On February 4, 2014 Congress passed the “Farm Bill” which authorizes funding for federal agricultural and nutrition programs for the next five years. Although it was disappointing that the SNAP program was cut by $8.6 billion dollars, hurting millions of families that struggle to put food on the table, there were other parts of the bill that will help Indian Country. Here is a highlight of some of those changes shared by the National Congress of American Indians:
With tribal consultation, the Department of Agriculture will study the potential for tribes to administer federal food assistance programs for their respective communities, which are currently administered by the states. The study and a written report will be completed within 18 months.
This project will allow the FDPIR program to include foods produced locally by American Indian farmers, ranchers, and producers, rather than solely relying on USDA food purchased outside of reservation economies that is shipped to tribal communities for distribution.
These are just some of the provisions for Indian Country included in the Farm Bill. You can read the full NCAI alert here.
MBPC is a nonprofit organization focused on providing credible and timely research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues that impact low- and moderate-income Montana families.