The COVID-19 pandemic has put an enormous strain on our local food banks given the increasingly long lines across the country. Alternately, farmers are experiencing decreased consumption due to lost markets, creating an abundance of supply. Together, they are helping feed America:
In a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, the two organizations recommended that the Dept. of Agriculture expand its partnership with American farmers to address surging food bank demand.
They’re proposing that farmers affected by lost markets move their products directly to food banks instead, using a SDA-managed voucher program.
The letter outlines the groups’ concerns that excess produce in some places has been thrown out and let to rot due to a perceived oversupply while food banks simultaneously are failing to meet an increase in demand.
