Apr 19, 2020

Up to $3B of agricultural products to be bought by USDA

As part of the April 17 announcement of a $19 billion Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program, USDA on April 19 announced that it is exercising authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute up to $3 billion of agricultural products to those in need.

According to a news release, USDA will partner with regional and local distributors, whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat products.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will procure an estimated $100 million per month in fresh fruits and vegetables, $100 million per month in a variety of dairy products and $100 million per month in meat products to provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks and other non-profits serving Americans in need.

USDA will issue a solicitation in the next two weeks to invite proposals from offerors to supply commodity boxes to non-profit organizations, identified by the offeror, on a mutually agreeable, recurring schedule. USDA will award contracts for the purchase of the agricultural products, the assembly of commodity boxes and delivery to identified non-profit organizations that can receive, store and distribute food items.  

An informational webinar for interested participants will be held at 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, to provide an overview of the program and instructions for submitting offers. Register in advance for this webinar here: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_hDiBdM_aSYmWps0RiO-UAg. If you are unable to participate in the webinar, a recording will be available.

Email questions to [email protected]. To receive updates by e-mail, subscribe online by visiting: “Stay up to date on USDA Food Purchases” available on the AMS Commodity Procurement website.