June: USDA purchasing $161.4 Million for low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief

USDA Purchasing $161.4 Million in Variety of Foods

June 9, 2010

A month ago Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the USDA’s plan to purchase $161.4 million in a wide variety of foods for federal food and nutrition assistance programs. The purchases will include meat and seafood products such as beef, lamb and catfish, as well as a variety of produce items including fresh and processed apple and pear products, dried figs and plums, strawberries, blackberries, red tart cherries, potatoes and cranberry products.

Feeding America has confirmed most of this food is destined for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a federal program that provides food at no cost to low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief. These foods are provided directly to eligible recipients through emergency feeding organizations like food banks as well as through the local agencies they serve, like food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.

“These purchases are a ‘win-win’ because they help provide healthy food to kids and families throughout the country, while benefiting producers by providing a customer for these products,” Vilsack said in the USDA’s official Newsroom Release.

Government food experts work to ensure that all purchased food is healthy and nutritious. Items are required to meet limits and requirements and are always of domestic origin.

The Feeding America network depends on commodities from the USDA to fill the shelves of local agencies in order to help feed all Americans who are in need of food assistance. Annually, Feeding America estimates that 85% of TEFAP foods move through its nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and the more than 61,000 local agencies they serve.

These purchases will begin reaching food banks within a couple of months and will continue into the beginning of the 2011 calendar year. The amount and variety of food that over $161 million worth of nutritious food commodities will provide the food bank network is truly something to celebrate!