The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation faces significant challenges when it comes to food security. A recent Washington Post article highlighted these issues, focusing on RF Buche, owner of the reservation’s only full-service supermarket. Buche struggles to keep prices affordable as inflation and supply chain disruptions drive costs up. With unemployment near 80% and over half the population living below the federal poverty line, many families on Pine Ridge face difficult choices about necessities.
The reservation’s lone full-service supermarket, Buche Foods, often charges 20% to 100% more for essentials like potatoes and diapers compared to larger chains. For many residents, the nearest affordable alternative is a Walmart 55 miles away in Chadron, Nebraska. Without personal vehicles, most must pay $25 for a ride, adding to the financial strain. These circumstances force difficult decisions: spend limited funds on nutritious fresh produce or opt for cheaper, less healthy alternatives like frozen pizza or boxed mac and cheese.
As store owner RF Buche notes, “If you got 10 bucks, the first words out of your mouth aren’t a head of lettuce.’ It’s ‘frozen pizza’ or ‘five boxes of mac and cheese.’” Relying heavily on SNAP benefits and other assistance programs, families still struggle to make ends meet, often sacrificing nutrition for affordability. This daily balancing act between food costs and other necessities like housing, utilities, and healthcare underscores the deep-rooted challenges of food insecurity on Pine Ridge, where unemployment hovers near 80% and over half the population live below the federal poverty line.
How Running Strong is Addressing Food Insecurity on Pine Ridge
At Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, we have worked for decades to address these challenges through sustainable, community-driven programs. While we can’t control economic factors like inflation, we can empower people with the tools and knowledge to improve their food security.
1. Mobile Market
Our mobile market is a game-changer. Traversing the reservation’s vast 3,468 square miles, it brings fresh produce from our Medicine Root garden to five communities twice weekly. In 2023, we served 140 families each week. This year, we’re expanding further, even planning winter deliveries for those who can’t reach us.
2. Medicine Root Gardening Program
This 9-month course teaches families to plan, plot, and plant organic home gardens. It goes beyond growing food, including providing critical tools, fencing, irrigation, and seeds, and also including lessons on selling surplus produce at local farmer’s markets and basic accounting for future planning.
3. Expanding Food Distribution
We’re ramping up our efforts:
- 300 food boxes monthly at the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center
- 4,000 boxes on the Cheyenne River reservation in partnership with Eagle Butte Food Pantry
- Our goal: 14,000 food boxes this year, nourishing thousands
These programs are creating real change, right now. We’re not just talking about food sovereignty and community resilience – we’re making it happen. Families are growing their food in over 400 gardens across Pine Ridge. Children are eating nutritious meals every weekend and throughout the summer. Communities are breaking free from the cycle of food insecurity, one harvest at a time.
But there’s more to be done. With your support, we can expand our reach and deepen our impact. Every dollar you donate goes directly into action: more gardens planted, more meals provided, and more communities taking control of their food supply.
The challenges are significant, but our impact is greater. Act now: Your donation plants gardens, fills plates, and changes lives.
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