A group of Senate Democrats urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prioritize funding for emergency food assistance.
Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) lead a group of 26 other senators in sending a letter Thursday to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack calling on him to make emergency purchases to help food banks stock nutritious food through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).
{mosads}The senators said if emergency purchases aren’t made this fiscal year, federal support for TEFAP will drop more than $100 million.
“TEFAP commodities are critical to emergency food providers, and, more importantly, to struggling American families,” the senators wrote. “Yet, our nation’s food banks continue to struggle to meet the sustained high need in their communities.”
The senators said one in eight Americans rely on emergency food assistance each year. They said if TEFAP funding drops it could “seriously deplete” food bank stocks.
“Without additional TEFAP commodities, these agencies will be hard-pressed to continue providing current levels of food assistance to those in need,” the letter stated. “We encourage you to utilize your existing funds and authority to fulfill TEFAP commodity purchases.”
The senators said Vilsack could use funds already appropriated to close the shortfall as well as price and market support programs to meet food banks’ needs for commodities.