WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Department of Agriculture is ending its popular but expensive Farmers to Families Food Box program, which extended the department’s normal food budget sixfold during the COVID-19 pandemic. In citing the factors behind the shuttering of the Food Box program, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the program also suffered from uneven nationwide distribution, leaving some communities and counties unserved.

The program’s tenets will likely survive in some form, the agriculture secretary hinted. 

“We are obviously trying to take the best of the Food Box program and implement it into our traditional distribution system,” said Vilsack. “I think you’re just going to see it in a slightly different delivery system that is much more efficient and less costly. Which means that we’re going to have more resources, more food for more people.”

Vilsack also announced a new initiative, the Dairy Donation Program (DDP), would soon be rolled out to help dairy producers absorb some of the financial sting of losing the Farmers to Families Food Box program. According to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the DDP will facilitate the timely donation of dairy products to nonprofit organizations who distribute food to persons in need, while also reducing food waste. 

The DDP, which the USDA said will be implemented soon, works like this: Eligibility is open to dairy farmer cooperatives and processors who “account to” a federal milk marketing order (FMMO) and donate dairy products to public or private nonprofit food distribution concerns. Producers must submit a donation and distribution plan for their dairy product(s) to USDA. Reimbursements will be at least equivalent to the minimum classified value of milk used to make the donated product on the date of manufacture, and records relating to the donation of products must be maintained and available for inspection.

The following detailed information about the DDP is provided by USDA-AMS:

“Donation and Distribution Plan Requirements: The legislation requires participating dairy cooperatives and processors have a donation and distribution plan describing the process to be used for the donation, processing, transportation, temporary storage, and distribution of eligible dairy products. The authorizing statute allows for retroactive reimbursement, therefore plans covering donations made since the signing of the statute, December 27, 2020, can be retroactively submitted for approval once the regulations are published. Like the Milk Donation Reimbursement Program (MDRP), the plan will likely need to include: Dairy Organization Name, Contact Person and Title, Primary Mailing Address, Phone and Email Address. This same information would need to be included for the recipient of the donated products including Nonprofit Name, Contact Person and Title, Primary Mailing Address, Phone, Email Address and the nonprofit tax ID number. Appropriate forms for submitting this information will be provided once the regulations are published.

“Reimbursement Rate: The statute requires a reimbursement rate for eligible dairy products at a value that encourages the donation of these products, facilitates orderly marketing, reduces volatility related to significant market disruptions, maintains traditional FMMO class price relationships, or stabilizes on-farm milk prices. The rate also must be sufficient to avoid food waste and not interfere with the commercial marketing of milk or dairy products. Until defined in the regulations, dairy organizations can plan on a rate of reimbursement equal to the minimum classified value of the milk when the donated product was processed.

“Required Documentation: Donating cooperatives and processors will need to keep appropriate documents demonstrating eligibility that may include documentation of the date of production of the donated dairy product, amount paid for the raw milk used to make the product, and proof of donation. In addition, participants will be subject to reviews or audits of the documents to ensure integrity within the program. 

“Supplemental MDRP Reimbursements: For entities participating in the MDRP, supplemental reimbursements will be made equaling the difference between the MDRP reimbursed value and the value reimbursed in the DDP. These supplemental reimbursements will not be made until the DDP becomes effective.”

Through the Food Box program, USDA contractors delivered 157,152,030 boxes of food including fresh produce, milk, dairy and cooked meats in 2020, spending $4 billion.

Vilsack is now focusing on redirecting tax dollars to existing hunger initiatives such as SNAP and other government food distribution systems, according to a USDA spokesperson, in addition to adding the DDP. 

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said he was surprised to hear of Vilsack’s decision to end the food box program, adding that the pandemic had a devastating effect on farmers and families. “The need is still there. We look forward to continue working with Secretary Vilsack and learn how USDA plans to address the heightened need at food banks while providing a destination for the fresh, healthy food being produced by farm families across the country.”