Trump’s Farmers to Families Food Box program was set to end Dec. 31. Vendors in some states are running out of money already.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Only weeks before the holidays, a $4.5 billion food program that has kept millions of Americans fed through the pandemic is running out of money.
The Farmers to Families Food Box program, a staple of food lines across America, was launched by the Trump administration in May to support struggling farmers and feed jobless Americans battered by the pandemic. It was supposed to provide food support through the end of the year. But because of soaring demand and a shortage of federal money, it is ending a month early in many regions of the country, leaving tens of thousands of families without a critical supply of food.
Anti-hunger experts warned that several other federal food programs are also set to expire, causing food banks across the country to lose about 50 percent of the food they receive from the Agriculture Department, even as food banks report an average 60 percent increase in need. Continue reading.