The SNAP and Food Desert Scam

Consider the State of South Dakota. And consider a certain unnamed online liberal-progressive (Regressive) news source.

This week, they proclaimed that South Dakota has a poor, mistreated, ignored, and abused county that had NO stores that would accept SNAP (food stamps) for buying groceries.

That county? Ziebach, located in the northeastern portion of South Dakota’s West River. And about half of the territory of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and their reservation. There was, the story proclaimed, no grocery store or supermarket or major food retailer (like WalMart) in Ziebach County that would accept the SNAP electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. And to make matters worse, Ziebach County has 43.5% of its population who get food stamps. Sixth-highest in the whole united States.

In fact, South Dakota has three counties which are all in the top ten of counties in the whole united States (“who receive SNAP benefits). The other two are also reservation counties: Oglala Lakota County (formerly Shannon County and half of the Oglala Sioux Nation (OST; 43% and eighth nationally), and Todd County, a third of the reservation of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate (RST 49.3%: third). But (to my personal knowledge) both those counties have multiple stores which can and do accept food stamps.

Horrible and shocking, right? Let us look quickly at a map showing Ziebach County:

The map shows the boundaries of Ziebach County.  

The map also shows the major towns in the area. Every one of these towns have grocery stores – not just convenience stores but actual supermarkets. Notice that only Dupree is located in Ziebach County. But it HAS a supermarket: the Dupree-Takini Lakota Thrifty Mart.

So why does the yellow press claim otherwise? Because (as I recall, it’s been several years since I was in Dupree), the Thrifty Mart is actually on the east edge of town and therefore in Dewey County, and not in Ziebach County. (By the way, the LTM is a tribally-owned store, I believe.)

But there is more to the deception: Dupree is the location of the CRST’s commodity food warehouse. A commodity warehouse is essentially a great big foodbank. Everyone who is an enrolled tribal member of CRST can go there and get food. It is a treaty right. Not just government cheese and canned goods, but meat and other foods. So guess what, it isn’t a “store” but a government agency. And they don’t accept SNAP because they provide the food for free!

Yep! For free. It is, as I wrote, a treaty right from way back in 1851 and 1876 when the FedGov forced the Lakota to give up the Black Hills. So “lo, the poor Indian” stories about how Ziebach County are only technically accurate.

There is still more. See those other towns? Eagle Butte is the Tribal Capital, and it has at least one, if not two supermarkets. And tribal food distribution. It is located just a mile or so from Ziebach County. Isabel has a store too, and is located just a couple of miles outside the county. Faith is actually in Meade County, but again, only a couple of miles outside Ziebach County.

The CRST (and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to the north) are NOT densely populated areas, like (say) Phoenix, with hundreds of square miles of dense housing and population densities of thousands of people per square mile. And with a giant supermarket in every section of land (1-square mile). In fact, CRST and SRST and eastern Meade County don’t even have a dozen people per square mile. They are not “rural” but “frontier” when we talk population densities.

Food deserts? Yep. Technically. A county without a single place to pay for food with government handouts? (SNAP benefits?) Yep. In reality, despite its poverty (at least as compared to Phoenix or Denver or Minneapolis-Saint Paul), food is readily available. People – especially children – are NOT starving because of no place accepting food stamps. Or even money.

But that is, of course, unacceptable to Regressives, to Tranzis and socialists and communists, who must make government expand and do all things for all people. Like city-owned supermarkets in NYC. And like Seattle, where the new mayor will deny supermarket chains the lawful ability to close a store. And all the other things to make government more and more essential, powerful, and controlling.

Not that tribally-owned stores are the answer, or good: We know of one more store that used to be tribally owned and operated (also in South Dakota), that had to be subsidized vast sums of money to stay open and could not compete with the two local, privately-owned and -operated stores. Because of poor management, political interference, and an inability to control theft (shoplifting and embezzlement). That tribal council was wise: it contracted out operating the store to a local private company who knew how to run a supermarket. And it is surviving and thriving. (And takes food stamps.)

A close examination of the entire “food desert” areas and maps indicates that most of the so-called food deserts really ARE deserts or at least arid and semi-arid with few inhabitants who all have cars and trucks (and nice neighbors) to help them get food. Or have stores they can use in the next census tract and public transportation or short distances to actually walk.

But it is to government’s benefit, and to the wannabe tyrants, to pretend otherwise.

We learned during the government shutdown that 42 million Americans depend on SNAP: they are getting a handout from government. Using taxpayer’s money which government steals, of course. Like so many other things (including treaty rights, “compassionate conservatism,” and “democracy”), it is a corrupt and abused system. And the longer the lies and the theft and the spending continue, the worse it will get.

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Source: https://freedombunker.com/2025/11/18/the-snap-and-food-desert-scam/