Fighting Food Insecurity in Our Native American Tribes: The Haliwa-Saponi

North Carolina is rich with indigenous culture and is home to 8 state-recognized Native American tribes. The Haliwa-Saponi is one of those tribes and their ancestorial homeland is located in the North East Piedmont region of North Carolina. The name Haliwa is derived from the two counties of Halifax and Warren, which has been the home of this tribe since the early 18th century. These counties also fall in the Food Bank’s service area, and we have begun working with the community to address the hunger needs tribal citizens may be facing, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been intentionally reaching people who have been marginalized – even before the pandemic – by supporting and partnering with groups like AMEXCAN, the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry, and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Now, we continue this work with the Native American tribes in North Carolina.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected American Indian and Alaska Native populations across the country. This impact has not only affected their health but their economy as well, and many are facing food insecurity. Even before COVID-19, the tribe had many programs in place to help those in their community, ranging from rental assistance to daycare. Now, they have introduced more programs, primarily based on getting food to those who need it.

When the Food Bank was first approached with an idea of partnership, we did so with the community in mind, and worked with the people they trusted. Kathy Harris has been an active member of the tribe her entire life. She was born and raised in the area and now works as the Director of the Senior Program for the tribe. She also assists in food distribution, which she says has greatly helped keep families and seniors fed during the pandemic.

When asked about the challenges of getting food to the people who need it, Kathy had this to say: “Some people don’t want to come get it because they are afraid. Even at this point, we have people who are still isolated, and they don’t want to come out. Even when we offer to put it in their car, they don’t have to get out.”

The Haliwa-Saponi people look out for one another, keep each other safe and fed. Even when we had to close and couldn’t get out frozen meals to our seniors, we provided shelf-stable ones, so they still have something to eat,” said Kathy. “We just make sure that no one goes hungry. We do our best. There are a lot of different programs that the tribe is involved in, keeping the Native American people informed and help them get jobs. We have come a long way.”

Staff from the Food Bank meets weekly with members of the tribe and hope to one day get a permanent place of operation in the community. The Food Bank and the Haliwa-Saponi tribe will continue this partnership to ensure no one goes hungry, and look forward to working together in the future.