Oneida Nation - Food Security
Written by Xavier Horkman
For the Indigenous population of the United States, food security is a complex issue that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an August 2020 report released by the Centers for Disease Control, Indigenous people are contracting COVID-19 at a rate greater than 3.5 times that of White people. According to the Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins University, in addition to higher case rates and more severe disease and death, during this pandemic, Native communities have suffered from increased food and water insecurity. Food and water insecurity already impacts 25-40% in many rural tribal communities. Estimates indicate that more than 80% of children in many communities rely on getting their breakfast and lunch at schools that have been closed.
A food box giveaway day at the Oneida Emergency Food Pantry from Summer 2020
But from Oneida Nation Councilman Daniel Guzman-King’s perspective, the pandemic hasn’t necessarily inflated food security needs for the tribe. “The need has always been there for the nation to establish and maintain food security and to exercise its food sovereignty. For myself as an individual councilman, it was a priority for me to get us to become sustainable in our food sovereignty and food security efforts prior to the pandemic. The events and circumstances of the pandemic only proved the need to be sustainable in all that we do.”
The food system that the Oneida Nation has built up has become a varietal array of entities that enables the tribe to undertake a well-rounded approach to tackling this longstanding priority. The Oneida Nation Farm produces cash crop, black angus beef, and grass-fed buffalo. The farm represents the Agriculture Department under the Enterprise Structure of the Oneida Nation. Oneida Nation Farm Enterprise’s key responsibility is the interaction with man, soil, livestock, and wildlife for the agriculture community. With this unique relationship, the use of these resources provides sustenance, income, and employment opportunities.
In 1994, the Oneida Tribe purchased a 2,400 tree Apple Orchard as part of their continuing strategy of reacquiring lands within the original boundaries of the reservation. The Apple Orchard has 30 acres of original orchard and an additional 10 acres of new orchard, which now totals approximately 4,000 trees. Up to twenty varieties of apples are grown here, along with other fresh produce such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, sweetcorn, squash, and pumpkins.
The Oneida Cannery has been innovative in creating healthy food options, while using food preservation techniques to their advantage. Some of these healthy options include apple chips, canned corn soup, corn bread, pickles, jams, juices, and more. Beyond the creative innovation, the Oneida Cannery also engages in providing education to the community and canning services to community members.
The Oneida Emergency Food Pantry was voted by GTC (General Tribal Council) in October 2016, opening its doors in January 2017 to service Community members in need of emergency food help. It has grown tremendously in 2020, as the pantry distributed 3,830 food packages that contained over 176,000 pounds of food to Oneida Tribal households.
The pantry is also a shining example how interconnected the Oneida Nation food system is. Marlon Skenandore, the manager of the pantry, has experienced this interconnectedness firsthand, “We’ve been getting animals from the Oneida Nation Farm, they’ve been able to donate white corn to us. We utilize the Cannery for their services. The Apple Orchard, they offer us storage capacity, refrigerator and freezer space.”
Volunteers from a food box giveaway day in October 2020
Much of the pandemic food distribution by the pantry has been done through weekly food box giveaways, in which recipients were able to drive up and request multiple boxes, no questions asked. Councilman Guzman-King volunteered for many of the distribution days, “It was quite an interesting experience to see how vast the need was and how many people were willing to wait in line for over an hour to receive a box of food. The demand was great week after week.”
Though the need for food security has always been present for the tribe, action was taken by the tribe as the pandemic ignited. Councilman Guzman-King was a part of the execution, “At the beginning of the pandemic we formed a Food Security Team which met on a weekly basis to collaborate and develop plans to meet the immediate food needs of the nation. The team created an extensive document laying out those plans.”
The support and preparation efforts were felt by Marlon and the pantry, “(The team) provided updates from food entities in Oneida making sure we were taken care of and had enough food to distribute. It also looked at how we can improve the food system already in place…Everyone was making sure that I was okay and that we could handle everything that was going to happen, which was one of the most amazing things I’ve actually been a part of.”
The collective action to step up to the plate for food security in the face of such intense difficulty has shown the Oneida Nation’s ability to express its resilience in this arena. Marlon has the utmost confidence in the system the tribe has built up, “After COVID, if something were to happen, we’re going to be ready. We’re going to have more than enough food, and nobody will have to question whether we will be able to handle it, because we’ll already know that we can.”
For Marlon, on a personal level, the impact of his role in the community doesn’t escape him, “I feel blessed that I had the ability and the network to help support me through this pandemic. I was thrust into a larger leadership role and feel proud of our accomplishments at the Pantry. I do get a lot of respect from the community through thanks and gratitude through messages, in person, and social media. Giving back to my Nation where I grew up and graduated from is an amazing feeling that is hard to explain, but I am very prideful and happy I was in a position to help and make an impact.”
