• While Congress is holding hearings through the government shutdown, there were none scheduled with direct impacts on Tribal food and agriculture this week.  

• Despite the shutdown, the USDA Office of Tribal Relations page still shows two Tribal leader consultations scheduled for Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 over its departmental Reorganization Plan. IFAI is still holding an Oct. 9 Tribal leaders briefing on the reorganization proposal. Read more in our blog post on the details. 

• The USDA is also hosting a virtual consultation on proposed changes to SNAP on Oct. 22 from 1-3 p.m. EST, with virtual-only participation. Register here and see the Federal Register listing for more information.  

Calendar

Tribal Consultation/Listening Sessions/Advisory Committee Meetings:  

About: This consultation will cover one policy and three proposed rules SNAP, administered at the Federal level by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).   

1. SNAP Tribal Work Exception Authorized in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 
2. Proposed Rule: Updated Staple Food Stocking Standards for Retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
3. Interim Final Rule: SNAP Changes to Federal-State Administrative Cost-Sharing 
4. Proposed Rule: SNAP Changes to Federal-State Benefit Cost Sharing 

•  Date(s), Time and Location 
  • Oct. 22, 2025 from 1-3 p.m. EST 
• Proxy Letter Template  
• Tribal Invitation  

About: This consultation series is intended to obtain feedback from Tribal leaders and their officially delegated proxies about the USDA Reorganization Plan published in Secretary Memorandum (SM 1078-015) on July 24, 2025.  

• Date(s), Time, and Location: 
  • Oct. 14, 2025 (Tuesday) at 2-5 p.m. EST 
    • Virtual participation register  here 
    • In-Person participation register  here (1400 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C., 20250) 
  • Oct. 16, 2025 (Thursday) at noon-3 p.m. EST 
    • Virtual participation register here 
    • In-Person participation register here (7001 Yampa Street, Denver, Colorado, 80249)
• Proxy Letter Template 
• Tribal Invitation 

If you would like to register for IFAI’s Tribal briefing, please use the link below.

Congressional Sessions:

Looking back: 

Looking ahead:

Nominations:

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Consultive Committee 

Description: The purpose of this body is to ensure that the interests of U.S. stakeholders are considered in the development of positions and policy relative to U.S. participation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). 

Deadline: Nominations will be accepted at any time.

Regulatory/Rulemaking Actions

• The CDFI Fund is amending its Notice of Funds Availability for the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In section II.C.1 “Climate-Focused Financing” is removed from the list of eligible activities for awards under the NOFA. Section II.C.1 also removes individuals that are African American, Hispanic, Other Pacific Islander, Filipino, or Vietnamese from the definition of “eligible market.” Section II.C.3. edits the definition of “healthy foods” to align with MAHA goals and be consistent with EO 14212. 

Posted: Week of Sept. 29 

• FNS is proposing a new rule that would require SNAP vendors stock at least seven varieties (up from three) of staple foods in the four staple food categories (1) meat, poultry, or fish; (2) dairy; (3) bread or cereals; and (4) vegetables or fruits) of which at least one (1) variety in each of three (3) different staple food categories is perishable. 

Posted: Week of Sept. 29