Tribal officials break ground on new food distribution center in Broken Bow.
Broken Bow Food Distribution Center coming in 2015
by Brandon Frye
Choctaw Nation
Broken Bow, Okla. - Officials, dignitaries, and locals broke ground on the new Broken Bow Food Distribution Center, near the current community center in Broken Bow, marking the beginning of construction for the site on Nov. 20.
Chief Gary Batton, Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr., and Council Member Tony Messenger lead the event, as well as the group of shovel-wielding officials who first moved earth at 210 S. Chahta Road.
“This has been needed in the Broken Bow area for a long period of time, food is very essential to us,” Batton said. He added the council this year passed a budget to build the Broken Bow Food Distribution Center as well as one in McAlester.
“This will be your new commodity warehouse, you can come and get what you want,” Council Member Tony Messenger said. “You don’t have to get it all at one time, you can make another trip to come down, and it is all going to be right here.”
The new food distribution center, a food market, will allow eligible tribal members to shop in a store, choosing their own food rather than having it supplied in bulk without option. The new method will also allow members to spread visits out over time, rather than receiving it all at once each month.
Speaking on the shopping experience at these food markets, Jerry Tonubbee, Director of Food Distribution, said, “it will be just like any grocery store. They can shop for their own food and go through the check out counter. The only difference is, it doesn’t ask for money.”
Tonubbee said how much a household can receive depends on family size, or the number of people living in the household, and eligibility is based on the following requirements: a member of the household must have a CDIB from any federally recognized tribe, the household must be within the 10.5 counties, and the household must be within the USDA established guidelines for income (a household of one cannot have more than a net income of $1,128 per month, while a household of 8 could make as much as $3,562).
“We have tribal members trying to make ends meet, elders in need of assistance, and many do not have the gas to travel long distances,” Tonubbee said. “So strategically placing these centers in areas of need will serve the Choctaw people.”
The McAlester and Broken Bow food markets, or food distribution centers, are projected to be completed by July 2015.