food banks
Key senator defends decisions on nutrition spending
Congress increased funding significantly for public nutrition programs in the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, said the chairman of the Senate subcommittee in charge of USDA spending on Monday. Congress has come under criticism for unfairly funding food programs in favor of farmers.
Hunger relief will come in the form of the ‘harvest box’
The government will spend $300 million a month to buy fresh produce, dairy and meat products that will be packaged into a box for food banks and other charities to give to hungry Americans, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Some $3 billion will be spent on purchases of surplus foods for donation in an initiative that resembles the "America's Harvest Box" idea promoted by Perdue for delivering a portion of SNAP benefits.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
North Carolina food bank scrambles to feed the hungry
Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina distributed 82 million pounds of food last year, but this year it's scrambling to find the food and volunteers to deliver food directly to people in need, many of them seniors, Barry Yeoman writes in FERN's latest story. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
USDA to buy $50 million worth of milk
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it will buy $50 million worth of fluid milk for distribution to food assistance programs. The purchases would mark the first time that the agency has ever bought fluid milk under a 1935 law that enables the federal government to support farmers by buying up surpluses.
Immigrants cautious of food assistance in Trump era, experts say
Undocumented immigrants have become cautious of seeking food aid in the Trump era because of fears they could be targeted for deportation, said a panel of food security experts last week in San Francisco.
D.C.’s major food bank just cut junk food by 84 percent in a year
A year ago, Washington D.C.’s Capital Area Food Bank — one of the largest food banks in the country — decided to turn away junk food, joining a growing trend of food banks who are trying to offer healthier options to low-income Americans. From soda to chips, the CAFB has reduced the junk food it supplies to its 444 nonprofit partners, including soup kitchens and food pantries, by 84 percent.
In rural Northern California, where food is scarce, one man provides
In Trinity county, California, food can at times be painfully scarce. "It’s a beautiful, remote, rural part of northern California. It’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from," reports Lisa Morehouse in FERN's latest story in partnership with KQED's The California Report.
Food banks brace for SNAP fight
The nation's food banks, worried that demand will overwhelm them if Congress follows through on threats to make substantial cuts to food stamps and other nutrition programs, are making their concerns known to key lawmakers, reports Politico. "Food banks and other anti-hunger charities spent the congressional recess urging lawmakers to protect SNAP, with a special focus on moderate Republicans, who will be key in the fate of their party’s decade-long budget plan."
USDA to buy $20 million worth of cheese to help dairy industry
The USDA said it plans to buy about 11 million pounds of cheese for food banks and pantries across the nation, reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years. The purchase, valued at $20 million, came after a concerted campaign by the dairy industry, which is facing a 35-percent drop in revenues.
D.C. food bank says no to junk food
Beginning this fall, the Capital Area Food Bank, based in Washington, will refuse donations from retailers that include candy, sugary soda or sheet cakes, says Civil Eats. It quotes the food bank's chief executive, Nancy Roman, as saying, "We are providing food on a regular basis to a low-income community and we have a moral obligation that it be good food that's not aggravating their (health) problems."
Texas nonprofit using unsold produce to improve diets of low-income families
Since 2012, a Texas nonprofit has distributed more than 8 million pounds of rescued produce to more than 20,000 low-income families, and claims to be acclimating kids and entire families to prefer a healthier diet built around fresh fruits and vegetables, reports Civil Eats.
USDA releases $1.9 billion for food banks and school meals
Emergency food providers, such as food banks and school meal programs, will receive an additional $1.9 billion for the purchase of U.S.-grown foods, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.