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Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal cuts gut food banks as they face record demand
This is a KFF Health News story. Food bank shortages caused by high demand and cuts to federal aid programs have some residents of a small community that straddles Idaho and Nevada growing their own food to get by. For those living in Duck Valley, a reservation of about 1,000 people that is home to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, there's just one grocery store where prices are too high for many to afford, said Brandy Bull Chief, local director of a federal food distribution program for tribes. The next-closest grocery stores are more than 100 miles away in Mountain Home, Idaho and Elko, Nevada. And the local food bank's troubles are mirrored by many nationwide, squeezed between growing need and shrinking aid. Reggie Premo, a community outreach specialist at the University of Nevada-Reno Extension, grew up cattle ranching and farming alfalfa in Duck Valley. He runs workshops to teach residents to grow produce. Premo said he has seen increased interest from tribal leaders in the state worried about high costs while living in food deserts. MORE: Serving up kindness: How to help food banks, food rescues and more tackle food insecurity this holiday "We're just trying to bring back how it used to be in the old days," Premo said, "when families used to grow gardens." Food bank managers across the country say their supplies have been strained by rising demand since the end of the COVID pandemic-era emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits two years ago and steep inflation in food prices. Now, they say, demand is compounded by recent cuts in federal funding to food distribution programs that supply staple food items to pantries nationwide. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut $500 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which buys food from domestic producers and sends it to pantries nationwide. The program has supplied more than 20% of the distributions by Feeding America, a nonprofit that serves a network of over 200 food banks and 60,000 meal programs. The collision between rising demand and falling support is especially problematic for rural communities, where the federal program can cover 50% or more of food supplied to those in need, said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer of Feeding America. Deepening the challenge for local food aid organizations is an additional $500 million the Trump administration slashed from the USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helped state, tribal and territorial governments buy fresh food from nearby producers. "The urgency of this crisis cannot be overstated," Hall said, adding that the Emergency Food Assistance Program is "rural America's hunger lifeline." Farmers who benefited from the USDA programs that distributed their products to food banks and schools will also be affected. Bill Green is executive director for the Southeast region of Common Market, a nonprofit that connects farmers with organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes and Texas. Green said his organization won't be able to fill the gap left by the federal cuts, but he hopes some schools and other institutions will continue buying from those farmers even after the federal support dries up. "I think that that food access challenge has only been aggravated, and I think we just found the tip of the iceberg on that," he said. MORE: Elon Musk approval low, reflecting opposition to Trump cuts: POLL Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, Nebraska, for example, is experiencing four times the demand this year than in 2018, according to Stephanie Sullivan, its assistant director of marketing and communications. The organization expects to provide food to 580,000 households across the 93 counties it serves in Nebraska and western Iowa this fiscal year, the highest number in its history, she said. "These numbers should be a wake-up call for all of us," Sullivan said. The South Plains Food Bank in Texas projects it will distribute approximately 121,000 food boxes this year to people in need across the 19 counties it serves, compared with an average 90,000 annually before the pandemic. CEO Dina Jeffries said the organization now is serving about 25% more people, while shouldering the burden of decreased funding and food products. In Nevada, the food bank that helps serve communities in the northern part of the state, including the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, provides food to an average of 160,000 people per month. That's a 76% increase over its clientele before the pandemic, and the need continues to rise, said Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing and communications for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Lantrip said one of the most troubling things for the food bank is that the USDA commodities shipped for local distribution often are foods that donations don't usually cover -- things like eggs, dairy and meat. "That's really valuable food to our neighbors," she said. "Protein is very difficult to replace." Forty percent of people who sought assistance from food banks during the pandemic did so for the first time, Hall said. "Many of those families have come to see their neighborhood food bank not as a temporary resource for emergency help but an essential component of their monthly budget equation." About 47 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2023, the most recent USDA data available. Bull Chief, who also runs a small food pantry on the Duck Valley Reservation, said workers drive to Elko to pick up food distributed by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. But sometimes there's not much to choose from. In March, the food pantry cut down its operation to just two weeks a month. She said sometimes they must weigh whether it's worth spending money on gas to pick up a small amount of food. When the food pantry opened in 2020, Bull Chief said, it helped 10 to 20 households a month. That number is 60 or more now, made up of a broad range of community members -- teens fresh out of high school and living on their own, elders and people who don't have permanent housing or jobs. She said providing even small amounts of food can help households make ends meet between paychecks or SNAP benefit deposits. "Whatever they need to get to survive for the month," Bull Chief said. MORE: Some small businesses are on the brink after Trump's spending cuts affect contracts Pinched food banks, elevated need and federal cuts mean there's very little resiliency in the system, Hall said. Additional challenges, like an economic slowdown, policy changes to SNAP or other federal nutrition programs, or natural disasters could render food banks unable to meet needs "because they are stretched to the breaking point right now." A proposed budget resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April would require $1.7 trillion in net funding cuts, and anti-hunger advocates fear SNAP could be a target. More people living in rural parts of the country rely on SNAP than people in urban areas because of higher poverty rates, so they would be disproportionately affected. An extension of the federal 2018 Farm Bill, which lasts until Sept. 30, included about $450 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program for this year. But the funding that remains doesn't offset the cuts, Hall said. He hopes lawmakers pass a new farm bill this year with enough money to do so. "We don't have a food shortage," he said. "We have a shortage of political will." Federal cuts gut food banks as they face record demand originally appeared on
29-04-2025
- Business
Federal cuts gut food banks as they face record demand
This is a KFF Health News story. Food bank shortages caused by high demand and cuts to federal aid programs have some residents of a small community that straddles Idaho and Nevada growing their own food to get by. For those living in Duck Valley, a reservation of about 1,000 people that is home to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, there's just one grocery store where prices are too high for many to afford, said Brandy Bull Chief, local director of a federal food distribution program for tribes. The next-closest grocery stores are more than 100 miles away in Mountain Home, Idaho and Elko, Nevada. And the local food bank's troubles are mirrored by many nationwide, squeezed between growing need and shrinking aid. Reggie Premo, a community outreach specialist at the University of Nevada-Reno Extension, grew up cattle ranching and farming alfalfa in Duck Valley. He runs workshops to teach residents to grow produce. Premo said he has seen increased interest from tribal leaders in the state worried about high costs while living in food deserts. "We're just trying to bring back how it used to be in the old days," Premo said, "when families used to grow gardens." Food bank managers across the country say their supplies have been strained by rising demand since the end of the COVID pandemic-era emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits two years ago and steep inflation in food prices. Now, they say, demand is compounded by recent cuts in federal funding to food distribution programs that supply staple food items to pantries nationwide. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut $500 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which buys food from domestic producers and sends it to pantries nationwide. The program has supplied more than 20% of the distributions by Feeding America, a nonprofit that serves a network of over 200 food banks and 60,000 meal programs. The collision between rising demand and falling support is especially problematic for rural communities, where the federal program can cover 50% or more of food supplied to those in need, said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer of Feeding America. Deepening the challenge for local food aid organizations is an additional $500 million the Trump administration slashed from the USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helped state, tribal and territorial governments buy fresh food from nearby producers. "The urgency of this crisis cannot be overstated," Hall said, adding that the Emergency Food Assistance Program is "rural America's hunger lifeline." Farmers who benefited from the USDA programs that distributed their products to food banks and schools will also be affected. Bill Green is executive director for the Southeast region of Common Market, a nonprofit that connects farmers with organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes and Texas. Green said his organization won't be able to fill the gap left by the federal cuts, but he hopes some schools and other institutions will continue buying from those farmers even after the federal support dries up. "I think that that food access challenge has only been aggravated, and I think we just found the tip of the iceberg on that," he said. Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, Nebraska, for example, is experiencing four times the demand this year than in 2018, according to Stephanie Sullivan, its assistant director of marketing and communications. The organization expects to provide food to 580,000 households across the 93 counties it serves in Nebraska and western Iowa this fiscal year, the highest number in its history, she said. "These numbers should be a wake-up call for all of us," Sullivan said. The South Plains Food Bank in Texas projects it will distribute approximately 121,000 food boxes this year to people in need across the 19 counties it serves, compared with an average 90,000 annually before the pandemic. CEO Dina Jeffries said the organization now is serving about 25% more people, while shouldering the burden of decreased funding and food products. In Nevada, the food bank that helps serve communities in the northern part of the state, including the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, provides food to an average of 160,000 people per month. That's a 76% increase over its clientele before the pandemic, and the need continues to rise, said Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing and communications for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Lantrip said one of the most troubling things for the food bank is that the USDA commodities shipped for local distribution often are foods that donations don't usually cover -- things like eggs, dairy and meat. "That's really valuable food to our neighbors," she said. "Protein is very difficult to replace." Forty percent of people who sought assistance from food banks during the pandemic did so for the first time, Hall said. "Many of those families have come to see their neighborhood food bank not as a temporary resource for emergency help but an essential component of their monthly budget equation." About 47 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2023, the most recent USDA data available. Bull Chief, who also runs a small food pantry on the Duck Valley Reservation, said workers drive to Elko to pick up food distributed by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. But sometimes there's not much to choose from. In March, the food pantry cut down its operation to just two weeks a month. She said sometimes they must weigh whether it's worth spending money on gas to pick up a small amount of food. When the food pantry opened in 2020, Bull Chief said, it helped 10 to 20 households a month. That number is 60 or more now, made up of a broad range of community members -- teens fresh out of high school and living on their own, elders and people who don't have permanent housing or jobs. She said providing even small amounts of food can help households make ends meet between paychecks or SNAP benefit deposits. "Whatever they need to get to survive for the month," Bull Chief said. Pinched food banks, elevated need and federal cuts mean there's very little resiliency in the system, Hall said. Additional challenges, like an economic slowdown, policy changes to SNAP or other federal nutrition programs, or natural disasters could render food banks unable to meet needs "because they are stretched to the breaking point right now." A proposed budget resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April would require $1.7 trillion in net funding cuts, and anti-hunger advocates fear SNAP could be a target. More people living in rural parts of the country rely on SNAP than people in urban areas because of higher poverty rates, so they would be disproportionately affected. An extension of the federal 2018 Farm Bill, which lasts until Sept. 30, included about $450 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program for this year. But the funding that remains doesn't offset the cuts, Hall said. He hopes lawmakers pass a new farm bill this year with enough money to do so. "We don't have a food shortage," he said. "We have a shortage of political will."
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes announces plans for casino between Boise, Mountain Home
The rendering above shows plans for the Shoshone Pauite Tribes' casino. The planned casino will sit near the border of Ada and Elmore counties in southwest Idaho. (Courtesy of the Shoshone-Pauite Tribes) The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes are developing their first resort and casino along Interstate 84 halfway between Boise and Mountain Home. For decades, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes were the only tribe in Idaho without revenue. But the proposed resort and casino is estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars annually for Idaho's economy and create thousands of regional jobs. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes also plan to share 5% of their net gaming revenues to support local schools and education programs. Shoshone-Paiute Chairman Brian Mason said in a press release he dreams of a future where tribal members have the resources, education, health care and employment opportunities they need to sustain their families and preserve their culture. 'Today, we have no meaningful economic opportunities and our community is facing some heavy challenges because of it,' Mason said. 'We want to solve our own problems and provide for our people. Tribal gaming will allow us to make these dreams into a reality.' The tribes are partnering with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, who has successfully run gaming operations in North Idaho for more than 30 years. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is providing a large upfront investment to help with the permitting and development process, and once it is built, the Tribe will enter into a management contract with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes to help sustain the casino. Coeur d'Alene Chairman Chief Allan said the tribe is honored to help its 'brothers and sisters' secure the same benefits they have experienced from gaming. 'When I was growing up, many tribal members lived in poverty and could not find jobs,' Allan said in the press release. 'Today, we have a state-of-the-art medical center, ample employment for tribal members and can financially support every tribal member who wants to earn a college degree. None of this would be possible without tribal gaming.' Tribal gaming already contributes more than $1.4 billion of annual economic activity to the state, over $47 million in annual tax revenue and it sustains 12,500 Idaho jobs, according to a press release from the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. The Duck Valley Indian Reservation spans about 450 square miles in the southwest corner of Idaho, half split into parts of Nevada. The tribes, according to the press release, face high rates of suicide and unemployment, and given its isolated location in the high desert, the Shoshone-Paiute community struggles to provide emergency services to its members. Medical emergencies require lifesaving air transportation to Boise, which takes at least 45 minutes. A typical 911 call can take two hours to be answered because there are no tribal law enforcement officers exclusively dedicated to serving Duck Valley. Education funding is another major issue, and the school cannot attract enough certified teachers because of limited housing and other resources in the area, according to the press release 'The challenges we face daily are not insurmountable. We simply need resources to invest in long-term solutions for our people,' Mason said. 'Gaming will give us the tools we need to strengthen our community, grow our infrastructure and provide more opportunities to our youth for generations to come.' The planned location is where the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes used to live, hunt and care for the natural resources. The planned casino will include gaming machines, luxury hotel rooms, a spa, entertainment center and fine dining options. To build this project on tribal land outside of the reservation, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes will follow the established process set out by the U.S. Department of the Interior and plan to submit their initial application later this year. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two Idaho tribes plan resort and casino near Boise. Here's why
A Native American tribal group with ancestral ties to the Treasure Valley plans to build its first and only casino near Boise. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, based at the Duck Valley Reservation on the Idaho-Nevada state line, said in a news release Wednesday that it's partnering with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in North Idaho to develop and manage the casino. It would be located about 15 miles southeast of Boise. Natalie Podgorski, a spokesperson for the Sho-Pai, told the Idaho Statesman by phone that the Coeur d'Alene Tribe last week bought 561 acres of land, situated in both Ada and Elmore counties, to give to the Sho-Pai for the project. The property is about two miles south of the exit for the Boise Stage Stop on Orchard Access Road. About 40 acres would be used for the casino, she said. The proposed resort and casino is estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars a year for Idaho's economy and create thousands of well-paying jobs, according to the release. It would draw patrons from the more than 780,000 people who live in Ada and Canyon counties, in addition to the nearly 30,000 who live in Elmore County. It would also attract travelers along the route between Boise and Mountain Home. 'Today, we have no meaningful economic opportunities and our community is facing some heavy challenges because of it,' Sho-Pai Chairman Brian Mason said in the release. 'We want to solve our own problems and provide for our people. Tribal gaming will allow us to make these dreams into a reality.' The Coeur d'Alene Tribe will pay for the permitting and construction, according to Podgorski. She said the tribes don't yet have an estimate for how much the project will cost. Once the casino is built, the Sho-Pai would own it and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe would manage it. 'Because this will be the Sho-Pai's first and only casino, they don't have the experience yet,' Podgorski said. 'But the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has been operating gaming in Idaho for more than 30 years. I think the ultimate hope is to empower the Sho-Pai people throughout this project so that eventually, someday, they might fully manage the operation on their own.' Coeur d'Alene Tribe Chairman Chief Allan said in the release that his tribe has experienced the 'transformative power of gaming' and wants to help the Sho-Pai achieve the same. 'When I was growing up, many tribal members lived in poverty and could not find jobs,' Allan said. 'Today, we have a state-of-the-art medical center, ample employment for tribal members and can financially support every tribal member who wants to earn a college degree. None of this would be possible without tribal gaming.' The Sho-Pai don't have a casino on their remote reservation in Southwest Idaho but have been working on plans for a gaming project in the Mountain Home area since the 1990s. Last year, those plans put the Sho-Pai at odds with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, based at the Fort Hall Reservation near Pocatello, who bought land in Elmore County to develop a $311 million gaming enterprise. It would be the Sho-Ban tribes' fourth casino; two are on the reservation and one is in nearby Pocatello. The Sho-Pai urged Gov. Brad Little and the Biden administration to reject the Sho-Bans' proposal, arguing that the Sho-Pai has greater ancestral ties to the territory. Fort Hall is about 180 miles from Mountain Home. Mountain Home, about 90 miles away, is one of the closest sizable cities to the Duck Valley Reservation. The Sho-Pai go to the city to buy goods and services and, for over 40 years, tribal members have been born at a hospital in Mountain Home and elders have had funeral arrangements and embalmings in the Elmore County seat. Mason, the Sho-Pai chairman, told the Statesman last year that while his tribes generally support the economic endeavors of its sister tribes, the Sho-Bans' proposal was 'a bridge too far.' He said the project would relegate his people to continued poverty. The Sho-Pai have about 2,300 members. The Sho-Ban did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Members of the Duck Valley Reservation face high rates of suicide and unemployment, and the community struggles to provide emergency services or adequate education because of its location, according to the release. 'The challenges we face daily are not insurmountable,' Mason said. 'We simply need resources to invest in long-term solutions for our people. Gaming will give us the tools we need to strengthen our community, grow our infrastructure and provide more opportunities to our youth for generations to come.' Podgorski, the Sho-Pai spokesperson, said the casino project includes plans for workforce housing. The casino would be about two-hour drive from the reservation, and she said it'd be unrealistic for tribal members who might work at the casino to commute every day. The Sho-Pai and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe are now working on getting the land into a trust. Then, they'll need to get approval from the Interior Department. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which provides a framework for gaming on Indian land, requires that land used for gaming under the act be held in trust, a process where Interior acquires the title to the land and holds it for the benefit of the tribe. Loosened restrictions have allowed tribes to build casinos on land further afield from their reservations. If the tribes' application is approved, it would then go to Little's desk for his blessing. Little's office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Idaho has Native American casinos in Lewiston, Pocatello, Kamiah, and south of Coeur d'Alene, and on the Fort Hall Reservation. In Jackpot, south of Twin Falls and the Nevada border, is a nontribal casino that includes table games. The casinos in Idaho offer video gaming and bingo, not table games like blackjack, craps and poker. A casino 45 minutes from Boise? A decision nears as tribes spar over whose it should be $13 billion in Idaho gold. A mineral critical to U.S. defense. And fresh fears for salmon 'We survived': Idaho tribes gather in Boise to commemorate ancestral homelands
