Lawmakers propose expansion of tribal food program

U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) introduced bipartisan legislation June 12 to make permanent a pilot program that allows tribes to source local foods for federal food-assistance packages, according to a press release from Davids’s office. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations Act of 2025 would replace the temporary $11.4 million pilot, which since 2018 has allowed 16 tribes to select their own suppliers for packages serving nearly 650,000 tribal members.

Participating tribes such as the Choctaw Nation and Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians have built regional food systems through the pilot. Native Farm Bill Coalition co-chairs Cole Miller and Kari Jo Lawrence were quoted as saying the legislation represents a key step toward food sovereignty, stating tribes “have shown time and time again that tribally administered programs are more efficient and effective.”