The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing partnerships for a new, interagency pilot project aimed at offering more localized ground bison meat for tribal communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The pilot will look at changes to how USDA purchases bison to better support buying the meat from local, small and mid-sized bison herd managers and delivering it directly to their local tribal communities. This announcement was made by USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt, Food Safety and Inspection Service Administrator Paul Kiecker, USDA Office of Tribal Relations Director Heather Dawn Thompson, and a regional representative from USDA Food and Nutrition Service, who met with principals from the three tribal nations participating in the pilot, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, their herd managers and local producer Dakota Pure Bison.
These local purchases will reduce the time and distance the meat travels to the consumer, increase economic development market opportunities for tribal and local bison operations and provide high-quality, nutritious foods for nutrition assistance programs.