The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $1.2 billion in contracts to help provide producers and communities with a surplus of food supplies.
The move comes as part of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a form of assistance to purchase and distribute up to $3 billion in agricultural products to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The department will partner with regional and local distributors with a significantly affected workforce due to restaurant and other food supplier closures to purchase fresh produce, dairy, and meat.
The program will purchase $461 million in fresh fruits and vegetables, $317 million in dairy products, $258 million in meat products, and $175 million in a combination of fresh produce, dairy, or meat products.
Suppliers will then package the products into family-sized boxes, then transport them to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other nonprofit groups serving those in need from May 15 to June 30. The dates can be extended depending on the program’s success and what funds are remaining at the end of the current time frame.
“This is a new, innovative approach to provide critical support to American farmers and families, and USDA moved as expeditiously as federal procurement rules allow to stand up the program and solicit offers,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement. “We were pleased to see the abundance of interest from both food distributors and non-profit organizations.”
A list of suppliers will be published Friday evening on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program website. Approved suppliers may increase the number of places they want to distribute resources to as long as they can prove the organization has a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
