Choctaws getting ARRA funds for food distribution

CHOCTAW — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that Indian tribal organizations and states operating the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) will receive approximately $1 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to purchase equipment and improve facilities needed to provide food assistance.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is included in the award.

Through FDPIR, USDA purchases food that is provided to low-income households, including the elderly, living on Indian reservations, and to Native American families residing in designated areas near reservations and in the State of Oklahoma. Currently, there are 271 tribes receiving benefits under FDPIR through 98 Indian tribal organizations and five state agencies. Almost 100,000 individuals receive a monthly FDPIR food package.