“This is very welcome news from Secretary Perdue, Undersecretary Ibach, and the entire team at USDA. Given the size of the crisis involving potatoes, this purchase is a partial down payment on the industry’s overall relief needs and more will be needed. In the short term, the announcement is very positive in that it provides clarity on the immediate relief efforts and gives family farms hope for more to come,” said Britt Raybould, NPC President.
“Due to mandated shutdowns, the U.S. potato industry has been reeling from an oversupply of processing potatoes left over from the 2019 harvest,” said NPC CEO Kam Quarles. “Individual potato growers and state potato associations have distributed millions of pounds of potatoes to charities, food banks, and local drop off locations nationwide, incurring substantial financial losses in support of the needy despite their own businesses being threatened by the pandemic. We believe this announcement is the federal government’s response to those efforts and look forward to their partnership in the future.”
According to the announcement, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will purchase a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and seafood products. These “USDA Foods” will then be provided to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) nutrition assistance programs, including food banks.