USDA recently launched the What's Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl website, featuring cookbooks and a searchable recipe database.  A Harvest of Recipes with USDA Foods, produced for the FDPIR program, and other cookbooks are available to download or print.  Food Distribution recipes focusing on healthy and delicious ways to use USDA Foods ingredients are gathered alongside budget-conscious options from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, healthy My Plate-friendly choices from the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and large quantity offerings from Child Nutrition.  The site also houses the USDA Foods Fact Sheets for household programs and contains links to resources such as Healthy Eating on a Budget, which offers sample two-week menus and grocery lists.

Read more about the features of What's Cooking in our post on the USDA Blog!

June 14-19: National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations (NAFDPIR) Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico

FNS staff will be participating in this year's conference, presenting information on the food package, nutrition education, food ordering, certification, budgets, and management evaluations.  We look forward to meeting with FDPIR Directors and staff in Albuquerque.

Seneca Nation of Indians has served as the host for a shell egg pilot that began in October 2014. FDPIR staff order and receive eggs on a weekly basis through their DoD Fresh vendor.  The program has two distribution methods: home delivery to the Cattaraugus and Allegheny Territories in Western New York and a warehouse where clients may pick up their foods.  Seneca FDPIR is preparing to move into a new facility, with a ribbon cutting scheduled for late May.  Staff and participants have reported positive experiences with the shell egg pilot, and FNS is currently exploring options to expand the pilot to additional tribes.

An updated Online FDPIR Household Certification Training course went live on the FNS website in June 2014.  In the year since the re-launch, over 90 FDPIR staff either have completed or are working towards completing the training.  FNS developed the FDPIR Household Certification Training course to help Indian Tribal Organization (ITO) and State agency certification workers and their supervisors successfully administer the program.  This update reflects the changes made to the certification process as a result of the FDPIR: Income Deductions and Resource Eligibility Final Rule.  The training course is comprised of nine modules and a post test, designed to be taken in any order.  Because the training is online, certification staff can access the modules 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and revisit them to refresh their knowledge at any time.  If you haven’t already, check it out!

Reap What You Sow: Choctaw Children Learn About Gardening and Cooking

“How many of you like vegetables?”  The question posed to a gathering of Choctaw children in a garden in rural Mississippi elicits skeptical responses.  But upon sampling the fresh produce harvested with their own hands, however, the children’s stereotypes of disgust turn to surprises of delight.  A young boy taking a giant bite out of a juicy tomato could be the poster child for the vibrant red fruit.  A pair of sisters declares cucumbers as their favorite.  The newly adventurous children are even willing to taste raw eggplant…Now that’s impressive.  Read more

Green Thumbs near Green Bay: Menominee Tribe Cultivates Nutrition Education

Cooking knowledge, proper planning, and access to healthy foods are essential ingredients to healthy diets.  I witnessed this firsthand when I traveled to the food distribution center of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, one of the 20 Indian Tribal Organizations that received funding in 2014 from USDA’s Food Distribution Program Nutrition Education (FDPNE) grants.  Their programs offer cooking classes, recipes, nutrition education and resources for Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) participants as well as manage a community garden program which provides fresh fruits and vegetables for tribal members.  Read more

The Pueblo of Acoma Food Distribution Program staff take pride in the efficacy and organization of their operation.  Their warehouse is set up in a “store” concept so that the 275 monthly participants can select the foods they want and check out like they would at a grocery store.  Acoma also offers home delivery services for participants who are unable to come to the warehouse.  Fresh produce is available through USDA’s partnership with the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.  Connie Martinez, director of the program, and her staff showed us how they manage inventory, certify program participants, schedule food deliveries, assist participants in the store, and provide food demonstrations and nutrition education.  Their focus is on customer service, which ensures that every client has a positive experience.

Perry Martinez, director of the Eight Northern Pueblos Food Distribution Program, has worked with FDPIR for over 30 years. The program serves eight distinct Pueblo tribes in New Mexico, covering 1,430 participants per month over a large geographical area.  Due to the large service area, “tailgating” and home delivery are the program’s primary food distribution methods.  When tailgating, program staff take foods out to communities in temperature-controlled trucks at scheduled dates and times for each service location.  Clients travel a relatively shorter distance to the site to select their foods.

The opportunity to tour the Acoma and Eight Northern facilities, learn about their client services, and meet the dedicated staff members who make the program a success was truly inspirational.

The San Carlos Food Distribution Program held a grand opening and rib­bon cutting ceremony at their new location in downtown San Carlos, Arizona.  The new Food Distribution facility, which was tribally funded and is located in the heart of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, provides a centralized lo­cation, a wider space, room for nutrition courses, and new se­curity and sprinkler systems.  Howard Hooke Jr., Manager of the San Carlos Food Distri­bution Program, shares that the new building is the same size as the old Food Distribution Program build­ing located in Skill Center but has a much roomier layout that includes the lobby, kitchen, several workspaces, freezer room, cheese and produce storage rooms, an electrical room, a loading dock, and warehouse.  Mr. Hooke also comments that there will be more opportunities for edu­cating the community with nutrition and food prepara­tion classes in the new facility noting that the new location increases accessibility for FDPIR clients.

The San Carlos Food Distribu­tion Program first opened its FDPIR doors in 1983 and has been successfully running the program for over 30 years. 

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma opened a new food distribution center in Durant, Oklahoma.  The new FDPIR site provides services to eligible households by implementing the self-service store concept, similar to Choctaw Nation’s Antlers, McAlester, and Poteau Food Distribution Centers.

The self-service store concept means the center is set up like a grocery store with shelving, reach-in coolers and freezers, grocery carts, and check-out counters.  In the new center, instead of a household picking up its full month’s food benefits in one trip to the center, a participating household can visit the new 7,500 square foot center as frequently as needed.  While there are monthly limits to the amount of food provided to a household, now participants have the freedom to choose when, how often, and what to pick up during each shopping trip to the center.  

The Choctaw Nation has been administering FDPIR successfully since 1984.  They currently operate the program from four permanent sites and four tailgate sites located throughout the Choctaw Nation’s 10 ½ county jurisdictional area.  A new building for the McAlester site will be completed this fiscal year, and a new permanent site in the Broken Bow area will be completed next year.

Historically the DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program web application (FFAVORS) used by schools, school districts, and tribal organizations has had the feature of an ‘Automatic Goods Receipt.’  This feature automatically receipts an order 5 business days past its scheduled delivery date.  DoD is now requiring that any automatic receipting process be removed, and each order must be manually receipted.   

In June, the system will prevent a user with an outstanding receipt from placing a new order; in other words, if there is an order with a delivery date more than 5 business days in the past, the ‘Place New Order’ function will not be active.  Once the user has completed the receipt, the new order can be placed.  If you need help with manually receipting orders, please contact your FNS regional office staff.

Here's how to sign up for these updates via GovDelivery:

1. Go to the FNS website: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/food-distribution-programs

2. Click on the red envelope on the row of social media icons on the top right of the page.

3. Enter your email address and click "Submit."

4. Check the boxes to select your topics of interest.  For these e-letters, scroll down to the Food Distribution category and click the plus sign to the left of the check box to expand the list and view all the sub-categories.  Check these sub-categories to receive the corresponding e-letters:

*USDA Foods --> receive all "USDA Foods from Farm to Plate" general + program-specific e-letters

*Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) --> receive "Household Highlights" e-letter

*The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) --> receive "Household Highlights" e-letter

*Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) --> receive "FDPIR Connection" e-letter

*Schools/Child Nutrition Commodity Programs --> receive "Spotlight on Schools" e-letter

5. Update your subscription preferences any time by following the above steps or clicking on the Subscriber Preferences Page link at the bottom of any of the e-letter email messages you receive from GovDelivery.  Questions?  Contact us at USDAFoods@fns.usda.gov