Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Awarded Cooperative Agreement to Develop FDPIR Produce Training

USDA Food and Nutrition Service sent this bulletin at 10/05/2023 12:00 PM EDT

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Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Awarded Cooperative Agreement to Develop FDPIR Produce Training

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USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) awarded a cooperative agreement to the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) at the University of Arkansas for $500,000 to develop, pilot, and implement a Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Produce Training. The cooperative agreement opportunity was created as a response to feedback from FDPIR administering Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) about produce handling needs. 

The goal of this cooperative agreement is to provide hands-on learning opportunities for FDPIR program operators to support staff receiving produce through the USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (DoD Fresh). The training will help ITOs assess and safely distribute fresh produce to program participants while improving customer satisfaction. The curriculum will be modeled after USDA’s Produce Safety University, a one-week training course for school nutrition professionals that covers all aspects of the fresh produce supply chain including learning how to receive, store, and prepare fresh produce.

In response to the award, IFAI shared: “The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative is excited to work with USDA-FNS, the Native Food and Nutrition Resource Alliance (NFNRA), and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) to develop culturally-appropriate produce safety curriculum and trainings for ITOs. Over 100 ITOs support Native households with FDPIR foods each month, including traditional foods and fresh produce, and the training series and ecosystem of resources we develop will support ITOs and FDPIR warehouse staff in that important work by providing tailored resources that support compliance and produce safety, all through a Native lens.” 

The first year of the agreement will consist of curriculum development and a pilot training course which will be evaluated to determine the appropriateness and effectiveness of the course before it is offered to the broader FDPIR community. FNS welcomes this collaboration with IFAI and looks forward to sharing the training and associated resources once they have been developed. 

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