House Ag Committee Dems criticize USDA for giving food box delivery program contracts to inexperienced distributors - Entrepreneur Generations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is facing increasing criticism from House Democrats on the Agriculture Committee for awarding contracts for its food box delivery program to poorly vetted distributors, the Food & Environment Reporting Network reports. The recent CARES Act allotted $3 billion for the government to directly purchase agricultural products from American farmers and distribute them to food banks and similar non-profits. The USDA recently announced it will accomplish that through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, and has awarded $1.2 billion in contracts thus far.

But some of the distributors who received large contracts appeared to have little experience with large-scale food distribution, including a Texas wedding and event planner who was awarded a $39 million contract but made dubious claims about its credentials, FERN reports. The USDA also awarded a $40 million contract, now canceled, to a small California produce company that sells avocados online.

Three leaders of House Agriculture subcommittees (Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Jim Costa of California, and Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands) wrote in an open letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue: "We share USDA’s goal of providing effective and timely assistance to families, farmers, and food supply businesses like food distributors. We are concerned, however, that contracts were awarded to entities with little to no experience in agriculture or food distribution and with little capacity to meet the obligations of their award."

The letter asked Perdue to explain the USDA's decision-making process, and why contracts were awarded to distributors without the proper experience. "At a time when the farm economy continues to suffer and families across the country face increasing food insecurity, it is our shared goal that this program fulfill its stated mission to support the domestic agriculture industry and provide critical assistance to families in need," the letter said.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2X1rgmt House Ag Committee Dems criticize USDA for giving food box delivery program contracts to inexperienced distributors - Entrepreneur Generations

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