The Agriculture Department announced this week that it will soon implement the Dairy Donation Program (DDP) as established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted Wednesday at a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that USDA would not continue the Families to Farmers Food Box Program started by the Trump administration but expected to distribute dairy products from the dairy donation program.
“The program will facilitate the timely donation of dairy products to nonprofit organizations who distribute food to persons in need and prevent and minimize food waste,” USDA said in the announcement.
“Because the statute allows retroactive reimbursements of donations made before donation and distribution plans are approved, USDA is providing advance notice of the minimum provisions to be included in the program to encourage the dairy industry to process and donate surplus milk supplies as it moves through the spring
Food-Aid Politics Take Stage as Vilsack Cancels Trump Program bgov.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bgov.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
About DTN
DTN delivers accurate, objective, real-time, and actionable insights to increase our 2 million customers’ confidence and support their business decisions. In a data-rich world, our actionable insights in weather and financial analytics make sense of the information, drive change in processes and help businesses prosper. They empower our agriculture, energy and transportation customers – those who work endlessly to feed, fuel and protect our world. We believe that when our customers are supported with the most reliable and innovative information to the Nth Degree, they prosper and we all win. DTN is based in Minneapolis with offices globally.
WASHINGTON (DTN) In a three-hour, wide-ranging hearing, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday that USDA will end the Farmers to Families Food Box Program established by the Trump administration. However, USDA will continue to distribute the produce and dairy products that became popular with food banks and other beneficiaries.
A year after USDA started the Farmers to Families Food Boxes, USDA now will shut down the program by the end of May.
Vilsack said USDA’s information gathering on the program had shown it had “significant administrative costs and inadequate accounting of where the boxes were delivered” but that he wants to incorporate the best of that program into traditional food distribution programs.