While Americans are lining up for a free set of products, farmers are destroying thousands of tons of unsold products because the U.S. Department of Agriculture is unwilling to buy them.
Americans are starving, the harvest is rotting, U.S. officials have been accused of incompleteness.
This is stated in the material of the “Politico” publication.
According to the media, the development of crisis programs of the Ministry of Agriculture has been delayed, although they could have saved two categories of American citizens at once. The crown-crisis has deprived US farmers of billions of dollars in income, their products are not in demand and are rotting in the fields. At the same time, millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and livelihoods rely solely on food banks to feed themselves and their families.
Earlier News Front reported that the charity “Feeding America” has faced a 70% increase in workload. About 120 thousand people apply to food banks for free meals a week, and a total of 17 million Americans could go hungry.
The head of the San Antonio Food Bank, Eric Cooper, said there is a shortage of products and hope for government programs. At the same time, he knew that they could only be launched by summer.
“This is frustrating”, said Florida’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Nikki Freed. It’s been almost a month since her delegation appealed to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue for help. Specifically, it has been proposed to buy products from farmers and distribute them to those in need.
Former Minister of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stresses that the problem with the collapsed food market is that “food is in one place and demand is somewhere else”. The authorities have been unable to connect these points, complains Vilsak.
Only in mid-April, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the launch of the $19 billion programme. 3 billion should be allocated to buy back farm products. At the same time, the federal authorities have warned that the preparations will take over a month.
“By the time this happens, it will not help Florida”, – said Farmer and Executive Director of the Florida Blueberry Association Brittany Lee.
The ministry also rejected discussion of methods for finding and repurchasing perishables in an emergency.