Release No. 0392.09
Contact:
Office of Communications (202) 720-4623
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Recovery Act Funding for Indian Tribal Organizations and States Operating the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
WASHINGTON, August 19, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that Indian Tribal Organizations and States operating the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) will receive approximately $1 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to purchase equipment and improve facilities needed to provide food assistance.
"It is imperative that people in the United States have access to safe and nutritious food, and through the Recovery Act, we're investing resources to enhance the availability of food on Indian Reservations and tribal lands," said Vilsack. "The Obama administration is committed to increasing the health and nutrition of people throughout the country, and these Recovery Act investments will help further that goal."
Through FDPIR, USDA purchases food that is provided to low-income households, including the elderly, living on Indian reservations, and to Native American families residing in designated areas near reservations and in the State of Oklahoma. Currently, there are 271 tribes receiving benefits under FDPIR through 98 Indian Tribal Organizations and 5 State agencies. Almost 100,000 individuals receive a monthly FDPIR food package.
Today's announcement is the first in a series of FDPIR Recovery Act allocations; altogether $5 million in Recovery Act funding will be provided.
Indian Tribal Organizations and government agencies benefiting from today's announcement include:
Arizona:
Gila River Indian Community
Navajo Nation
California:
Riverside/San Bernadino County Indian Health
Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association
Yurok Tribe
Idaho:
Nez Perce Tribe
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
Kansas:
Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas
United Tribes of Kansas and Southeast Nebraska
Mississippi:
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
North Carolina:
Cherokee Tribe of North Carolina
New Mexico:
Pueblo of Acoma
Nevada:
Yerington Paiute Tribe
Oklahoma:
Muscogee Creek Nation
South Dakota:
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
Washington:
Quileute Indian Tribe
Quinalt Indian Nation
Spokane Tribe of Indians
Wyoming:
Shoshone Tribe
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