Heinrich, Bipartisan Lawmakers Press USDA to Urgently Address Tribal Food Delivery Delays Nationwide
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, is pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately rectify mounting delays with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and address root causes of the situation. Tribal families have been experiencing extreme disruptions in food deliveries, including receiving partial deliveries, deliveries of expired products, or no deliveries at all over the past four months.
On Friday, Heinrich joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and a bipartisan group of senators to send a letter urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take immediate action to rectify mounting delays with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The letter—signed by U.S. Senators Heinrich, Merkley, Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.)—stressed the urgency of the situation and pushed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to swiftly and fully address the unfolding crisis with the federal program that provides food deliveries to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations and to Native American households residing in designated areas.
The senators wrote, “In March 2024, USDA consolidated the food delivery contractors to one sole-source contractor, Paris Brothers, Inc. in Kansas City, MO. Since that change went into effect on April 1, 2024, participating Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) began to experience ‘poradic deliveries, or incorrect orders and compromised best if used by dates.’ Participating households have not had consistent food deliveries for over four months. This is unacceptable.”
“We appreciate that USDA is hosting weekly calls with impacted ITOs, but delays persist and there is no timeline to resolve this issue and fully restore on-time food deliveries. Tribal leadership, low-income families, and the community-at-large have been diligently working to fill the gap; however, USDA must take immediate action to restore full operation of the FDPIR program and end the uncertainty looming over countless families,” the senators continued. “We urge the USDA to engage in emergency tribal consultation and restore food deliveries and operation of the FDPIR program. USDA must promptly establish plans to prevent a situation like this from occurring in the future.”
Today, Heinrich joined House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and leaders on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, in an additional letter demanding answers from Secretary Vilsack regarding the recent failures under USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) contract. The lawmakers requested comprehensive information to understand the origins of this alarming situation—including detailed and specific questions—and demanded that USDA implement action to ensure it is resolved quickly with durable, long-term solutions.
Lawmakers who signed this second letter include Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Senate Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member John Hoeven (R-N.D.), House Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), House Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), House Interior Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), and House Interior Subcommittee Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).
The lawmakers wrote, “As Members of both chambers of Congress and leaders of the Committees and Subcommittees on Appropriations, we are alarmed to only recently have learned about the food shortage crisis that has been inflicted upon our nation’s Tribes. We were made aware of this issue from Tribes across the country, who are now in a dire situation because of a failure to ensure food has been received by Tribes in a timely manner through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The program serves some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and recipients have reported bare shelves, having received expired food items, and inconsistent food deliveries for over four months. Tribes are deeply worried about when food will arrive and when USDA will resolve this situation. It is the federal government’s responsibility to uphold its trust and treaty obligations to Tribes, and this situation must be resolved immediately. We have also been alerted to similar potential issues with the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). As you know, seniors rely on this supplemental food, and any delay is unacceptable.”
Full text of the first letter can be found here and below:
Secretary Vilsack,
We are deeply concerned about the crisis unfolding with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must take immediate action to install solutions for the short-term, long-term, and retroactively, to restore food deliveries and engage in meaningful consultation with impacted Tribes. For the past several months, Tribal families have experienced extreme disruptions in food deliveries – only receiving partial deliveries, or no deliveries at all. We appreciate the steps that the Department is taking to address the situation thus far, but more must be done to quickly restore food deliveries.
As you know, the FDPIR provides food deliveries to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations and to Native American households residing in designated areas. Families that participate in this program do so at the expense of being eligible to participate in other federal food assistance, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Further, many Tribal households choose to participate in FDPIR over SNAP because they do not have access to grocery stores so families have limited options for assistance should they face delays in their FDPIR deliveries.
In March 2024, USDA consolidated the food delivery contractors to one sole-source contractor, Paris Brothers, Inc. in Kansas City, MO. Since that change went into effect on April 1, 2024, participating Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) began to experience “poradic deliveries, or incorrect orders and compromised best if used by dates.” Participating households have not had consistent food deliveries for over four months. This is unacceptable.
According to the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations, most of the 100+ ITOs nationwide have experienced some type of delivery disruption since April 2024. To fill the gaps, some Tribal families are working with local food banks to provide basic necessities. Some Tribal governments are even using emergency funds to purchase food for impacted families without assurances that they will be reimbursed.
Food security among Tribal communities has been a persistent issue for decades. This is particularly impactful to children during the summer months when they are more likely to experience the “summer slide” – a period of learning loss and regression due to a lack of sufficient resources. The lack of consistent food deliveries because of USDA’s consolidation will only further steepen learning gaps and compromise children’s education in the fall.
We appreciate that USDA is hosting weekly calls with impacted ITOs, but delays persist and there is no timeline to resolve this issue and fully restore on-time food deliveries. Tribal leadership, low-income families, and the community-at-large have been diligently working to fill the gap; however, USDA must take immediate action to restore full operation of the FDPIR program and end the uncertainty looming over countless families. We urge the USDA to engage in emergency tribal consultation and restore food deliveries and operation of the FDPIR program. USDA must promptly establish plans to prevent a situation like this from occurring in the future.
Thank you for your attention on this urgent matter and we look forward to your prompt response to our concerns and the concerns of Tribal communities across the country.
Full text of the second letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
As Members of both chambers of Congress and leaders of the Committees and Subcommittees on Appropriations, we are alarmed to only recently have learned about the food shortage crisis that has been inflicted upon our nation’s Tribes. We were made aware of this issue from Tribes across the country, who are now in a dire situation because of a failure to ensure food has been received by Tribes in a timely manner through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The program serves some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and recipients have reported bare shelves, having received expired food items, and inconsistent food deliveries for over four months. Tribes are deeply worried about when food will arrive and when USDA will resolve this situation. It is the federal government’s responsibility to uphold its trust and treaty obligations to Tribes, and this situation must be resolved immediately. We have also been alerted to similar potential issues with the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). As you know, seniors rely on this supplemental food, and any delay is unacceptable.
To obtain the information we need to ensure this situation is resolved expeditiously, we seek answers to the following questions and ask for relevant documentation by September 9, 2024:
- Please explain USDA’s rationale to move from two contractors to one and provide all documentation associated with the transition from two contractors to one between July 1, 2023, and August 25, 2024, including any communication with Paris Brothers explaining they would be the sole vendor for the program.
- Please provide a timeline of events from July 1, 2023, as USDA was beginning the process of soliciting bids through August 25, 2024, including the date USDA became aware of delayed food delivery; when USDA first communicated with Paris Brothers about issues with the FDPIR contract; when USDA communicated with Tribes and relevant stakeholders about the delays; actions taken by USDA to try to address the delays, etc.
- Please provide all communications issued to States, program participants, and any other relevant stakeholders since the start of the delays.
- When Tribes voiced concern and even opposition to moving to one contractor, why did USDA not consider their input?
- Please explain why USDA has not approved options offered by Tribes to remedy this situation, such as driving their own trucks to pick up food from the Paris Brothers warehouse, or providing more waivers so Tribes can purchase food themselves.
- How many and which specific Tribes are impacted by the food shortage?
- What actions are being taken to hold Paris Brothers accountable for not meeting the contract obligations?
- Is USDA opening another bid to solicit additional vendors to serve FDPIR? If so, when? If not, why?
- Is the decision to use one contractor impacting other food distribution programs, such as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program? If so, please fully explain the extent of the problem and what USDA is doing to mitigate further food shortages in other programs.
The uncertainty for our Tribal communities who rely so heavily on these food deliveries cannot continue. We expect you to use all available resources and authorities to rectify this situation as quickly as possible. If you find you need additional resources and authorities, please notify us immediately, as we want to work with you to resolve this expeditiously.
We look forward to your response.
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