The investment is part of the Department’s broader commitment to strengthening the supply chain and making nutritious food more accessible for families.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will provide close to $2 billion in additional funding to food banks and school meal programs for purchasing American-grown foods. The additional support will help these organizations endure supply chain challenges and elevated food costs as they continue to fulfil their mission of providing nutritious foods to kids and families in need.
The funds, provided through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, or CCC, will be used in three ways:
- Nearly $1 billion to purchase food for emergency food providers like food banks
- Nearly $500 million to expand the Local Food Purchase Assistance, or LFPA, cooperative agreement program.
- Nearly $500 million for schools across the country to purchase food for their lunch and breakfast programs, bringing the total CCC investment in school food.
Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretory said, “Funding these initiatives is paramount in the fight against hunger, and further demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA’s commitment to strengthen food and nutrition security.”
Jenny Lester Moffitt, Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said “These programs directly connect American producers with food banks and schools, strengthening our rural economies while helping those most in need.”
USDA will use $943 million to procure USDA Foods for use by emergency feeding organizations facing increased need. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Food and Nutrition Service will work jointly to identify products most likely to be available for purchase, and offer those products based on a formula to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, State agencies for further distribution to local agencies, primarily food banks. USDA will open orders in Fiscal Year 2023, with deliveries occurring on an ongoing basis throughout Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024.
