The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of a final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program. The final PEA analyzes and discloses the potential environmental impacts associated with the establishment of the RFSI program.

Funding from LFPA Plus will add a third year to our current two-year program and increase the quality and diversity of produce supplied to underserved communities. We will continue to deliver monthly fresh food boxes to 100 households in need of food in our remote, rural community. We anticipate purchasing an additional 6,000 pounds of local produce and an additional 2,400 pounds of local meat. Totaling 17,000 pounds of local produce and 6,800 pounds of local meats purchased through this program, a significant increase in local food consumption for recipients and income for local farmers.

In small communities like those in the Blackfeet Nation with few resources, help is vital to stretching food dollars where two of every three people are food insecure. The purpose of the project is to enhance the Blackfeet Tribes Food Distribution through the procurement and distribution of local, domestic food to underserved and food insecure Tribal members. The Tribe will seek out and engage local and regional socially disadvantaged farmers/producers who can provide foods for allocation to our community members.

Bishop Paiute Tribe’s Muadubu Nuumu Fresh Produce Project will provide fresh healthy produce to the Bishop Paiute Elders Program, Bishop Paiute Head Start families, and Bishop Paiute Tribal community members from this underserved community who are in need of food. Because of the location of the Tribe in an isolated rural tourist area between Mammoth Lake, CA and Yosemite National Park, the high cost of living makes food security an issue to families.

Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria will procure from 15 local producers including 10 socially disadvantaged producers in order to implement two on-site distributions to the tribal community. The Tribe is located in Humboldt County, CA which is in its entirety a rural area, the target beneficiaries for distributions are the local Bear River tribal member households. One distribution will be to the Tribe’s kitchen, the Cook will prepare the food outside of the scope of this grant, and feed tribal members at daily weekday luncheons.

Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor is a federally recognized tribe and has a tribal enrollment of 750 members. Old Harbor is a remote and rural Alaskan village only accessible by plane or boat, with one small convenient store. The cost of transportation for goods from the closest hub, City of Kodiak, is $.83 per pound and the prices of groceries in Kodiak are 2-3 times more expensive than food purchased in the lower 48 states.  Food sovereignty is an important focus for our community, and we have collaborated with the Old Harbor Alliance in the establishment of the Sitkalidak Bison

As the federally recognized tribal organization for the Unangax̂ people, APIA seeks to combat food insecurity and reinforce local food systems amidst supply-chain challenges and climate change. APIA plans to distribute LFPA subawards, starting with $25,000 per year for two years to communities like St. George and Sand Point, enabling them to procure local foods tailored to their needs. APIA will oversee accountability and reporting to ensure transparent fund utilization.

Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town’s (AQTT) purpose is to provide the AQTT Tribal enrolled elders (87) and Tribal enrolled children (83) with unprocessed and/or minimally processed food from local Oklahoma ranchers and producers. AQTT’s has an operating Title VI Elder Nutrition Program operating and it consists of AQTT Tribal members over the age of 55. The AQTT child enrollment population will serve children who are 17 years and younger.

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas is pursuing the LFPA Plus grant to support local socially disadvantaged farmers/producers by purchasing and distributing food to the underserved community. As the tribe is located in a food desert, food insecurity is a valid concern for many tribal citizens, and supporting the infrastructure to break this cycle will benefit all parties. Using LFPA funds, foods will be purchased on a bi-weekly basis and stored on-site to promote freshness in a freezer/cooler purchased by the Tribe. Intended beneficiaries will be tribal citizens and community members.