Tribal Food Security

Intertribal Food Systems - An Overview

Hunger affects every community in the United States, but Native Americans are disproportionately impacted. Before the pandemic, 1 in 4 Native Americans struggled with hunger—more than twice the rate of white individuals. The pandemic further underscored the food insecurity crisis within Tribal communities. Since 2019, Tribal Nations in Wisconsin and Michigan have been working to strengthen food sovereignty through the expansion of the Tribal Elder Food Box Program (TEFBP). A key result of these efforts is the creation of the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC).

GLIFC is an intertribal partnership comprising all 11 federally recognized Tribes in Wisconsin. Its mission is to address the unique health and economic needs of the Great Lakes Tribes by building a network of Tribal producers and supporting traditional foodways, food access, and economic development within Tribal communities.

Feeding Wisconsin’s partnership with GLIFC helps amplify the efforts led by Tribal Nations in the Great Lakes Region to expand initiatives like the TEFBP, which enhances nutrition security for Tribal Elders while supporting Tribal and local food producers.

MISSION

The mission of the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition is to heal our communities by strengthening our Indigenous food networks.

GOAL

The goal of the Tribal Elder Food Box Program is to increase access to nutritious, culturally meaningful foods for Tribal members over 55 years old. Partners purchase foods from Indigenous and non-Indigenous local producers to pack and deliver Elder desired food boxes to Tribal Distribution Sites.

INSIDE A TYPICAL TRIBAL ELDER FOOD BOX

• 2-3 proteins such as beef, bison, fish, chicken, and pork
• 8-10 produce items such as greens, apples, berries, corn, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and other seasonal produce
• 1-2 shelf stable items such as wild rice, maple syrup, maple sugar, corn mush flour, and popcorn
• Foods are representative of Traditional, Indigenous foods as desired by Tribal Elders.

Tribal Elder Food Box Program

In August of 2021, Tribal and non-Tribal food systems leaders came together to respond to food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in that partnership meeting was Feeding Wisconsin who pulled together funding from Feeding America National Organization (FANO) to begin the Tribal Elder Food Box Program (TEFBP). The TEFBP purchases healthy and culturally specific foods from local Wisconsin producers, with prioritization given to Tribal producers in the Great Lakes Region, and distributes it to Tribal Elders across Wisconsin. In the first year of distributions, the TEFBP delivered a total of 10,800 food boxes to Elders from 7 of the 11 federally recognized Tribes in Wisconsin and purchased from 4 Tribal producers. These food distributions helped address food insecurity issues and support community health and cultural revival.

In 2022, the program expanded to include partnership between all 11 federally recognized Tribes in Wisconsin. Tribal leaders formed the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC) which contains a decision-making governing body consisting of elected representatives from each of the 11 Tribes in Wisconsin. To run the TEFBP, GLIFC partners with many organizations and together, they successfully applied for funding through FANO and the American Rescue Plan Act to expand the TEFBP to serve all 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin, to more than double the number of food boxes being delivered and to purchase 66% more food from Tribal producers. GLIFC also started a Native Producer Capacity and Investment Fund (NPCIF), using FANO dollars, which awarded working capital to Tribal producers for much needed equipment and enabled many to expand their operations.

In 2023, GLIFC and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin expanded program funding through the United States Department of Agriculture Intertribal Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA).

They have focused on building administrative and organizational capacity within GLIFC, increasing distribution to also serve 2 intertribal sites in Milwaukee county, continuing to expand the number of Native producers selling into the TEFBP, and increasing funding to the NPCIF program. 

In 2024, GLIFC and FAEW secured funding through the State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection for the Tribal Elder Community Food Box Program - funding set aside by Governor Evers in support of the TEFBP as a direct result of GLIFC advocacy work. The 2023-2025 State Budget included $1.5 million annually for a Tribal Elder Community Food Box Program and FAEW was funded as a fiscal sponsor in support of the program. Additionally, continued funding from the USDA’s LFPA program is supporting food purchasing for the 2024-2026 TEFBP seasons. Having reliable, long-term funding solutions allows Tribal producers to invest in their operations and encourages additional Tribal producers to begin farming at larger scales.

Watch latest video about the Tribal Elder Food Box Program.

Future Plans of the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition

GLIFC plans to incorporate as a non-profit in late 2024, allowing the Coalition to more easily apply for and accept funding opportunities and expand program operations. Future goals include extending the TEFBP into winter months and expanding producer support programs - including technical assistance and NPCIF-type capital assistance. GLIFC is also working with researchers and Extension professionals at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to support Tribal producers and coordinate Tribally-led research on crop production, climate adaptation, supply chain infrastructure, and community health.

How to Get Involved: Advocacy and Ways to Support

If you are a producer interested in selling into the Tribal Elder Food Box Program, please visit: greatlakesintertribalfood.org and email GLIFC at admin@greatlakesintertribalfood.org

How to Support the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition

If you are interested in contributing to help support this program, please donate below. The link below will take you to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s website to direct allocate donations to the Tribal Elder Box Program. Thank you for your assistance in this important work!

Donate here.