Tribal Food Assistance

Abstract

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides low-income households with electronic benefits to purchase food in grocery stores. People residing on Indian reservations, and households with American Indians and Alaska Natives residing near reservations, or in certain areas of Oklahoma, may have a food assistance option besides SNAP—the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which provides a monthly package of commodities. This report combines findings from site visits to seven reservations that participate in FDPIR with analysis of administrative and survey data to compare the two programs with regard to eligibility, participation, administration, and possible effects on health.

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Introduction

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program (FSP), provides low-income households with electronic benefits that can be used to purchase food in grocery stores and supermarkets.¹ None of the program's many eligibility requirements are based on race or ethnicity.

People of any race residing on Indian reservations, and households with American Indians and Alaska Natives residing off but near reservations, or in certain areas of Oklahoma, may have a food assistance option besides SNAP/FSP.² They may be able to participate in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which provides a monthly package of commodities. Eligibility requirements for FDPIR are similar, but not identical, to those for SNAP/FSP. Households cannot participate in both FDPIR and SNAP/FSP in the same month, so those who are eligible for both programs must choose between them.

This report combines findings from site visits to seven reservations that participate in FDPIR with analysis of administrative and survey data to compare the two programs with regard to eligibility, participation, administration, and possible effects on health and nutrition. The information and analysis in the report are meant to help the USDA, Congress, and tribal governments understand the contributions and limitations of each program, and how they do or do not work together and with other programs on the reservations.

The subsections immediately below provide background on the origins of FDPIR, its current operations, and recent trends. We then trace the broad outlines of the comparison between FDPIR and SNAP/FSP, review earlier studies, and lay out our detailed goals and objectives. Subsequent sections cover research methods, eligibility, participation, program administration, and health and nutrition. The last section of the main text discusses our conclusions and their policy implications. The seven analytical site summaries, with illustrative photos, are attached as an appendix.

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