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Since 1977, tribes and intertribal organizations have been eligible to receive food packages from the USDA. Historically, products in the food packages were not traditional to tribes participating in the program. However, in recent years and in consultation with tribes, more traditional products have been incorporated into food packages.

USDA FNS invites tribes to apply for a second round of FDPIR Self-Determination Demonstration Projects. Through these projects, tribes administering the FDPIR can enter into self-determination contracts with USDA to directly purchase food for the FDPIR food packages distributed to their tribe.

Tribal nations across what we now consider the Great Plains relied for millennia on their buffalo relatives for food, medicine, clothing, tools, and shelter. Yet today it is hard to find buffalo meat on school meal trays in the very areas where they once sustained Native communities. FNS is working with tribal partners to figure out why and to remove the barriers we can.

When we take time to listen and learn from each other, we can effectively partner to put nutrition security within reach for all and move us ever closer to more equitable food systems.

FNS is committed to providing equitable access to food to all Americans, but racial disparities in food security still exist. With the rate of food and nutrition insecurity higher among Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations, the data bears this out. In response, both USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration have implemented programs targeting racial injustice and inequity in food and nutrition.