Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians

The Bad River Tribe’s Local Food Purchasing Agreement (BRLFPA) Program is designed to provide low-income tribal members with access to high-quality, locally sourced food, including indigenous foods produced in the Great Lakes region. The Bad River Tribe identified access to treaty-harvested foods and support for local food systems as top priorities in its 2018 Strategic Plan to address persistent food insecurity and high rates of premature death due to diet-related disease. During the two-year program, the Tribe will hire a Project Lead to support the procurement of local foods from other programs (e.g., the Tribal Elder and Community Food Box Program, vendors supplying Badger Boxes for the Hunger Task Force, etc.) and from tribal and non-tribal food producers in the Chequamegon Bay area and within 300 miles of the Bad River Reservation. Traditional foods produced by tribal members, such as wild rice, maple syrup, venison and whitefish will be prioritized for purchase. Food purchased by the Bad River Tribe’s LFPA Program will be distributed by the Project Manager in coordination with the food distribution schedule already established by the Tribe’s Food Distribution Program. Food procurement and delivery will begin as soon as practically possible and continue through 2024. The Bad River Tribe’s LFPA Program expects to serve an average of 100 low-income tribal families monthly and will distribute $230,000 of locally-sourced food over the project period.