15-05-2025
Cherokee Nation provides food to children and elders
TAHLEQUAH — The Nowata Food Distribution and Senior Nutrition site celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday.
The Cherokee Nation's Senior Nutrition Program provides seniors across the 14-county reservation with weekly meals and opportunities to fellowship with others.
'We opened our first original site here 13 years ago, and now, just 13 years later, we are serving 771 individuals, and I am just so pleased with that,' District 11 Councilor Kendra McGeady said.
She said that food sovereignty and the ability to meet your nutritional needs matter in many ways.
'This serves as a hub for fellowship and community, and I think that all those things play into the health and wellness of our citizens,' McGeady said.
Cherokee Nation's Nowata Food Distribution Program, which operates in the same facility as the Senior Nutrition Program, serves eligible families nutritious foods and operates in a grocery store environment that allows participants to shop in a comfortable and familiar setting.
The Nowata Food Distribution facility serves over 400 homes and 8,400 people through in-person and home-delivered meals annually.
The new upgrades and expansion of the facilities are an investment of $2.8 million from the Cherokee Nation.
'These improvements to the Nowata Food Distribution Store and Senior Nutrition Site have been a long time coming. It's an incredible feeling knowing that we need to expand, because that means that Cherokees are utilizing these facilities in this community and surrounding communities,' said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
The Nowata facility houses the tribe's senior nutrition site and food distribution store, which started operating in 2012. The new expansion to the building includes a 1,500-square-foot warehouse, a 400-square-foot conference room, a 500-square-foot dining expansion for the senior nutrition program, and a 1,500-square-foot freezer/cooler.
Cherokee Nation is also helping the tribe's youngest citizens with its Summer EBT program, known as 'Sun Bucks. ' This program, offered through Cherokee Nation Public Health's Nutrition Programs, helps families buy nutritious foods during summer.
Cherokee Nation expects to serve an estimated 50,000 children this summer, serving all eligible applicants, whether Cherokee or non-Cherokee citizens.
Qualifying families will receive $120 in food benefits per child on one benefit issuance on an EBT card, which works like a debit card.
Participation in this program will not impact other government assistance participants may receive.
The deadline to apply is August 30.
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