Coronavirus pandemic: USDA program supplies food banks, creates jobs in SoCal [KABC TV, Los Angeles}
… With so many in Southern California out of work, demand at food banks has skyrocketed, up 80 percent at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank alone. A shortage of food hasn’t been the problem, but rather a disrupted supply chain. … Thanks to the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress, the Department of Agriculture was granted $3 billion dollars for its Farmers to Families Food Box Program, paying farmers for their surplus food and distributing it to food banks. Don Lee Farms is one of companies awarded a multi-million dollar contract by the USDA to produce 20 pound boxes of food and they’re feeding 1 million people a day.
https://abc7.com/coronavirus-covid-pandemic-department-of-agriculture/6205490/
Trump’s signature effort to direct farm surplus to needy families abruptly withdraws large contract amid criticism of rollout [Washington Post]
The Trump administration withdrew one of the largest contracts in its signature effort to use farm surplus to feed hungry Americans, capping a chaotic process that industry experts say relied too heavily on companies with little demonstrated experience in farming, food chains or food banks. … The USDA bypassed the country’s three largest food distribution companies, as well as nonprofit organizations with long histories of feeding the poor on a large scale, according to Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA).
Farmer John meatpackers demand closing of Vernon plant struck by COVID-19 outbreak [Los Angeles Times]
The union that represents workers at a Vernon meatpacking plant where at least 153 have come down with COVID-19 called Monday for the immediate closure of the facility, saying there was no evidence measures taken to control the coronavirus were working. The outbreak at the Farmer John plant, a division of Smithfield Foods that produces Dodger Dogs and other pork products, is by far the largest in Los Angeles County to occur outside of a nursing home, prison or other residential setting, according to data from the county’s Public Health Department.
When life dries up: Klamath Basin faces renewed conflict, as drought saps the water and farmers run out of time [San Francisco Chronicle]
… In a handful of counties along the rural Oregon border, where late-season rains have done little to sate the parched forests and dusty plains, hundreds of farmers are at risk of having their irrigation water shut off — and watching their crops wither in the field. … The local water agencies served by the project say they may not have water to send to farms beyond next month. … The prospect of running out of water arrives as the farm-dependent region faces the additional hardship of the coronavirus outbreak.
California’s Proposition 13 ballot fight intensifies with coronavirus pandemic [San Francisco Chronicle]
A proposed change to California’s sacrosanct Proposition 13 that seeks to raise $12 billion annually for schools and local government was already primed to be one of the hottest battles on the November ballot before the coronavirus pandemic hit. But the financial damage brought on by the disease is transforming the fight over a measure that would raise property taxes for many businesses into a struggle over the future of California. … Representatives of California’s $50 billion agricultural industry are also fearful of the initiative’s impacts at a time when farmers expect upward of $10 billion in losses because of the pandemic, said Rob Spiegel, a policy advocate for the 36,000-member California Farm Bureau Federation, which opposes the initiative.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-s-Proposition-13-ballot-fight-15293809.php
Opinion: California gives too many unchecked tax breaks. It’s time to shine a light on them [Los Angeles Times]
California’s state government is dishing out $73 billion in tax breaks annually to millions of people and hundreds of interests. But there’s no evidence that this generosity is good or bad for the state. … Jackson is pushing a bill, SB 956, which would authorize an economic team at UC Berkeley to thoroughly examine certain major tax breaks … Another tax break she wants studied is a state sales tax exemption on animals used for human food and on the feed for that livestock. The tax break also covers edible plants and their fertilizers. It’s costing $661 million this year. Also on her list is the sales tax exemption for farm equipment — $98 million.
Opinion: Food safety comes first for Modesto, Stanislaus farmers [Modesto Bee]
… During the COVID-19 crisis, our farmers have continued to put food on the table and fill food banks while keeping their workers and communities safe. They have achieved this not by adopting new standards of safety, but by continuing to follow existing requirements for pesticide use and safe food handling. Agriculture’s emphasis on safety has been the result of a lot of work, dedication and collaboration between farmers, their communities and government.
https://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article242721471.html
