Native American tribal leaders warned USDA months ago of a potential food shortage for two key food assistance programs. What's happened since is reminiscent of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As some tribes have struggled through the summer with backlogs that could continue for months, members of Congress have begun pushing USDA for information on what happened and solutions to the shortages.
More than 100 tribal organizations have faced shortages since May in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) following supply chain disruptions for the program’s contractor.
They report significant delays or unwarned canceled deliveries, incorrect orders or even expired and compromised foods.
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Mary Greene-Trottier, president of the National Association for Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations.
FDPIR food packages are sourced by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Food and Nutrition Service.
More than 50,000 people rely on FDPIR for food each month. CSFP serves about 720,000 seniors.
The program is important to tribes because it is one of the few offering cultural and traditional foods, said Kelli Case, senior staff attorney at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, a policy and research group. In most instances, the programs are administered by a tribe.
While things have slightly improved, FDPIR sites faced critical shortages by the end of July with no indication when relief may be coming, said Greene-Trottier. It was reminiscent of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Due to the time required to get equipment and catch up from backlogs, she said the issues could persist for months.
As of Friday, 48% of FDPIR sites were still missing at least one food item, said Kayla Gebeck Carroll, federal lobbyist for the Native Farm Bill Coalition.
Kayla Gebeck Carroll“We recognize the impact these delays are having on the daily lives of FDPIR and CSFP participants,” said a USDA statement. “We are deeply committed to finding solutions for the immediate term while addressing underlying issues to restore a fully functional and dependable regular distribution system.”
USDA has pinned the delays on supply chain disruptions at contracted warehouses that store and ship food to programs.
In response to the shortages, the contractor has increased warehouse shifts, boosted staffing, started working seven days a week and reorganized the warehouse for efficiency.
Tribal leaders expressed concern in February when the agency first alerted groups that it would consolidate distribution for FDPIR and CSFP from two contractors to one. Starting in April, Missouri-based Paris Brothers Inc. became the sole contractor.
The consolidated contract was a result of a competitive bidding process, according to USDA. The agency received multiple bids, but the contract with Paris Brothers was the only one accepted.
Tribal leaders told USDA the warehouse consolidation already had negative impacts on tribes, and advocated for a regional sourcing model instead, according to minutes from a Tribal Leaders Consultation Work Group on FDPIR meeting in February with FNS. Leaders said the contractor did not have enough time to transition and warehouses already faced shortages.
Paris Brothers had also warned of potential challenges and asked USDA for six months to scale up, Greene-Trottier said. Instead, the contractor was given a month and a half to prepare.
Mary Greene-Trottier“It's not a food shortage, it's a logistics issue that was created by overwhelming a vendor,” said Greene-Trottier. Paris Brothers did not respond to requests for comment.
Overall, tribes’ concerns were “totally ignored” by USDA, said Carroll with the Native Farm Bill Coalition.
Members of Congress have pushed for more information and transparency from USDA. So far, bipartisan groups including the House Agriculture Committee, Senate Agriculture leaders and key appropriators have sent four letters to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
USDA initially offered three short-term solutions to the shortages for tribes. However, these are likely not enough, advocates said.
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The agency temporarily used a Department of Defense program to allow the vendor network to include meat, grain and dairy products for distribution to select FDPIR sites facing shortages.
USDA has also encouraged state agencies that oversee The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to work with food banks to distribute food to sites with shortages. So far, nine states have been approved for this option, according to USDA.
USDA also authorized the use of Local Food Purchase Assistance funds for foods to address immediate needs while it resolves the greater delays. Only about 42 tribes have LFPA agreements, Carroll said.
Recently USDA offered at least $11 million of Commodity Credit Corporation funds to FDPIR emergency purchases. Some 50 of 110 tribes have signed agreements for CCC funds, according to USDA. However, this is not representative of all groups that need help, Carroll said.
THe Native Farm Bill Coalition said tribes need help with the necessary paperwork. Some have a small staff, may be focused on responding to the crisis and lack capacity to fill out the forms.
“We're continuing to press them to try to get more folks to use this, because honestly, this is the only solution they've put out that's providing emergency relief,” Carroll said of CCC funds.
USDA has dedicated employees to solving the problem and is reviewing processes to prevent similar situations in the future..
Lawmakers could also make a self-determination pilot program initially authorized by the 2018 farm bill permanent, Carroll said.
Under the pilot, select FDPIR sites were able to purchase USDA foods more directly, and holds the federal government more responsible in administering food. The Native Farm Bill Coalition is pushing to expand this effort to allow any tribe that wants to participate through the upcoming farm bill.
Tribes and members of Congress are pressing USDA about possible fines against Paris Brothers for failing to meet contract obligations.
USDA would not comment on the possibility of fines but is moving toward an emergency contract for additional surge capacity for warehouse and delivery.
Some tribal leaders worry that the shortages could affect trust in the programs, Carroll said. “They're worried that it creates mistrust with their tribal members, they're worried that it'll go backwards in trying to make them healthier and have access to better foods,” Carroll said.
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