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TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Nation has been honored for commitment to customer service within its Food Distribution program.

(Left to Right) Bud Squirrel, Cherokee Nation Food Distribution manager, Ronald Rhodes, Regional Director of Special Nutrition Programs, USDA, Jerry Snell, director Family Assistance programs at the Cherokee Nation; Phil Cohen, Branch Chief of the Household Program Branch, D.C.

The United States Department of Agriculture presented the "Outreach Award" to the Cherokee Nation’s Food Distribution program for the nation’s new distribution outlets in Salina, Stilwell and Sallisaw.

"We are committed to bringing our services to communities', said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. "These new sites allow us to serve our people with the dignity they deserve."

The new centers replace seven "tailgate sites" where the clients had to stand out in the elements on a certain day to pick up their allotment of food from the back of a truck.

"The Food Distribution Center concept was developed by the Cherokee Nation and is being copied by other Indian Tribes across the United States as the ideal way to provide program services", said Bud Squirrel, manager of the Cherokee Nation’s Food Distribution program.

The USDA also honored the Cherokee Nation Food Distribution program with a "Special Recognition Award" for its outstanding efforts on behalf of the Southwest Region's nutrition education task force to produce the monthly newsletter, The Southwest Chili Pepper News.