Behind The Scenes: Breakfast-In-A-Bag
Mike (right) is the director at the Turtle Creek Crossing Super Foods store in Mission, South Dakota.
Mike, director at the Turtle Creek Crossing Super Foods store in Mission, South Dakota, has worked in grocery management for thirteen years.
He takes his work seriously and knows that it is incredibly important to build this tribal entity as a community hub — not only for residents of Mission, but for the entire Rosebud Reservation.
Mike jumped at the opportunity to offer the Breakfast-in-a-Bag service to the Elders.
PWNA’s Breakfast-in-a-Bag service, through the Northern Plains Reservation Aid™ (NPRA) program, helps eligible Elders age 62 and over living on the Rosebud Reservation start the day with a healthy meal at home.
“Providing this food service to the Elders of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, many of whom have assumed the responsibility for young children which adds additional strain to their already limited income, is beneficial to the entire community and our store,” Mike explained.
We traveled to the store the first month that the service was offered at this particular store. The parking lot was busy with cars coming and going, most of which had an eligible Elder in the driver or passenger seat.
Customers were welcomed with both English
and Lakota language.
As the automatic doors opened to the store, customers were welcomed with both English and Lakota language, as a sign of respect for those whose first language was Lakota.
Enlarged photos of tribal members from long ago lined the upper portion of the walls as a welcome for community members to the tribally-owned market. Brightly colored Breakfast-in-a-Bag tags were provided near each of the ten items that were located in several areas throughout the store for easy access.
Olivia stated, “This is my first year... the items provided are good, healthy choices.”
A small slip of paper was provided at the front for each Elder that listed the ten items that each Elder could receive. New items were added this year after getting feedback from previous years’ participants. We heard the requests for wheat bread and now Elders were able to select either wheat or white bread, depending on their dietary needs. Elders were also able to select a bag of apples or oranges, in addition to their bananas, as well as a box of granola breakfast bars.
We also caught up with Olivia, a first-timer to the Breakfast-in-a-Bag service since she just turned 62 this year. Olivia was a nurse in White River, a small community about 30 miles north of the grocery store. She stated that, “This is my first year. I’m a nurse in White River and the items provided are good, healthy choices.”
Mike had one lesson he learned from the store’s kick off Breakfast-in-a-Bag week: “We should have had one staff member answering phones. It’s been ringing off the hook!”
Mike, along with PWNA staff member, Tracy, were both all smiles as they stood in front of the items that were selected each month by Rosebud Reservation Elders.
The popularity of this special service has increased. We appreciate the Elders’ feedback on the food choices, so we can continue to offer healthy options.
