We have so much focus on the $19 billion dollars that USDA has brought out to assist farmers and the Ag industry. Sometimes, we have been hyper-focused on the $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers to alleviate the financial strains of this pandemic. However, there is a second component to this money. That is the three billion going to commodity purchases and food distribution. There are a lot of good things happening because of these programs, but they have not been without their criticisms and intrigue.
United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently oversaw the distribution of food boxes in Pennsylvania. It was there that he took the time to comment on the program and the increase in need because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Perdue praised farmers, processors, and distributors for pitching in and helping during this crisis.
Secretary Perdue says this gives producers another avenue of moving their goods. Perdue said not only is this a financial benefit to farmers, but it also alleviates some of the strain of watching their hard work go to waste because of logistical setbacks in processing. The program also goes into helping people who need assistance, so it is a win-win situation for those who need food and those who have food to share.
However, the program has not been without it is share of criticism and intrigue. There have been questions surrounding the program and the criteria it uses when awarding contracts for food box distributions. Last Friday, Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA 16th) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH 11th) joined with Democrat Stacey Plaskett, the House Delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands, who each chair subcommittees with jurisdiction over USDA food and donation programs, to ask Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to explain the department’s decision making, including why organizations were chosen without proper qualifications.
One of the most highly scrutinized of these is a wedding and event planner based in Texas that received a $39 million contract to distribute food boxes across the American Southwest. It is the seventh-largest contract out of nearly 200 distributors in the food box program. They received their bid two weeks before it had a federal license to distribute fruits and vegetables, according to the USDA’s PACA license database. Businesses are required to have a license and without one can face monetary fines of up to $1,200 for each violation.
Reports from Politico this morning state that the wedding planner has failed to deliver any food boxes yet. The company, CRE8AD8, is responsible to deliver hundreds of thousands of boxes in Texas, Arizona, and other Southwestern states.
Secretary Perdue says the USDA will be scrutinizing these distributors to make sure that they are holding up to their end of the deal. Those distributors who perform will probably see contract extensions.
The Secretary made no comment on the specific contracts that the House members are asking about.
