USDA food aid shortages for Native Americans

WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologized to tribal communities last week for shipping and delivery delays of expired food during a tense congressional hearing that highlighted problems in food distribution programs on Indian reservations. Common failure issues.

Vilsack’s remarks came after leaders of the Chickasaw Nation, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spearow Lake Sioux Nation appeared in a rare joint hearing before the House Appropriations and Agriculture Committees Detailed testimony was given regarding food shortages.

“This is a horrific problem that has drawn real attention from both parties and both chambers of Congress,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.

He said the USDA’s failure for months to fulfill its duty to “provide critical food assistance to tribal members and vulnerable seniors amounted to “gross negligence.”

“Missed and late deliveries, empty shelves and empty warehouses have become commonplace,” Cole said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said food shortages are unacceptable.

“Sending hunger to the most vulnerable communities among us must be one of our government’s top priorities,” she said. “But food supply disruptions pose exactly that risk.”

The USDA says the Indian Reservation Food Distribution Program provides food to “income-eligible families living on Indian reservations, as well as American Indian families living adjacent to reservations and in approved areas of Oklahoma.” Overview.

USDA purchases and delivers food selected from pre-approved list to state agencies and Indian tribal organizations, which store the food and distribute it to eligible participants.

Tribal representatives speak out

Three tribal representatives detailed how the bare shelves impacted their communities and how the USDA told tribes (rather than negotiated with them) about significant changes to the program contract, leading to distrust and anger.

The three are also pressuring Congress to tighten controls on the food supply during the pandemic. Four hours of hearing.

Darrell G. Seki Sr., chairman of the Red Lake Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota, said his community’s ability to feed people through the FDPIR program has been “impacted by continued failures throughout the summer.” threaten”.

“We need more consultation with the tribes,” Kwan said. “We were the first Americans to come here. We should be given priority because of the treaties adopted under the U.S. Constitution.

Kwan repeatedly called on lawmakers to “do the right thing” during the hearing.

Mary Green-Trotier, president of the National Food Distribution Program Association on Indian Reservations and a member of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, said the program is critical for tribal communities that exist in food deserts.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, doesn’t work in some tribal communities, making FDPIR a “critical stopgap measure,” she said.

“SNAP is an important tool in the feeding program tool box, but it doesn’t make sense if you don’t have access to a full-service grocery store or even a convenience store,” Greene-Trottier testified.

She told the committee that the Indian Reserve Food Distribution Program serves approximately 55,000 people in First Nations communities each month.

Green-Trotier also said problems that began to arise this spring contributed to a lack of trust in the USDA in her community.

self-determination project

“There is an urgent need for Congress to expand tribal autonomy,” said Marty Wofford, deputy secretary for support and programs at the Chickasaw Nation Health Department in Oklahoma.

She testified that a self-determination demonstration pilot program approved by Congress in 2018 that allowed some tribal communities to produce and serve more food was “very successful.”

“This stocking and warehousing crisis is an example of how the locally sourced food system works,” Wofford said. “We have had no issues with ordering or delivery of food secured through the Self-Determination Project, where we currently supply a variety of Beef, Pecans and Dry Corn Flakes.”

Tribal nations have been working for years to rebuild food production, she said, including growing crops, raising buffalo and cattle and establishing meat processing facilities and fish and shellfish hatcheries.

Tribal representatives testified that USDA officials only notified them in February and then failed to take their concerns seriously rather than consulting them on the contract change, which went from two suppliers to just one.

Tribal communities were told they would not be allowed to order any food through the FDPIR program in April, after which delays, missed shipments and deliveries of expired food began to appear.

The USDA has instituted stopgaps and short-term solutions, but tribal officials told lawmakers they did not fully alleviate the situation, which they say continues to this day.

Tribal leaders are calling on Congress to make some changes to food procurement, including a regional purchasing model for food distribution.

They told lawmakers the FDPIR program requires a tracking system so tribal members can see when their food orders are shipped instead of being forced to call repeatedly and hope someone answers the phone.

Need to review contract

Vilsack told lawmakers, as well as tribal representatives who stayed in the room to hear his explanation of food shortages, that the USDA was “committed” to listening more to tribal leaders and giving Congress a better understanding of food distribution plans. question.

He explained that in 2022, USDA began reviewing contracts for the Indian Reservation Food Distribution Program, in part because under federal procurement law, the department was not allowed to make any additional extensions to previous contracts.

After months of meetings and soliciting bids from contractors, USDA received eight proposals in 2023.

The panel ultimately determined that only one application, from Paris Brothers in Kansas City, Mo., met complete requirements. The company has been one of two companies contracted by the USDA to provide food through the FDPIR program for many years.

The Paris brothers told USDA at the time they were capable of handling the full contract, but Vilsack later said that was not the case. The contract is for five years and costs $35 million per year, for a total of $175 million.

Once USDA became aware of growing problems with the new single-vendor model, Vilsack said staff began working to implement fixes for Paris Brothers and tribal communities.

For example, the company increased working hours to seven days a week, increased the number of shifts per day, hired more temporary and permanent workers, and increased training.

The USDA also signed a $25 million, six-month contract with another company to help alleviate food supply shortages in tribal communities.

Vilsack said USDA officials believe the issues can be addressed given Paris Brothers’ long record.

But, he said, the changes the USDA enacted in August should have come sooner, and that lower-level staff at the department should have brought the issues to his attention months before they notified him in late July.

“Make sure something like this never happens again”

Lawmakers on both committees said they remain concerned about Paris Brothers and USDA’s management of the program.

“It is vital that this crisis is resolved quickly and changes are made in the contracting process to ensure something like this never happens again,” Cole said.

Rep. Andy Harris, D-Md., chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, said he expected the USDA to fire at least one person who did not resolve problems with Paris Brothers quickly enough, which would require the department to fine the company.

“American taxpayers should be outraged if anyone refuses to take on this issue,” Harris said. “That’s tens of millions of dollars, and I’m not even talking about what we’re doing to our tribal nations – providing expired Food, lost goods.”

Harris said that when the appropriations group next meets with USDA officials, he hopes witnesses can provide details about the fines levied against the Paris brothers and how much the federal government must spend to ensure food is provided to tribal communities.

Harris expressed “no confidence” that Paris Brothers would be able to resume on-time, unexpired food deliveries to tribal communities and questioned whether the company was honoring other contracts ahead of tribal communities.

“I suspect they shorted tribal nations while retaining other commercial contracts. We should never tolerate this,” Harris said.

Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. of Georgia, ranking member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said he was “shocked” to hear about problems with the FDPIR program after years of working well.

Bishop urged more funding for the Agricultural Marketing Service, the office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that handles contracts.

He said the last full-year government spending bill approved by Congress earlier this year provided 12% less funding for the service than requested. This represents a $14.8 million reduction from its enacted funding levels.

“Congress cannot meet the needs and challenges of the 21st century with a 20th century budget,” Bishop said.

Georgia Rep. David Scott, the top Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, said lawmakers must bring representatives of the Paris Brothers before Congress to answer questions about mismanagement.

Paris Brothers declined to respond to The Nation’s newsroom’s request for comment, writing: “As we are working with USDA on this matter, we will defer all inquiries to the USDA communications team.”