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- By Chez Oxendine
- Food | Agriculture
The Native Farm Bill Coalition is urging senators to restore a tribal food purchasing pilot omitted from the House farm bill, warning that the program’s future could be in jeopardy if Congress fails to explicitly reauthorize it.
The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) self-determination pilot allows participating tribes to purchase local and traditional food for federal food distribution programs rather than relying entirely on food shipped through USDA warehouses. Tribal leaders say the pilot program has improved access to culturally relevant foods, supported Native producers and helped communities navigate supply chain disruptions.
The bill approved in April by the House — called the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 — does not reauthorize or expand the pilot, despite bipartisan support for the program. Native agriculture advocates say the omission stemmed largely from a disputed Congressional Budget Office estimate that projected the cost of making the underlying self-determination authority permanent at more than $380 million over 10 years.
Kayla Gebeck, a principal at Giizhik Law PLLC who works with the coalition and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, said advocates are concerned the pilot could disappear if Congress does not explicitly extend it in statute.
“The House Agriculture Committee has the impression that even though the authority is not referenced, it doesn’t mean that the program will go away,” Gebeck said. “But from experience of working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, unless something is explicitly written out, we cannot guarantee that they will implement it.”
The pilot, established in the 2018 Farm Bill and commonly referred to as a “638 program,” allows participating tribes to purchase from local producers and suppliers using a self-determination model similar to other federal programs administered by tribes.
Tribal leaders say the pilot has done more than expand access to traditional foods. The program also helps participating tribes manage supply-chain disruptions, allowing them to source food locally when federal shipments are delayed. Coalition leaders and policymakers point to the 2024 USDA warehouse disruptions as evidence that tribes participating in the FDPIR pilot were able to adapt more quickly than communities relying solely on the federal food distribution system.
Mary Green Trottier, president of the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations, said the pilot program allowed her tribe, Spirit Lake, to respond to food shortages caused by disruptions, preventing people from going hungry.
“The self-determination grants have been a big boost to our program,” Trottier said. “[They were] a godsend for Spirit Lake.”
The program drew increased scrutiny after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2024 that permanently authorizing and expanding the FDPIR self-determination authority behind the pilot would cost more than $380 million in 10 years. The estimate was based, in part, on assumptions that tribal food purchasing would cost more than food procured through the USDA.
Native agriculture advocates challenged the estimate. In an August 2024 letter to USDA, the Native Farm Bill Coalition said the analysis relied on information provided by the agency and questioned assumptions that tribal procurement would be significantly more expensive than federal purchasing. The coalition also argued the estimate failed to account for administrative efficiencies associated with tribal self-determination programs.
The coalition's concerns drew support from Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. In a March 2026 letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.), Cole argued that the CBO had not considered key details about how the self-determination contracts operate and urged the committee to seek an updated review of the proposal. Cole also wrote that tribes often administer programs more efficiently than the federal government, reducing costs while generating economic development in Native and rural communities.
Gebeck said Thompson (R-Pa.), who sponsored the bill, supported reauthorizing FDPIR self-determination but was unable to identify a budget offset that would allow the provision to move forward.
With the bill now before the Senate, coalition leaders are pushing lawmakers to restore the pilot in the upper chamber’s version of the legislation. Gebeck said House Agriculture Committee staff have indicated they would not oppose the provision if it is included in the Senate bill.
Senators on both sides of the aisle supported the authority and would work to include the language in the bill, Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) told Tribal Business News.
“Any Farm Bill that moves forward should include expansion of self-determination for FDPIR, a strongly bipartisan priority that Senator [John] Hoeven and I have worked on for years,” Smith said. “The FDPIR Self-Determination Demonstration Program has been highly successful and it’s time to expand it so more tribal nations can benefit.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also voiced support for the program, pointing to her Improving Agriculture, Research, Cultivation, Timber, and Indigenous Commodities (ARCTIC) Act as another potential vehicle for expanding FDPIR self-determination.
“In many Alaska Native villages a simple item such as milk or soup costs several times more than other urban locations,” Murkowski said. “That’s why I’ve worked so hard to support this program — to help strengthen tribal food sovereignty by expanding Native communities’ access to healthy, traditional, and locally sourced foods.”
Speaking with the Senate isn’t just an opportunity to renew the existing pilot, but to improve on it, Gebeck said. The coalition is urging lawmakers to make the self-determination authority permanent and restructure the program so more tribes can participate. Currently, 16 tribes and tribal organizations use the authority, according to the coalition. Under the current pilot, funding limitations mean only a small number of tribes can take part, and none are able to fully assume responsibility for purchasing all of the food they receive through FDPIR, she said.
“The gap is that more tribes can’t participate in the program, and no tribe is able to fully take over purchasing all the food that they currently receive from USDA because the money is too small,” Gebeck said. “With that reworked authority, the tribe could choose to purchase all of their food, or they could just want to do traditional foods. It would be more flexible and more accessible.”
Brian Edwards contributed reporting.
