The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is a U.S. department of agriculture.But it’s not the first time It was created to supply new vegetables, fruits, milk and meat to families suffering from food insecurity due to the pandemic, but the boxes now have some other ingredient: a White House letterhead letter signed by President Donald Triunfo.
The nonprofit Feeding America said some of its food banks reported receiving the letter in food boxes, which led to consideration among its members that nonprofits can provide political support.Democratic lawmakers are challenging the letter, which they say is promotional “e” inappropriate “given the timing of the November 3 presidential election, according to an August 14 letter to the USDA.
Lawmakers also said Trump appears to be violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits government officials from employing his official authority in the final results of an election.
Feeding America said it believed that food banks were allowed to distribute boxes containing the letter because it focuses on the aid program and repeats protective tips on hand washing and the practice of social estating.While Trump’s letter does not mention the election or mention his re-election, he praises his own efforts to provide food aid to affected families, stating that “safeguarding the fitness and well-being of our citizens is one of my highest priorities,” according to a copy of the letter notified through CBS MoneyWatch.
The USDA returned a request for comment on the inclusion of the letter in food boxes.
“We’ve heard many of our food banks communicate about those letters,” said Carrie Calvert, Executive Director of Government Relations at Feeding America.”The first was, ‘Is it permissible, as an organization, to distribute the letter?'”
He added: “Since it provides data about the program and is related to the objective of the program, it is allowed and allowed for our food banks to distribute it.”
The USDA distributed about 80 million boxes between May 15 and August 31, according to the agency, but it is not known how many boxes included Trump, which in the past was reported through ProPublica.
The effort recalls Trump’s letter, which was mailed to some 160 million taxpayers who won stimulus checks.These letters were intended to inform others about the one-time payments, but also included praise for the EFFORTs of the US government.But it’s not the first time To help Americans, in difficulty.
In the food box show and in the stimulus verification letters, Trump appears at the bottom of the page. Both letters come with English in one aspect and Spanish in the other.
With the collection checks, Trump gave the impression on the line of notes on the left side of the published checks, many more taxpayers got direct deposits from their bank accounts instead of posted checks.Obama, those checks couldn’t stand the spectacle call at the time.
As for the stimulus letter, Trump’s misivation raises considerations about the use of taxpayers’ cash for the effort.
“A federal food aid program will not be used as a tool for the president to leverage taxpayers’ money for his re-election campaign,” Rep. Marcia Fudge and more than 40 House Democrats wrote in august 14 letter to the USDA.
The Farmers to Families Food Box program evolved through the USDA earlier this year after the pandemic exacerbated a lack of food confidence among US families.But it’s not the first time And it also affected farmers, throwing away milk and farmers to plow the fields.
The USDA Box Program created to help farmers and families in need.The company hired vendors to pack farmers’ food and then deliver the boxes to food banks and other nonprofits, which then distributed them to families.
While the Trump administration has praised the show, others have not been so optimistic.The conservative American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday called food boxes “unnecessary waste” and warned that its $3 billion budget would have been spent more directly on nonprofit food banks.
The program has “created a completely new and dead layer of personal sector ‘distributors’ that increase food delivery prices to families in need,” said Vincent Smith, visiting researcher at the IEA.”Allowing food banks to use cash in the most productive way is tailored to the families they serve, buying from the cheapest and most productive resources available and allowing effective markets to do their jobs.”
Food boxes alleviate some needs,” Calvert said of Feeding America, but food banks have seen an increase in demand that has not declined since the start of the pandemic this year.His organization estimates that there are now 54 million adults with food insecurity and young people in the United States, up from 37 million before the pandemic.
“For food bank communities that have gone to get the food boxes, it’s helpful,” he said.”But this does not fulfill all the additional desires created through the COVID pandemic.”
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