Under a new project, locally sourced food is part of a food assistance program for members of the Lummi Tribe in northwest Washington.

The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations is a federal program providing meals in the form of commodity boxes for low income residents. But food boxes have neglected to include culturally relevant food for the diversity of reservations across the country, instead providing options like catfish and buffalo.

Lummi Nation is part of a pilot providing a locally caught option: sockeye salmon.

Billy Metteba, food sovereignty project manager for the Lummi Nation, said salmon is food his ancestors ate and members of the tribe know how to prepare, unlike buffalo.

"Shifting the mind frame, the mindset to food sovereignty, we should be in charge of saying what is appropriate for our people," Metteba asserted.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded eight tribes, including the Lummi Nation, $3.5 million for a demonstration project to provide local food options to the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. This fall, sockeye salmon became available for the northwest Washington tribe.

The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations is meant to supplement meals for participating households. However, a 2016 study found the program was the sole or primary source of food for 40% of those households.

Jake Garcia, public policy manager for Northwest Harvest, said many folks from the Lummi Nation have spoken to his organization about the program's inadequacies.

"The economic insecurity that they experience, the food insecurity certainly; all these different pieces are indicators for economic success," Garcia explained. "They're directly tied to your food and so when that program is insufficient and not meeting the needs of the folks on the reservation, that's a real problem."

But Metteba acknowledged the allowance for more locally sourced foods in the program is a good sign.

"When they funded this program it's like giving us access to go out and harvest our own food that we've always harvested for as long as I can remember, for as long as my grandparents can remember," Metteba emphasized. "It's important that we pass this down to our kids because without this, without fighting for something, it eventually will be lost."

The original demonstration project was funded through the 2018 Farm Bill. Tribal leaders across the country hope lawmakers in Congress will broaden the project in the 2023 Farm Bill.

The city of Cleveland, Ohio, has joined a global pact to improve urban food systems. Officials say the step builds on efforts to assess food access and policy in the region.

Cleveland recently completed its first Food Policy Landscape and Audit, a citywide review of food-related programs and policies.

Zainab Pixler, local food system strategies coordinator at the city's Department of Public Health, said the move is part of a broader strategy to better understand and shape the local food system.

"Cleveland has been at the forefront of food-systems development for quite some time," she said, "but now we're really taking a holistic view - looking at how it impacts our local economy, how it impacts public health, also take ownership over their food system and promote food sovereignty here in Cleveland."

Cleveland joins Columbus and Cincinnati as Ohio cities that are now part of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which includes more than 300 cities worldwide. The organization emphasizes six food-related areas: governance, nutrition, equity, production, distribution and waste.

City leaders have said joining the pact not only reflects Cleveland's values but boosts its visibility on a global scale. City public information officer Richard Stewart said the pact provides a framework for collaboration and shared learning across cities.

"For Cleveland to join a progressive movement such as this says that we're serious about improving the health and nutrition of our residents," Stewart explained. "It just puts us in a different echelon when it comes to best practices."

He said the city plans to release a deeper analysis next month with recommendations to guide local policy decisions around food access, distribution and sustainability and hopes its work will inspire similar strategies in other communities, in Ohio and beyond.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Grocery stores serving rural settings are seen as the lifeblood of their communities. But concerns about them closing haven't gone away. Nearly a decade in, Minnesota is providing grants to keep more from disappearing. Through the University of Minnesota Extension, the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships initiative helps these smaller outlets navigate resources.

Since 2017, loans and grants have been available to cover equipment costs and other needs. On the western edge of the state, Bonnie's Hometown Grocery has used state aid to replace refrigerators and pay for roof repairs. Without that support, owner Bonnie Maas doubts they'd still be serving customers.

"We still have a lot of elderly clientele that come up there, and they really have nice access to good food," she explained. "We will deliver if they need it."

She said they continue to work around challenges, pointing out that rising food costs and the popularity of online shopping will keep the pressure up on these independent stores. According to Hunger Solutions, 235,000 Minnesotans live more than ten miles away from a large grocery store or supermarket.

Kathy Draeger, statewide director, University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, said the proliferation of discount stores is another obstacle for smaller grocery stores. Ownership transitions are, too.

"Just like we see an aging population in farmers, we're seeing aging population in rural grocery store owners," she said.

Maas says in her town of Clinton and its population of nearly 400, the grocery store is a place to maintain social connections while stocking up on food.

"It's like the hub of the community, especially Sundays after church," she jested.


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As Colorado moves to bar Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants from using benefits to buy soda and other sugar sweetened beverages, a new report spotlights how restrictions on benefits actually harm people the program is meant to help.

Joel McClurg, executive director of systems for Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, said restricting what people can or can't purchase with SNAP dollars deepens existing racial and economic inequality.

He said it also opens the door for policymakers to cut already low benefits.

"Now since you can only purchase a fraction of that, can't we have benefits at a much lower level? Which is $6 a day on average right now, it's not a lot," said McClurg. "So, decreasing that would have very negative implications for people on the program."

Improving public health by eating better is central to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

Colorado joins Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana and West Virginia in applying for a U.S. Department of Agriculture waiver to allow restrictions on items such as candy, soda and foods considered unhealthy.

Colorado's waiver won't restrict food items, and would allow participants -- many of whom can't access a kitchen -- to purchase prepared foods.

McClurg said SNAP participants eat the same kinds of foods, including junk foods and soda, as nonparticipants. The main reason SNAP families can't eat better is because they can't afford it.

McClurg pointed to a successful rebate pilot that boosted fresh produce intake for SNAP families by more than 25%.

"If you really want to change what people are consuming and make diets more healthy," said McClurg, "then you need to look at the data that show that by creating these additional incentives for these foods that cost more -- healthy produce and lean proteins -- that's really how you are going to move the needle."

McClurg said restrictions on SNAP purchases won't solve the nation's food system shortfalls, including food deserts in low income neighborhoods, and transportation challenges for rural families.

"You can't just magically manifest healthier foods in your local corner store," said McClurg, "or have a box of fresh foods show up on somebody's doorstep when they live 60 miles away from the nearest grocery store in rural Colorado."