Tribal Food Distribution

Providing Nutritious Foods To Eligible Households

Tribal Food Distribution Program

The Tribal Food Distribution Program

is dedicated to distributing nutritious foods to eligible households living within the seven county service areas (lands in Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain) and fall within USDA regulations.

Service through the Food Distribution Program allows participants to select food items to help meet their nutritional needs. USDA has developed a well-balanced food package for each participating household member. Dry goods, canned fruits, vegetables, meats and a choice of different types of fresh produce and frozen meets are available in the food package. The food packages are based on the size of the family and are to supplement the families’ food needs for the month.

In-person interviews are required for all applicants. Please download the EBCI Tribal Food Distribution Application to learn what information is required and what to bring with you when you come in for your interview. EBCI Per Capita/Genwell distributions are not counted towards income.

This program is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Services are provided through the Food Distribution Center and two tailgate sites.

Cherokee County & Snowbird food is distributed for program participants on the first Tuesday of every month.
Locations:
Snowbird: Jacob Cornsilk Complex 60 Snowbird School Rd., Robbinsville, NC 28771
Cherokee County: John Welch Senior Center 302 Airport Rd., Marble, NC 28905

Income guidelines for eligibility Tribal Foods Guidelines 2025-2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)

 

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.

Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339; or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish).

TRIBAL FOOD POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

TFDP Website: Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians – Tribal Food Distribution Program (ebci-nsn.gov)

Tribal Food Distribution

Physical Address:
2266 Old Mission Rd.
Whittier, NC 28789

Mailing Address:
PO Box 1123
Cherokee, NC 28719

Amelia Owle-Arkansas
Program Manager
(828) 359-9757
email

Main Office Line: 
(828) 359-9751

Hours:
Monday – Friday
7:45 am – 4:30 pm

Appointment Hours (must be scheduled)
Monday – Friday
8:30 am – 3:00 pm

For After Hours:
Amelia Owle-Arkansas: (828) 788-7195
Lindsey Holland-Konieczka: (828) 508-4564
Zach Thompson: (828) 736-5504

Disclaimer

EBCI Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) use a variety of social media options to communicate and interact with the public. Those sites and applications include popular social networking and media sites, such as Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These social networking and media sites are operated by a third party, therefore your activity on these third party sites is governed by the security, privacy policy, and user agreements of those sites, which we have linked to below.
You should review the third-party security, privacy policies, and user agreements before using the sites and ensure that you understand how your information may be used. If you have an account with a third-party Web site, and choose to follow, like, friend, or comment certain information associated with your account may be made available to PHHS based on the privacy policy of the third-party Web site and your privacy settings within that third-party Web site. Therefore, you should also adjust privacy settings on your account to match your preferences.
It is the policy of PHHS that any comments that contain spam or are improper, inflammatory, off-topic or offensive shall be removed. Repeat offenders may be subject to banning.

EBCI PHHS strives to make the information contained on these third party sites as timely and accurate as possible, PHHS makes no claim, promise, or guarantee about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents on these third party sites, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of these sites. Items posted on these third party sites do not necessarily reflect the views or act as endorsements by EBCI PHHS.