Food and Gas Prices Keep Going Up 

Many Native families find themselves in constant distress, especially when it comes to food. The Native American Aid (NAA) program of Partnership With Native Americans® (PWNA) supplies Emergency Food Boxes to Elders through senior centers that focus on elderly nutrition and well-being.  

Oglala Sioux Elder Bernadine T. appreciates the Elderly Meals Program in Allen, South Dakota. Located on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Bernadine mostly gets home deliveries because she is raising her 3-year-old granddaughter by herself. This “grandfamily” situation is common – there is a long and proud tradition of extended family relationships and kinship care in Native cultures. But it can be an incredible strain on an already limited budget. 

Bernadine struggles with health issues, but her biggest concerns are making sure there’s food on the table and heat in the home. She told us, “Food and gas prices keep going up.” It has been a costly winter. She spends $500 every month to heat her house with propane. She spends another $500 each month on food. With no grocery store in Allen, she drives to the next town over, Martin. When she has enough money, she shops in Rapid City, 1 hour and 45 minutes one way, where she can buy more for less.  

A citizen of the Allen community for 40 years, Bernadine raised her five sons there. She looks back fondly on her service with the Badlands Bombing Range project, where she spent 11 years as a community and cultural advisor.  

Our Program Partner Curtis C., supervisor of the Elderly Meals Program, sees the positive effect on Elders who receive Emergency Food Boxes. Bernadine received nutritious food with her delivery, and her excitement soared even more when her eyes fell upon necessities like toilet paper and batteries. 

Bernadine hopes for a better future for her granddaughter. Of U.S. families where a grandparent is the sole caregiver, one-third live in poverty. Her only income to raise her granddaughter is $1,800 per month from social security. She gets no other help. 

Culturally relevant solutions exist for the disparities facing tribes today, but funding has not kept pace to support them. Donate today to help struggling Native Elders like Bernadine.