On Friday, President Donald Trump announced the plan for a program to help U.S. farmers and ranchers.

The program aims to connect their products to food banks in order to help control the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the food supply chain of the country. The majority of the funding amounting to $16 billion will be released to agricultural producers, who are affected by the decline in the economic performance of the country caused by COVID-19.

Trump praised the farmers and ranchers for their effort and dedication. He said that farmers and ranchers work very hard but do not complain.

Helping out U.S. Farmers

Agriculture Secretary of the United States Sonny Perdue stated that his department would be cooperating with regional distributors to acquire $3 billion worth of produce, meat, and dairy. These goods will be sent to a network of food banks in the country.

The efforts will be dedicated to offsetting the losses of distributors due to the closing of hotels, restaurants, schools, and other businesses practically everywhere in the U.S.

Throwing Away Fresh Produce 

According to a statement during a Coronavirus Task Force meeting in the White House on Friday, it will be very devastating for everyone, especially for those who produce these products, to see their hard work thrown away or wasted.

Earlier in the month, dairy farmers shared that they were throwing away good milk after the widespread closure of restaurants and schools. The foodservice sector acquires approximately half of the total dairy produce of farmers in the United States.

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The Problem to Go Smaller

The sales of dairy products in grocery stores have increased as more citizens of the country spend a lot of their time at home cooking their meals due to stay-at-home orders. However, those bulk acquisitions have dropped.

A lot of the processors supplying dairy products to the foodservice sector do so in huge quantities. They are not equipped with the right resources to decrease their packaging sizes.

More Funds to Help the Food Supply Chain in the Country

Aside from the $19 billion effort, Perdue stated that the Department of Agriculture of the U.S. would be employing another $873.3 million in Section 32 funding, and it will be using $850 million from the stimulus package bill passed in March to assist food banks.

According to a statement by Perdue, there is a need for the food supply chain in the United States to adapt to the changes brought by the COVID-19 crisis. The food supply chain in the country continues to be in a safe, stable, and secure condition due to the hard work of the farmers and ranchers in the U.S., he added.

The program does not only aim to offer relief to the country's farmers and ranchers but also open more opportunities to acquire and distribute agricultural produce to those who are in need.