McMorris Rodgers, Schrier Express Concerns About Food Box Program

On Friday, Washington Congresswomen Kim Schrier and Cathy McMorris Rodgers led the state delegation in sending a letter to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, expressing concerns with the continuation of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

At issue, the recent authorization of $500 million to keep the program running for a 4^th round. The delegation said they appreciate the USDA’s effort to provide certainty for farmers and those who are food insecure. However, they have concerns with unresolved issues related to the 3^rd round of the program. Those concerns include: 

• Hunger relief agency refrigeration and storage capacity concerns,
• Ongoing last mile and administrative coordination failures,
• Food quality and selection issues,
• County-based distribution restrictions that are inconsistent with already established coordinated state-wide disaster response distribution networks,
• Lack of communication with round one and round two participants, and
• Clear preference for large corporations over local producers and non-profits…”

The letter went on to say many farmers in Washington who participated in earlier phases of the program say they were shut out of round three.

Earlier this year, Reps. Schrier and McMorris Rodgers introduced the Farmers Feeding Families Coronavirus Response Act that would create a program similar to the FFFBP, but would rely more on states to coordinate the purchase and distribution of food, as they are more familiar with their local farms and food banks than the federal government is.

Click Here to read the full letter.

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