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A $4.5 billion Trump food program is running out of money early, leaving families hungry and ...
Business
A $4.5 billion Trump food program is running out of money early, leaving families hungry and food assistance charities scrambling
Trump’s Farmers to Families Food Box program was set to end Dec. 31. Vendors in some states are running out of money already.
By Laura Reiley and Greg Jaffe
Dec. 8, 2020 at 7:04 a.m. EST
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Only weeks before the holidays, a $4.5 billion food program that has kept millions of Americans fed through the pandemic is running out of money. ... The Farmers to Families Food Box program, a staple of food lines across America, was launched by the Trump administration in May to support struggling farmers and feed jobless Americans battered by the pandemic. It was supposed to provide food support through the end of the year. But because of soaring demand and a shortage of federal money, it is ending a month early in many regions of the country, leaving tens of thousands of families without a critical supply of food.
Anti-hunger experts warned that several other federal food programs are also set to expire, causing food banks across the country to lose about 50 percent of the food they receive from the Agriculture Department, even as food banks report an average 60 percent increase in need. ... The program has gone through four rounds of funding since it began this spring: $1.2 billion in contracts were awarded in the first round, $1.76 billion in the second, and $1 billion in the third. The fourth round was cut to $500 million. The USDA, in a statement, acknowledged that the amount of funding in that last round, which covered November and December, “resulted in some non-profits being unable to participate and fewer box deliveries.”
But the USDA added that many nonprofit organizations chose to receive the boxes at a higher rate earlier in the program with the understanding that this would deplete supplies for the last two months of the year. But multiple nonprofit organizations interviewed by The Washington Post said they were not apprised of the limited food resources for this round.
“The needs are beyond what we can comprehend,” said Lawdia Kennedy, who oversees a biweekly food drive in suburban Atlanta. “We had three truckloads scheduled for Saturday and they just vanished. Six states are right now being told there will be no food, right before Christmas. It’s hard to put into words what this means for the families I serve.”
{snip}
Kelly Madison, left, and Lori Mannel wait for food at the Seasons Florida Resort. (Eve Edelheit for The Washington Post)
{snip}
Canned and dry goods and corn were handed out at the Seasons Florida Resort in Kissimmee on Saturday. (Eve Edelheit for The Washington Post)
{snip. Goya. It turns out they can give it away.}
Laura Reiley
Laura Reiley is the business of food reporter. She was previously a food critic at the Tampa Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun. She has authored four books, has cooked professionally and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. She is a two-time James Beard finalist and in 2017 was a Pulitzer finalist. Follow https://twitter.com/lreiley
Greg Jaffe
Greg Jaffe is a national political reporter for The Washington Post, where he has been since March 2009. Previously, he covered the White House, foreign policy and the U.S. military for The Post. Follow https://twitter.com/GregJaffe
A $4.5 billion Trump food program is running out of money early, leaving families hungry and food assistance charities scrambling
Trump’s Farmers to Families Food Box program was set to end Dec. 31. Vendors in some states are running out of money already.
By Laura Reiley and Greg Jaffe
Dec. 8, 2020 at 7:04 a.m. EST
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Only weeks before the holidays, a $4.5 billion food program that has kept millions of Americans fed through the pandemic is running out of money. ... The Farmers to Families Food Box program, a staple of food lines across America, was launched by the Trump administration in May to support struggling farmers and feed jobless Americans battered by the pandemic. It was supposed to provide food support through the end of the year. But because of soaring demand and a shortage of federal money, it is ending a month early in many regions of the country, leaving tens of thousands of families without a critical supply of food.
Anti-hunger experts warned that several other federal food programs are also set to expire, causing food banks across the country to lose about 50 percent of the food they receive from the Agriculture Department, even as food banks report an average 60 percent increase in need. ... The program has gone through four rounds of funding since it began this spring: $1.2 billion in contracts were awarded in the first round, $1.76 billion in the second, and $1 billion in the third. The fourth round was cut to $500 million. The USDA, in a statement, acknowledged that the amount of funding in that last round, which covered November and December, “resulted in some non-profits being unable to participate and fewer box deliveries.”
But the USDA added that many nonprofit organizations chose to receive the boxes at a higher rate earlier in the program with the understanding that this would deplete supplies for the last two months of the year. But multiple nonprofit organizations interviewed by The Washington Post said they were not apprised of the limited food resources for this round.
“The needs are beyond what we can comprehend,” said Lawdia Kennedy, who oversees a biweekly food drive in suburban Atlanta. “We had three truckloads scheduled for Saturday and they just vanished. Six states are right now being told there will be no food, right before Christmas. It’s hard to put into words what this means for the families I serve.”
{snip}
Kelly Madison, left, and Lori Mannel wait for food at the Seasons Florida Resort. (Eve Edelheit for The Washington Post)
{snip}
Canned and dry goods and corn were handed out at the Seasons Florida Resort in Kissimmee on Saturday. (Eve Edelheit for The Washington Post)
{snip. Goya. It turns out they can give it away.}
Laura Reiley
Laura Reiley is the business of food reporter. She was previously a food critic at the Tampa Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun. She has authored four books, has cooked professionally and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. She is a two-time James Beard finalist and in 2017 was a Pulitzer finalist. Follow https://twitter.com/lreiley
Greg Jaffe
Greg Jaffe is a national political reporter for The Washington Post, where he has been since March 2009. Previously, he covered the White House, foreign policy and the U.S. military for The Post. Follow https://twitter.com/GregJaffe
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