associated Press (AP) on Friday reported it had obtained a copy of a letter the senators wrote before it was sent to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsak. The letter was reportedly drafted after several tribal nations complained that a food distribution program run by the USDA has not fulfilled some orders for months while at other times it delivered expired goods.

The senators reportedly wrote that Native American families have experienced “extreme disruptions” after the USDA cut back from two contractors to one for its Food Distribution Program in Indian Reservations deliveries last spring.

“Participating households have not had consistent food deliveries for over four months,” the senators wrote in the letter addressed to Vilsak, per the AP. “This is unacceptable.”

Newsweek reached out to the USDA via email on Friday for comment.

The AP said the letter came from Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Tina Smith of Minnesota. Republican senators on the letter were John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, as well as Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

“The USDA must swiftly and fully address this self-inflicted crisis,” Merkley said in a statement. “There can be no more excuses for food delays, missed deliveries, or delivery of expired products.”

Mary Greene-Trottier, who serves as president of the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations and directs food distribution for North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Nation, told the AP that more than 50,000 Native American families are dependent on the government program’s food.

“They’re going without,” Greene-Trottier said. “Imagine showing up at the grocery store during COVID or a winter blizzard, and the shelves are empty. That’s the feeling that they get.”

Paris Brothers Inc., the sole contractor for the food distribution program, told the AP in a statement that it is “actively addressing” recent issues.

The AP said the USDA has held weekly calls with tribal leaders and provided agency staff to Paris Brothers in order to assist the company in communicating with tribes, as well as partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with the contractor’s logistics program.

“Our first order of business has been to get food where it’s needed,” the USDA said in a statement. “In addition, we are undertaking a review of our procurement process to prevent similar circumstances from occurring in the future.”