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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
Program Assessment

Program

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Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

This program provides commodities to low-income households residing on Indian reservations and low-income Native American households residing in designated areas near reservations and in Oklahoma. It is an alternative to the Food Stamp Program set up to serve people in remote areas with inadequate access to food stores.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • The program helps low-income Native Americans in areas with limited access to food stores meet their food needs. A 1990 study found that, in most regions, up to 30 percent of program participants would have to travel more than 20 miles to the nearest grocery store that sold fresh meat and produce, and up to 40 percent would have to travel more than 20 miles to a Food Stamp Program office.
  • While the nutrient content of the food package offered to program participants has improved over time, further improvements can be made. The percentage of calories from saturated fat is higher than the recommended amount in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  • The program's effectiveness is reduced by its current method for allocating administrative funds across regions. The current approach is based on a historical formula that does not objectively or equitably distribute funds among grantees.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Partnering with Indian tribal organizations to develop a method of allocating administrative funds that is more equitable and better supports program operations.
  • Improving the nutrient content of the food package.
  • Developing nutrition education services for program participants.

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