ORANGE, Texas — A thousand boxes of food along with a thousand gallons of milk will be given away Saturday afternoon at a church in Orange in support of farmers and families affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Farmers to Families Food Box Program” will be providing the food and milk to be distributed at 2 p.m. at the Orange Church of God on Saturday, July 11, 2020, according to a Facebook post by the church.
The food and milk will be handed out until its all gone at the church at 1911 N. 16th Street in Orange the post said.
“The Farmers to Families Food Box Program was designed to put American farmers and distributors of all sizes back to work while supporting over-burdened food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need, and the program is doing just that,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was quoted as saying in a USDA news release.
The program has given out more than 5 million food boxes so far the release said.
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The program is designed not only to aid families but to help farmers by buying their food during the pandemic.
The food box program is part of the USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program which is part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
From the USDA…
As part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Secretary Perdue announced on April 17, USDA is exercising authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need.
Through this program, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is partnering with national, regional and local suppliers, whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses, to purchase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products.
The program will supply boxes packaged with fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat products and a combination box of fresh produce, dairy or meat products.
Suppliers will package these products into family-sized boxes, then transport them to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.
The first round of purchases totaling up to $1.2 billion occurred from May 15 through June 30, 2020.
The second round will aim to purchase up to $1.47 billion July 1 through August 31, 2020.
AMS may elect to extend the period of performance of the contracts, via option periods, dependent upon program success and available remaining funds, up to $3 billion.
