Senators demand the USDA fix its backlog of food distribution to Native American tribes

A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food.

Last spring, the USDA consolidated from two contractors to one for deliveries of its Food Distribution Program in Indian Reservations. In a letter sent to Vilsack on Friday, the senators expressed concern that Native American families across the country are experiencing “extreme disruptions.”

“Participating households have not had consistent food deliveries for over four months,” the senators wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter exclusively Thursday, before it was sent the USDA leader.

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said he was stunned to hear from five tribal nations in his state this summer that they have been struggling to meet their families' needs since the consolidation.

“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.”

Merkley is joined in the letter by Republican senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, as well as Democrats Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Tina Smith of Minnesota.

More than 50,000 Native American families rely on this food, said Mary Greene-Trottier, who directs food distribution for the Spirit Lake Nation and is president of the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations.

“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.”

Officials with Spirit Lake Nation, a tribe in North Dakota with about 7,600 members, said one order this month arrived only partially filled, and another the month before never came.

“We didn’t know our trucks weren’t coming until they didn’t show up,” Greene-Trottier said.

In a July letter to Secretary Vilsack, she and other tribal officials expressed skepticism that the remaining contractor, Paris Brothers Inc., would have enough time to transition into being the sole provider for food deliveries to dozens of tribal nations. The Kansas City, Missouri-based food wholesaler was given only four weeks to prepare for the increased workload, according to the letter.

In a statement, Paris Brothers Inc. said it is “actively addressing” the recent challenges.

The USDA has responded with updates in weekly calls with tribal leaders, and a consultation with tribes is scheduled for next month in Washington, D.C.

The agency said the decision to consolidate was the outcome of a competitive bidding process, and Paris Brothers was the only company that the USDA board determined could meet the need. To help the contractor scale up to handle a larger influx of inventory, the agency has provided USDA staff to assist with customer service-related work with tribes and is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with the company’s logistics program.

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

The agency also is assisting tribes in using other federal programs that can offer additional food and resources, and has offered $11 million to tribal nations to address the food shortages while Paris Brothers tries to catch up.

But Greene-Trottier said that money likely won’t go far enough, and tribal leaders have been told they won’t be eligible for reimbursement of any additional costs. She's been relying on other programs and scarce resources to fill the gaps. The Spirit Lake Nation and others have even offered to drive to Missouri to pick up their food orders themselves, but Greene-Trottier said that request was denied by the USDA.

On Thursday, Spirit Lake Nation officials said they were told missing orders from July will be canceled and left unfulfilled. Vice Chair ReNa Lohnes said the tribe has yet to receive its portion of the $11 million, leaving them hard pressed for solutions and not knowing how, if ever, they will be made whole again.

Lohnes said she had concerns from the beginning, when USDA announced the change, but she never imagined they would be where they are now. “Thinking that we would be scrambling for food,” she said. “We’ve been told that it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming. And we wait and wait and nothing.”

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This story has been corrected to Vilsack, not Vilsak.