Feds Cut Key Food Program for Native Americans

After a federal program delivering fresh, local food to Native American reservations was abruptly cut, tribal leaders are scrambling to fill the void, fearing a return to food insecurity and loss of cultural traditions. The USDA has ended its Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program, following a decision in March by the Trump administration, ProPublica reports. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the half-billion-dollar program was a remnant of the COVID era. The program, launched under the Biden administration in 2021, focused on improving access to locally sourced food, especially in Native American communities. Hundreds of food banks benefited, with 90 serving tribal communities.

A dozen advocacy nonprofits and tribal leaders have called for USDA to bring back what they say is a "critical" program. They say it allows tribes to choose foods that fit community needs and honors tribal sovereignty. The program was cut despite Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pledge to make healthy eating programs a priority. When he met with tribal leaders in Arizona last month, the health secretary said processed foods have "mass poisoned" communities. He later told the House Appropriations Committee that processed foods have caused a "genocide" among Native Americans, reports ProPublica. "One of my big priorities will be getting good food—high-quality food, traditional foods—onto the reservation because processed foods for American Indians is poison," he said.

The Chippewa-Cree Tribe in Montana counted on $400,000 from the program over recent years to buy local beef and produce for about 250 households. Their nearest supermarket is 20 miles away. "We wanted to make sure that we didn't turn away anybody," says coordinator Jason Belcourt, who expects funding to run out within weeks. "There are families that go without meals; there are kids that go without meals." He says the funds have also been used for bison harvests, which has "done wonders, not only in terms of the food value." "There's a lot of cultural sharing," he says. "There's a lot of remembrance from the old timers of what their grandparents told them and how to use the buffalo. And, believe it or not, there's some healing that's going on." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)