Minnesota tribes grapple with delayed food deliveries because of USDA ‘mistakes’

At least 1,000 tribal members in Minnesota have faced delayed and missing food deliveries in recent months from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program for low-income residents of Indian reservations.

As a shift in contractors disrupted the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) stepped up to offer $1 million in emergency grants to affected tribes in the state and across the Midwest.

The need was so great that within days, SMSC increased the initial grants to $3 million for tribes in Minnesota as well as Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota as they wait for the federal government to remedy the problem.

“When we heard about the issues of tribes getting food deliveries up to three months late, sometimes never getting deliveries ... getting deliveries of food that’s expired, we knew there was a significant need out there and we knew the USDA was not fulfilling their needs,” said Cole Miller, chair of the SMSC.

U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) recently joined a bipartisan group of senators in writing a letter to the USDA demanding that it swiftly address widespread disruptions in the program that provides food packages to low-income households on reservations and to Indian households in approved areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. The program, the letter said, provides food to more than 100 tribal organizations and some 50,000 people rely on it nationwide.

The senators said the problems stem from a move in March by the USDA to consolidate food delivery contractors to one sole-source contractor known as Paris Bros. Inc. in Kansas City, Mo. Since the change took effect in April, the senators’ letter noted, participating Indian tribes began facing sporadic deliveries, incomplete orders and goods with compromised expiration dates.

“This is unacceptable,” wrote the lawmakers.

The FDPIR is an alternative to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. Tribal members eligible for FDPIR go to a distribution center monthly to receive a box of groceries, which includes items such as powdered milk and eggs, butter, juice, cheese, meats, fruits and vegetables.

Smith’s office said Minnesota participants in the program are still receiving food boxes, but with a reduced number of items. Six participating tribes in the state have been affected, according to Smith’s office: White Earth, Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Mille Lacs, Grand Portage and Red Lake.

Wendy Zika, food distribution coordinator for the Bois Forte Reservation in northern Minnesota, said the day before the June truck was set to arrive, she received an email that it would be delayed for two weeks. It didn’t come until July 11, a full month after it was originally scheduled.

Zika said no deliveries were received in July and the August truck showed up several weeks late. She added she’s worked overtime to get the late-arriving food packed up and delivered. While she’s applied for an emergency grant from the Shakopee tribe, she noted that Bois Forte is very remote, and that finding alternative sources of food and transportation would be difficult.

Mary Greene-Trottier, director of the food distribution program for the Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota, said the delays have been very stressful. The tribe is still backlogged on deliveries and is ordering food from outside sources to ensure food boxes are complete.

Spirit Lake has received funding from the Shakopee tribe, as well as some USDA emergency funding. Still, Greene-Trottier said, the disruption has placed an administrative burden on the tribe to find vendors and order food, and “giving us a pot of money doesn’t mean that the food is going to show up the next day.”

Not receiving a truck “puts us in panic mode because we were simply running out food for clients that they are entitled to,” said Greene-Trottier. “We’re an alternative to SNAP, and SNAP recipients not getting their benefits — that would never happen. But for some reason it seemed like it was OK for us not to have food.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Politico the USDA plans to bring back Americold, which had previously distributed food along with Paris Bros. for a six-month delivery contract. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are also working with the department to catch up on food deliveries.

“We’re learning that our system was flawed, and mistakes were made,” Vilsack told Politico. “It’s caused a lot of stress and a lot of difficulty, and we’re trying to mitigate the consequences of that stress and difficulty as best we can.”