Farmers to Families

The Idaho Foodbank has received hundreds of boxes of food from the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The Farmers to Families Food Box distribution is an outdoor drive-thru, where boxes of food are loaded directly into cars trunks or pickup beds. If you can, call ahead – the dates and times are subject to change.

USDA has announced an additional one billion dollars for the Farmers to Families food box program.

So, you know, we worked out a program where all of the food that was being wasted goes to people and helping people during the pandemic.

President Trump and AG Secretary Sonny Perdue made the announcement earlier during a visit to North Carolina. David Cottrell with the Agricultural Marketing Service says under the program, USDA purchases food that would otherwise have gone to the service industry.

Things where you just don't have the people are coming out to you anymore because of the pandemic. So these distributors that had these surplus food, they needed an outlet and people needed food around the country. So we contracted with them to put that food in a food box and ship it to the people who really need it the most.

The program so far has provided more than 70 million food boxes.