The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced Tuesday that it will buy $50 million worth of fluid milk for distribution to food assistance programs. The agency said it would buy whole, 2 percent, 1 percent, and skim milk in half gallons “to encourage the continued domestic consumption of these products by diverting them from the normal channels of trade and commerce.”
The purchases would be the first time that the USDA has ever bought fluid milk under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, a 1935 law that enables the federal government to support farmers by buying up surpluses. The dairy industry has been plagued by overproduction, which has led to falling prices and the shuttering of hundreds of dairy farms across the country.
The milk industry celebrated the planned buy, emphasizing its potential to enhance the nutrition value of foods available at food banks. “Milk is one of the most requested nutrition staples at food banks, yet it is rarely available,” said Julia Kadison, chief executive officer at MilkPEP, an industry-funded milk promotion organization, in a statement.
Processors must be USDA-approved vendors in order to participate in the buys.