USDA’s Farmers to Families to Food Box Program to end, but produce boxes will continue

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The era of the Farmers to Families Food Box program will soon be over. 

Since it was created in the spring of 2020, approved contractors with the program delivered 157.1 million boxes of fresh produce, milk, dairy and cooked meats to Americans across the country.

Round five of the Farmers to Families Food Box program will wind down at the end of April, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the USDA  fresh produce boxes will now be delivered as part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program. In testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Vilsack said the Farmers to Families Food Box Program had many problems. “There was a significant difference of administrative costs. In some cases, people were charged a tremendous amount just to fill the boxes. There was inadequate accounting of where the boxes were actually delivered. There was a lot of food waste and loss that we uncovered as a result of these listening sessions.”


“Our theory is that we create opportunities through the TEFAP program through what exists with our food banks and our food pantry system, which is incredibly efficient and incredibly effective at getting resources out to folks,” Vilsack told the subcommittee, promising to take the “best” of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program and implement those features in the traditional assistance programs.

In a news release, the USDA said produce boxes will be part of the TEFAP program for the remainder of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Vilsack said President Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget will ask for more funds for the TEFAP program.

“Food banks are one of USDA’s most important partners in responding to the rising food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Stacy Dean said in a statement. 

“And we’ve been putting our ear to the ground from day one of this administration to learn how we can be more responsive to their needs. Food banks have asked that we support them with more fresh produce, so we are excited to provide a new fresh produce box to states for their network of foodbanks participating in The Emergency Food Assistance Program.”

The USDA will be offering boxes of pre-packed fresh produce through TEFAP in addition to the single varieties that are already available to order, according to the release.

In a statement, the United Fresh Produce Association said the inclusion of fresh produce boxes in TEFAP was positive, but more is needed. “United Fresh appreciates that USDA is including fresh produce boxes in the TEFAP program, but strongly urges that a new produce box program be developed as part of a fundamental realignment of USDA feeding programs,” United Fresh said in a statement. 

“USDA recently concluded its public listening session and comment period in which it was heard loud and clear across the country that this program is an important new way to deliver fresh, healthy foods to people in need.” United Fresh said its 80-member working group on the Produce Box Program submitted about 30 recommendations to USDA on ways to best implement the program for the future. 

“We look forward to continuing our dialogue with USDA leaders on implementing a much broader new program. The issues that created this program have not gone away,” said Alex DiNovo, president and COO of Columbus, Ohio-based DNO Produce.” My hope is that there will still be ample opportunity through TEFAP for small businesses in the produce industry to give health to the food insecure of our nation.”

USDA purchases

The USDA said the TEFAP program fresh produce package will include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that meet the following requirements:

  • A 10–12-pound package that includes a minimum of at least four of the following: 3-5 pounds of vegetables (no more than 3 pounds of root vegetables; i.e., potatoes, yams, carrots, onions, etc.), 3-5 pounds of fruit; at least 2 locally grown fruit or vegetable items, as available, and if not available, add an additional fruit and vegetable item to meet a minimum package weight range of 10-12 pounds; and 
  • Packages will be expected to have a shelf life of 7-10 days once delivered to the location listed on the contract.

“We want USDA food purchases to both feed the community and build the local market for growers,” USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Mae Wu said in a statement. “AMS has been fortunate to add hundreds of new small businesses to its vendor pool recently and hopes to keep growing that list. These small businesses have enabled AMS to purchase more American grown and produced products than ever before, and to support more small businesses and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. We look forward to working with new and existing vendors to support the TEFAP Fresh Produce Initiative.”

 

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