NFBC Co-Chairs Endorse New Legislation Expanding 638

This week, the Native Farm Bill Coalition (NFBC) endorsed new legislation expanding 638 authority to the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) and Frank Lucas (R-OK-03) introduced the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving access to healthy food for Tribal communities across the country.

Davids’ bipartisan bill would give Tribal governments the option to take over the administration of FDPIR for their Tribe. FDPIR provides food to eligible families living on reservations and in nearby approved areas, including parts of Oklahoma. It serves as a critical alternative to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for many Tribal households that face challenges accessing grocery stores. The 2018 Farm Bill established a pilot program that allowed 16 Tribes to administer FDPIR procurement.

“Tribes are not truly sovereign until they are food sovereign. This is why we, as co-chairs of the Native Farm Bill Coalition, support the expansion of self-determination contracting and self-governance compacting authorities to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” said Chairman Cole Miller, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and Kari Jo Lawrence, CEO of the Intertribal Agriculture Council, co-chairs of the Native Farm Bill Coalition.

“When Tribes have the authority to decide what food they purchase and where they purchase the food from for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Tribes are empowered to prioritize purchasing locally produced, fresh foods that promote the well-being of their members. This authority also opens new Tribal economic development and capacity-building opportunities to Tribes that choose to procure FDPIR products from Tribal farmers and ranchers located in and near Indian Country by supporting new markets and strengthening regional food systems. Tribes have shown time and time again that Tribally administered programs are more efficient and effective, and this bipartisan bill is an important step towards food sovereignty.”