USDA invests in bison purchase pilot program
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. The 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.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which coordinates food purchases on behalf of USDA; the Food and Nutrition Service, which administers FDPIR; the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the USDA Office of Tribal Relations are working together to bring this new opportunity to tribal communities.
"USDA recognizes the role its purchasing power can play in providing access for smaller, local, and tribal producers", said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We’re pleased to take this step forward toward offering locally raised bison directly to the tribal communities where those herds are located".
Tribal communities have long shared an interest in accessing more localized food products through FDPIR. Tribal leaders indicated that USDA purchase specifications do not align with how tribal and other small- and mid-sized producers operate. This pilot responds to feedback from across Indian Country and from small producers by aligning purchase time frames with indigenous informed principles of infrequent animal handling, traditional field harvests following a nature-based purchasing calendar, and allowing either USDA or state inspection. This pilot will also explore smaller packaging and purchase orders to meet small- and mid-sized enterprises at scale and exclusively target Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) purchase preferences benefiting economically distressed areas, of which all tribal reservations qualify. All producers announced through this pilot operate on tribal lands.
"Our nation-to-nation relationship with tribes enriches how USDA does business for Indian Country and for all of rural America", said Director of Tribal Relations Heather Dawn Thompson. "This pilot is an important step to use government procurement flexibly for the benefit of tribal and our smaller producers and their surrounding communities".
USDA’s pilot project is a significant step forward, creating better market access, and increasing incorporation of foods important to indigenous communities. By offering more access to local and tribal bison meat for tribal communities, USDA is investing in a more open food system for all.
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