    [House Hearing, 117 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                      A LOOK AT FOOD INSECURITY IN AMERICA

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                            COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 MARCH 11, 2021

                                   __________

                                Serial No. 117-2

              Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture
                             agriculture.house.gov

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    44-672 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2021

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

                         DAVID SCOTT, Georgia, Chairman

    JIM COSTA, California                GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania,
    JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts     Ranking Minority Member
    FILEMON VELA, Texas                  AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia
    ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina, Vice  ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD,
    Chair                                Arkansas
    ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER, Virginia   SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee
    JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri
    ANTONIO DELGADO, New York            DOUG LaMALFA, California
    BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois              RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
    CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine               RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
    GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina
    Northern Mariana Islands             TRENT KELLY, Mississippi
    ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire         DON BACON, Nebraska
    CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois               DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota
    SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York       JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
    STACEY E. PLASKETT, Virgin Islands   JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota
    TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona              CHRIS JACOBS, New York
    SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California        TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
    RO KHANNA, California                MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
    AL LAWSON, Jr., Florida              TRACEY MANN, Kansas
    J. LUIS CORREA, California           RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
    ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota               MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
    JOSH HARDER, California              BARRY MOORE, Alabama
    CYNTHIA AXNE, Iowa                   KAT CAMMACK, Florida
    KIM SCHRIER, Washington              MICHELLE FISCHBACH, Minnesota
    JIMMY PANETTA, California            ------
    ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
    ------

                                     ______

                          Anne Simmons, Staff Director

                     Parish Braden, Minority Staff Director

                                      (ii)

                                 C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Davis, Hon. Rodney, a Representative in Congress from Illinois,
      submitted report...............................................   121
    Scott, Hon. David, a Representative in Congress from Georgia,
      opening statement..............................................     1
        Prepared statement...........................................     3
        Submitted letters on behalf of:
            Besik, Ph.D., Deniz, Assistant Professor of Management,
              Robins School of Business, University of Richmond......   103
            Biotechnology Innovation Organization....................   106
        Submitted statement on behalf of Barbara P. Glenn, Ph.D.,
          Chief Executive Officer, National Association of State
          Departments of Agriculture.................................   108
    Mann, Hon. Tracey, a Representative in Congress from Kansas,
      letter submitted on behalf of Barry Feaker, Executive Director,
      Topeka Rescue Mission Ministries...............................   134
    Panetta, Hon. Jimmy, a Representative in Congress from
      California, submitted statement on behalf of Robert Guenther,
      Senior Vice President, Public Policy, United Fresh Produce
      Association....................................................   118
    Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a Representative in Congress from
      Pennsylvania, opening statement................................     4
        Submitted statement on behalf of Dave Donaldson, Co-Founder,
          Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, CityServe,
          International; Facilitator, Faith-Based Collaboration for
          F2F........................................................   119

                                   Witnesses

    Waide, Kyle, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta
      Community Food Bank, Atlanta, GA...............................     7
        Prepared statement...........................................     9
        Submitted questions..........................................   136
    Duvall, Zippy, President, American Farm Bureau Federation,
      Washington, D.C................................................    14
        Prepared statement...........................................    15
        Submitted questions..........................................   137
    Hodel, Eric, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
      Midwest Food Bank, Normal, IL..................................    17
        Prepared statement...........................................    18
        Submitted question...........................................   138
    McBrayer, Jr., Max E., Chief Executive Officer, RaceTrac
      Petroleum, Inc., Atlanta, GA...................................    42
        Prepared statement...........................................    43
    Edenfield, Ron, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wayfield
      Foods, Inc., Lithia Springs, GA................................    48
        Prepared statement...........................................    49
        Submitted questions..........................................   138

                      A LOOK AT FOOD INSECURITY IN AMERICA

                                  ----------

                            THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

                              House of Representatives,
                                      Committee on Agriculture,
                                                       Washington, D.C.
        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:00 a.m., via
    Webex, Hon. David Scott of Georgia [Chairman of the Committee]
    presiding.
        Members present: Representatives David Scott of Georgia,
    Costa, McGovern, Adams, Spanberger, Hayes, Delgado, Rush,
    Pingree, Kuster, Bustos, O'Halleran, Carbajal, Khanna, Lawson,
    Craig, Harder, Axne, Schrier, Panetta, Kirkpatrick, Bishop,
    Thompson, Austin Scott of Georgia, Crawford, DesJarlais,
    Hartzler, LaMalfa, Davis, Allen, Rouzer, Kelly, Bacon, Johnson,
    Baird, Hagedorn, Cloud, Mann, Feenstra, Miller, Moore, Cammack,
    and Fischbach.
        Staff present: Lyron Blum-Evitts, Ross Hettervig, Prescott
    Martin III, Anne Simmons, Ashley Smith, Caleb Crosswhite, Ricki
    Schroeder, Jennifer Tiller, Erin Wilson, John Konya, and Dana
    Sandman.

      OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID SCOTT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
                         CONGRESS FROM GEORGIA

        The Chairman. This hearing of the Committee on Agriculture
    entitled, A Look at Food Insecurity in America, will now come
    to order.
        I want to welcome, and I want to thank, everyone for
    joining us today at this hearing. This is a momentous hearing.
    It is a much-needed hearing. We have, ladies and gentlemen, an
    extraordinary crisis on our hands confronting our nation, and
    that is a hunger crisis. And it is very important because there
    is no Committee up here that is more highly regarded to deal
    with the issue of hunger and food security than our House
    Agriculture Committee. And this goes for both Democrats and
    Republicans. We come to this hearing jointly to get the
    information, to get the facts, to get some understanding as to
    why, right now, we have 12 million of our children in this
    country going to bed hungry and malnourished every night. We
    are, indeed, the greatest country in the world. We are the most
    powerful country in the world, and now, today, we are going to
    show truly how great we are and how powerful we are as a
    nation, because we are going to solve this hunger crisis. And
    we start today.
        And now, Members will be recognized in order of seniority,
    alternating between Majority and Minority Members, and in order
    of arrival for those Members who have joined us after the
    hearing was called to order. Now, when you are recognized,
    please unmute your microphone and you will have 5 minutes to
    ask your questions and make a comment. I am going to be
    somewhat more strict than I have been in terms of the 5
    minutes, because we want to make sure that every Member has the
    time to get their questions answered and to make their
    contribution. Each of our distinguished guests will have their
    time to do likewise.
        And so, in order to get in as many questions as possible,
    the timer will stay consistently visible on your screens, and
    we also have somewhat of a busy morning schedule on the Floor.
    But this hearing is too important. We must continue and carry
    it on. And so, I am asking Members to work with the staff,
    communicate with the staff. These votes are staggered. Some can
    go while others stay. And when I am gone and I will vote, I
    have asked the distinguished gentlelady from Connecticut, Mrs.
    Jahana Hayes, who is also the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on
    Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, to substitute
    for me while I go vote.
        So, with that, I want to thank all of you on this Committee
    for sharing your comments with me, some of you, on how
    important this hearing is, and that we want to solve the hunger
    situation in our nation, and food insecurity.
        We all know from our own experience how disruptive this
    COVID-19 pandemic has been to each of our daily lives, our
    families' lives, and of course, trying to conduct our business
    here in Washington. We can well imagine these hassles have
    magnified multiple times.
        And you know, I was thinking, just imagine being without a
    paycheck when we have literally millions of our citizens that
    had a paycheck don't have it now, and that is why we see lines,
    miles long, of our citizens trying to get food from our
    community food banks, and these lines are miles long, and
    imagine trying to feed your kids adequately, plus teach them at
    home because of COVID, and pay the bills, and keep looking for
    a job, all while worried that you may not even make next
    month's rent or the mortgage.
        These are some of the special difficulties that many of our
    families have been facing for the past year. Fortunately,
    Congress has responded with critical COVID-19 legislation like
    Families First, CARES, provisions in the omnibus that we passed
    in December, and yesterday's historic passage of the American
    Rescue Plan. And I am certain some of the modifications and
    increases that were included in those bills are making a
    difference to families in need in my district, as well as each
    of your districts as members.
        We know that we have saved lives, although we have also
    lost lives. But where are we now? We continue to see lines,
    waiting hours to pick up a box of food. We see video footage of
    children saying they are just plain hungry. I was very moved by
    the report on CNN where they showed this young lady, in tears.
    ``What is wrong,'' they said. She said, ``I am starving, and my
    family is.'' And even if we are now seeing a light at the end
    of the tunnel as vaccination rates increase, we know that SNAP
    enrollments are way up, and food banks continue to be flooded
    with people who have never before had to seek help.
        Let's look at the numbers very briefly. Prior to the
    pandemic in February of 2020, there were 36.8 million people in
    our country on SNAP. By April of 2020, SNAP rolls were up to 40
    million people, and that increased to nearly 43 million by
    September of last year. What can we anticipate in the future?
    The Congressional Budget Office in February released their
    baseline projections for the next 10 years for SNAP. They
    predict that the negative effects of the pandemic will continue
    through most of 2022, with an average total of 44 million of
    our precious Americans on SNAP next year, before it begins to
    decrease in 2023, hopefully and prayerfully. Even if this virus
    disappears, we are going to be living with its aftermath for
    some time. This is why I have said over and over that this
    hearing is perhaps our most critical, because folks, as you
    well know, we can do without a lot of things, but we cannot
    survive without food.
        So, we need to be realistic about this and continue to work
    to shore up the people who are counting on us to help them, and
    just like a hurricane or tornado or flood, or an earthquake, we
    are dealing with a natural disaster that demands we come
    together, Republicans and Democrats, working together. If we
    work together as Democrats and Republicans, we will find the
    real solution to hunger in our great nation. This, ladies and
    gentlemen, is our responsibility. This is our charge this
    morning, and we are going to need help and also, we are going
    to need the almighty hand of God to help lead us together as
    Democrats and Republicans to solve this hunger crisis in our
    nation.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. David Scott follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Hon. David Scott, a Representative in Congress
                                  from Georgia
        Good morning, and thank you to everyone for coming a little early
    today so we have ample time to discuss today's very important topic,
    which is hunger, and food insecurity.
        We all know from our own experience how disruptive the pandemic has
    been to our daily lives. Well imagine these hassles magnified multiple
    times.
        Imagine being without a paycheck, without a car and fearful of
    public transportation. Imagine trying to feed your kids adequately,
    plus teach them at home and pay the bills, and keep looking for a job,
    all while worried that you may not make next month's rent.
        These are some of the special difficulties low-income families have
    been facing this past year.
        Fortunately, Congress has responded with critical COVID legislation
    like Families First, CARES, provisions in the Omnibus we passed in
    December and yesterday's historic passage of the American Rescue Plan.
        I am certain some of the modifications and increases that were
    included in those bills made a difference to families in need. In my
    district, I know it saved some lives even as many other lives were lost
    to COVID-19.
        But where are we now? We continue to see lines of cars waiting
    hours to pick up a box of food. We see video footage of children saying
    they are just plain hungry. And, even if we see a light at the end of
    the tunnel as vaccination rates increase, we know SNAP enrollments are
    way up, and food banks continue to be flooded with people who have
    never before had to seek help.
        Let's look at the numbers:

       Prior to the pandemic, in February of 2020, there were 36.8
            million people on SNAP.

       By April of 2020, SNAP rolls were up to 40 million people
            and that increased to nearly 43 by September of last year.

        What can we anticipate in the future? The Congressional Budget
    Office in February released their Baseline Projections for the next 10
    years for SNAP. They predict that the negative effects of the pandemic
    will continue through most of 2022, with an average total of 44 million
    on SNAP next year, before it begins to decrease in 2023.
        So, even if this virus disappears, we are going to be living with
    its aftermath for some time. We need to be realistic about this and
    continue to work to shore up the people who are counting on us to help
    them through this crisis.
        Just like a hurricane, a tornado, a flood or an earthquake, we are
    dealing with a natural disaster that demands we come together for a
    real solution to hunger. This is our responsibility and we are going to
    need help.
        And today, we have help in form of these fine witnesses all of whom
    are experts in some aspect of feeding people.
        We thank each of you for your time and expertise in joining us
    today and look forward to hearing your experiences with what you are
    seeing in your communities that will assist us as we look at another
    year of increased food insecurity due to the pandemic.

        The Chairman. Thank you. I didn't mean to carry that so
    long, but this hearing is so important.
        And now, I would like to welcome our distinguished Ranking
    Member, my good friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr.
    Thompson, for his opening remarks.

     OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GLENN THOMPSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
                       CONGRESS FROM PENNSYLVANIA

        Mr. Thompson. Well, thank you, Chairman. Good morning,
    everyone.
        First of all, let me thank our witnesses for their time and
    their attention. Your participation on what is this Committee's
    first, or at least, more fulsome attempt at publicly reviewing
    the pandemic and Congress's response is much appreciated.
        I think we have a lot to celebrate, actually, with what we
    have accomplished in the nutrition space, and it actually
    started with our 2018 Farm Bill. What the Administration was
    able to very adequately and appropriately utilize to make sure
    that neighbors in need had access to nutrition, that
    authorization came through our hard work, specifically in the
    2018 Farm Bill, the most recent edition, obviously, the 2018
    Farm Bill. But also, as Members, in 2020 I think it is--the
    Members in this committee room, Members of our Committee,
    Republicans and Democrats, who worked in a bipartisan way on
    five CARES bills, the most--last one in 2020 being--that we
    passed on December 21 signed by President Trump December 27.
    Those really took advantage of the authorization we provided in
    the farm bill, and we were able to appropriate in order to meet
    the needs of our neighbors in need, under the conditions of
    this specific--I know we call it a pandemic. Quite frankly, it
    was a plague that plagued our families, our businesses, our
    communities.
        So, this pandemic has infiltrated our lives in every sense
    possible. Unfortunately, the brunt of it was borne on our
    communities, and in particular, families already living
    paycheck to paycheck. In too many instances, arrogant career
    politicians issued statewide indiscriminate edicts forcing
    businesses and schools to shut their doors, plummeting our
    communities into a deep recession. As the end of the pandemic
    nears, I hope we can use today to discuss what worked, what
    needs improvement, and ways to provide these families with more
    holistic services, particularly as they engage in a post-
    pandemic economy that will look somewhat wildly different.
        The Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program, or SNAP,
    currently provides nutrition assistance to 43 million
    individuals, with an average individual benefit of $183. Total
    SNAP-related spending in Fiscal Year 2020 was $78.9 billion,
    which includes benefits, administration, nutrition education,
    employment and training, and program integrity. And of the
    $78.9 billion, $74.2 billion was solely for benefits. By way of
    the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Coronavirus
    Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, and Consolidated
    Appropriations Act of 2021, more than $37.8 billion has been
    appropriated to respond to the Supplemental Nutrition
    Assistance needs of our communities. This monumental response
    is in addition to the more than $7.7 billion per month in
    standard SNAP benefits.
        Now, beyond direct funding from Congress, the former and
    the current Administrations have issued more than 4,000
    administrative waivers to states. These waivers impact
    operations related to the program eligibility, distribution of
    benefits, employment and training, and more.
        These facts are startling. Combined with the myriad of
    social service policies, including those found in the short-
    sided, outrageously naive American Rescue Plan, we are in the
    midst of our nation's second largest expansion of entitlements.
    Now, unsurprisingly, leading economists and Wall Street
    analysts have said key parts of the bill are poorly targeted to
    the specific needs of the crisis. While my colleagues would
    like nothing more than for me to focus on their charade, I am
    going to leave that conversation for another hearing. Today, it
    is about the response. The witnesses before us are everyday
    heroes. These are the folks who responded without hesitation to
    the needs of their communities infested by a pandemic that took
    the lives of hundreds of thousands of our friends, neighbors,
    and family members. Whether it be the farmer who chose to
    donate their crop or the food bank who opened additional sites
    to be more accommodating, the witnesses before us and every
    single person who helps keep these entities operational deserve
    our thanks and our sincere appreciation, Mr. Chairman. We are
    so appreciative of them.
        And while the Department is not represented in today's
    hearing, I must give them my accolades as well, particularly
    the former Administration--like it or lump it--the bulk of the
    response originated in the last Congress under President Trump.
    Quick-thinking folks implemented pandemic EBT, and the Farmers
    to Families Food Box Program, two projects that remain
    remarkably beneficial to families in need. The latter continues
    to fall victim to inconceivable criticism, and there is always
    room for more solutions to the needs of our nation. The Farmers
    to Families Food Box Program has opened eligibility, making
    certain anyone and everyone in need, regardless of status,
    income, or household size, has supplementary access to
    nutritious foods that run the gamut from fruits and vegetables,
    to meat, and to dairy. I would say, some of the most
    nutritional foods that we could ever provide through our
    nutrition programs. This program has provided more than 143
    million boxes to households across the United States, and with
    this program, farmers were able to redirect their products, and
    American workers were able to sustain employment or join new
    ventures, all to ensure fresh foods found their way into the
    homes of millions. Now, regardless of the cherry-picked hiccups
    this Committee has heard about over the summer, the program has
    worked exactly as intended.
        And with that, my thanks to the witnesses once again for
    their participation, and I trust that Chairman Scott will
    continue to host additional oversight hearings across all
    programs and constituencies germane to this pandemic response.
        With that, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Ranking Member, and
    your comments were, as usual, excellent and well-prepared and
    well-delivered.
        Mr. Thompson. You are very kind.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        As Chairman, I would request that other Members submit
    their opening statements for the record so witnesses may begin
    their testimony and to ensure that there is ample time for
    questions.
        Once again, I would like to welcome all of our witnesses,
    and thank you for being here. I echo the Ranking Member's
    comments about our witnesses this morning, and I hope that
    people all across this country who are watching this hearing,
    tuning in, to please call a friend or neighbor and let them
    hear, because the only way we are going to be able to respond
    to this hunger crisis is to listen, to learn from the people
    who are out there dealing with it every day.
        Our first witness is certainly exemplary of that. Our first
    witness--and I am so pleased to welcome--is Mr. Kyle Waide.
    Please, let me tell you of my own personal relationship with
    Mr. Waide. When we had a crisis in terms of helping to get food
    out, as well as the pandemic testing, he joined with me as a
    partner and we were able to get food at Mundy's Mill High
    School in Clayton County, where we fed over 6,000 people and
    tested them, saved their lives, and delivered food to them. And
    Ranking Member Thompson, I might say, our good friend, yours
    and mine, Sonny Perdue, who was Agriculture Secretary there, he
    was out there with me and Kyle Waide delivering baskets of
    food, and that is why I say this is truly a bipartisan venture.
        And so, let me tell you just a little bit about Kyle Waide.
    He has been and is the President and the CEO of the Atlanta
    Community Food Bank, and he has served in that capacity for the
    last 5 years, going into his sixth year. He has served as CEO
    and President ever since 2015. And he also serves as the
    Chairman of the Southeast Regional Cooperative and he is also
    the Vice Chair of the Georgia Food Bank Association. Prior to
    his role as CEO and President, Mr. Waide served as the food
    bank's Vice President of Partner Operations, and he has truly
    been my partner in what we are doing, and going into the
    communities, bringing the food, bringing the vaccine so we can
    get this behind us.
        Our second witness who I am pleased to be able to invite to
    join us today is another great and good friend, Zippy Duvall. I
    just love that name. I love to say it, as probably you can tell
    from the way I am saying it. Zippy Duvall. Zippy is President
    of the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Mr. Duvall has
    served as President of the Farm Bureau since 2016. And he is a
    third-generation farmer from Georgia. He owns a beef cow herd.
    He raises broiler chickens, and he grows hay. What a farmer.
    Prior to serving as the AFBF President, Zippy Duvall was
    President of the Georgia Farm Bureau and served on the Farm
    Bureau's Board of Directors. We are so delighted to have you
    with us, Zippy.
        Our third witness is Mr. Max McBrayer, and Mr. McBrayer has
    been with RaceTrac Petroleum for 29 years, and he has served as
    the CEO since 2019. Prior to his current role, he served as the
    Chief Financial Officer and Chief Supply Officer. He was born
    and raised in Georgia, and he owns and is the Chief Executive
    Officer of over 500 RaceTrac convenience store operations. It
    is great to have you with us.
        Next, we will hear from Mr. Ron Edenfield, another great
    friend, who has been an exemplary leader as a leader on the
    grocery store ownership side of our agriculture and food
    industry. Mr. Edenfield is the President and CEO of Wayfield
    Foods, Inc. He co-founded Wayfield Foods in 1982, and now owns
    nine locations across the metro Atlanta area. Mr. Edenfield
    also serves on the Food Industry Association's Board of
    Directors, and previously served on the Board of Directors for
    the Georgia Food Industry Association.
        As I said, what a stellar panel we have to deal with this
    emergency issue.
        I want to introduce our next witness--let me see. Thank
    you. Thank you.
        And now, to introduce our fifth witness, I am pleased to
    yield to our colleague, the distinguished gentleman from
    Illinois, Congressman Rodney Davis.
        Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
    Ranking Member Thompson.
        Just like you had great pride in introducing our mutual
    friend, Zippy Duvall from your home state, I am very excited to
    be able to introduce this guest, our next guest who has come
    here to talk about this important issue today. Eric Hodel is
    our witness here today from the Midwest Food Bank, which began
    in Bloomington, Illinois. The Midwest Food Bank operations are
    able to serve over 500 agency partners across 50 counties in
    central and eastern Illinois, and many people in my district. I
    visited the Midwest Food Bank numerous times over my career,
    and I am excited to have Mr. Hodel here, grateful for the
    opportunity to hear from him, and all of our witnesses today.
        Mr. Chairman, I will yield back.
        The Chairman. Well, thank you very much, Congressman.
        And now, without delay, we are going to get started. Our
    first panelist will be Mr. Kyle Waide, CEO of the Atlanta
    Community Food Bank, and a great leader in this area. Mr.
    Waide, you will be recognized for 5 minutes.

             STATEMENT OF KYLE WAIDE, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
      EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK, ATLANTA, GA

        Mr. Waide. Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and
    distinguished Members of the Committee, I want to thank you for
    your invitation to testify today.
        The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which I am privileged to
    serve as CEO, is one of the largest members of Feeding America,
    the national network of food banks. Feeding America's 200
    member food banks serve kids, families, and seniors in every
    county in the United States, distributing 7\1/2\ billion pounds
    of food through a grassroots network of community-based feeding
    programs. In north Georgia, my food bank serves close to
    900,000 neighbors, and we distributed 105 million pounds of
    food in the past year across 29 urban, suburban, and rural
    counties.
        The past 12 months have been the most challenging and the
    most inspiring year of our network that we have ever
    experienced. In March of 2020, food insecurity rates reached
    their lowest levels in 20 years. Twelve months later, these
    numbers have grown by as much as 30 percent and as many as 50
    million people face food insecurity, including 17 million
    children. The crisis is touching people in communities of all
    backgrounds, with 35 percent of the people that we are serving
    today experiencing food insecurity for the first time in their
    lives. Communities of color and many rural communities are
    facing more severe increases in food insecurity. These
    communities were more vulnerable before the pandemic, and the
    crisis has intensified those vulnerabilities.
        Food banks across the country have responded creatively and
    aggressively to increased demand. In 2020, our network, as I
    mentioned, distributed 7\1/2\ billion pounds of food, an
    increase of 43 percent. Half of that food came from fresh
    produce, milk, dairy, and animal proteins from our partners in
    the agricultural community. Food banks are doing this by
    dramatically increasing food purchasing and transportation
    capacity. We are providing financial support for our network of
    community-based feeding programs, many of whom operate out of
    churches and depend entirely on the commitment of volunteers.
    We are working with new partners, schools, business groups,
    local government, to distribute food in places and to
    communities where our existing partners could not meet the full
    demand.
        As Chairman Scott mentioned, we worked with him and other
    partners last year to operate large scale drive-thru sites
    where families could access testing and also receive food
    assistance. These pop-up partnerships are even more critical in
    rural communities where we have seen larger numbers of our
    existing partners forced to close.
        We couldn't have done this work, of course, without the
    support from our donors, and we are deeply grateful for the
    incredible support of the National Guard, which has deployed
    members to support food banks in many states around the
    country, including Georgia.
        Federal nutrition programs have been critical to helping
    food banks do our work. Food supplied by two Federal programs,
    The Emergency Food Assistance Program, TEFAP, and the Farmers
    to Families Food Box Program have provided food banks with
    substantial volumes of food, 50 percent of our total inventory
    in the Atlanta Community Food Bank since June. Sustaining our
    response will be impossible without ongoing support from USDA
    at similar levels. This is even more important for rural food
    banks, which faced higher levels of food insecurity, fewer
    private sources of food, and as a result, depend on Federal
    programs for 60 to even 80 percent of their total food
    inventory. We also believe a successful food box program can
    become more equitable and accountable by leveraging well-
    established distribution channels and high-capacity partners
    for moving this food.
        Support for food assistance through other nutrition
    programs has also played a critical role. SNAP is the most
    important of these programs, and it provides nine times the
    amount of food that we provide through Feeding America food
    banks. We strongly support expanding access to SNAP, which will
    reduce the burden on food banks, reduce food insecurity, and
    stimulate local economies, especially in more rural areas.
        Looking forward, food bankers are preparing for a marathon.
    While we hope for a robust recovery, we expect to face
    historically high levels of food insecurity well beyond 2021.
    We are prepared to work with you to meet this challenge. We
    have the infrastructure, the partnerships, and the resources to
    do more. But to do more, we will need your help, especially in
    the form of additional funding for food. If the volume of
    Federal commodities flowing to my food bank were cut in half,
    we would need to double our budget to replace it, and we simply
    don't have enough resources to make up that kind of difference
    over the long haul. I urge the Committee, Congress, and the
    Administration to keep your foot on the gas, purchase more food
    through TEFAP and other USDA programs, leverage high capacity
    partners like the nation's food banks to move this food safely,
    efficiently, and equitably to the people and communities who
    need it, sustain the expansion of SNAP benefits, use waivers
    and other nutrition program flexibilities to make it easier for
    food-insecure families to access food, and doing so will help
    our country recover faster.
        I want to again thank Chairman Scott for inviting me to
    testify. We celebrate the Committee's interest in ensuring all
    of our neighbors have the food they need, and I look forward to
    working with you on that important goal and to answering your
    questions.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Waide follows:]

        Prepared Statement of Kyle Waide, President and Chief Executive
               Officer, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta, GA
        Dear Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson and distinguished
    Members of the Committee:

        Thank you for the invitation to testify at today's hearing on A
    Look at Food Insecurity in America. My name is Kyle Waide and I am the
    President and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, one of the
    largest food banks in the country. I am excited to share my perspective
    today on the food insecurity crisis and the work we're doing to
    confront it.
        My food bank is part of Feeding America, the national network of
    food banks. Like our sister food banks across the country, the Atlanta
    Community Food Bank works to fight hunger by engaging, educating and
    empowering our community. We work with a wide variety of retailers,
    farmers, manufacturers, distributors, and Federal programs to secure
    donated and purchased essential groceries. We distribute this food
    through a large, decentralized grassroots network of more than 600
    community-based feeding programs across twenty-nine urban, suburban and
    rural counties in north Georgia. In 2020, we served close to 900,000 of
    our Georgia neighbors, distributing more than 100 million pounds of
    food through a network of partners.
        Our work depends on broad community support. Feeding America food
    banks are supported by millions of volunteers, who help us pack food
    boxes, organize and manage food distributions, and address other client
    needs. In addition to managing a food supply chain that moves 7.5
    billion pounds of food in 2020, our network of food banks also provides
    a variety of additional programs and services, ranging from food
    pharmacies and nutrition education to job training and assistance with
    applying for benefit programs. Collectively, we serve kids, families
    and seniors in every county in the United States, including each of the
    159 counties in Georgia.
        The Feeding America network is uniquely capable of working to
    reduce food insecurity. Through forty years of growing our capacity,
    building public-private partnerships, responding to crises and driving
    innovation, we've seen it all. And yet the past twelve months have been
    the most challenging and most inspiring year our network of food
    bankers has ever experienced.
    Impact of the Pandemic on Food Insecurity
        Prior to the pandemic, national food insecurity rates had reached
    their lowest levels in 20 years. After reaching a peak following the
    Great Recession, the food insecurity rate fell steadily as the economic
    recovery accelerated and we reached historically low levels of
    unemployment. Despite that progress, some 35 million individuals,
    including nearly 11 million children, still lived in food-insecure
    households. In Georgia, one in eight of our neighbors didn't always
    know where their next meal would come from, including more than 400,000
    children.
        Based on an analysis conducted by Feeding America, we estimate that
    the economic effects of COVID-19 have caused an additional 350,000
    Georgians to experience food insecurity, an increase of close to 30%.
    Nationally, the food-insecure population could be as high as 50
    million, including nearly 17 million children. These increases suggest
    that there are likely more food-insecure kids and families today than
    there were at the peak of the Great Recession. Many of the people who
    have fallen into food insecurity are experiencing it for the first time
    in their lives, as our food pantry partners across the country report
    that 35% or more of the people they're serving today had never received
    charitable food prior to the pandemic.
        While the pandemic has increased food insecurity far and wide,
    touching people and communities of all backgrounds, we also know that
    the impact has been even greater on those communities that were already
    experiencing higher rates of food insecurity prior to the pandemic.
    Black, Latino, and Native American/Alaskan communities were twice as
    likely to face food insecurity before the pandemic and were less likely
    to have health insurance. During the pandemic, these communities have
    experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality, while
    also experiencing more significant increases in unemployment due to the
    economic downturn. Alongside our peer food banks across the country,
    the Atlanta Community Food Bank is working to enhance our core
    practices in communities of color to ensure we are serving people
    equitably.
        Similarly, many rural communities experienced higher levels of
    hunger before the pandemic, a challenge that has only intensified in
    the current environment. Food insecurity rates exceed 20% in a number
    of large, rural census tracts across Georgia for a variety of reasons.
    With the nearest grocery store, food pantry, or food bank potentially
    hours away, food deserts are more common. Job opportunities are more
    concentrated in low-wage industries. Higher fixed costs to operate
    impact profit margins for smaller grocery retailers, who pass on those
    increased costs to their customer base. Many of these communities face
    higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. The pandemic has
    intensified these challenges.
    Food Bank Response to the Food Insecurity Crisis
        In the initial weeks and months of the pandemic, food banks faced
    three significant challenges as we sought to respond to the crisis.
    First, as noted above, demand for charitable food assistance grew
    dramatically and suddenly. The extent of this increase has been
    captured repeatedly in media images from around the country of lines of
    cars stretching for miles, waiting to receive boxes and bags of
    charitable food. Second, stress on the larger food supply chain reduced
    our access to several key sources of food at the very moment when we
    needed more food than we ever have. Third, like so many other
    businesses and nonprofits, we had to quickly adapt all of our core
    processes for storing, handling and distributing food in order to
    reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for our staff, partners,
    volunteers and clients.
        Food banks, our partners and our volunteers have responded
    creatively and courageously to these challenges. At the Atlanta
    Community Food Bank, we have grown our weekly distribution of food by
    65% and now provide close to 2.5 million pounds of food a week. Nearly
    60% of the food we are distributing is perishable. Similarly, in 2020,
    Feeding America food banks collectively distributed 7.5 billion pounds
    of food, an increase of 43% compared to 2019. This included 3.8 billion
    pounds of fresh produce, milk, dairy and animal proteins, more than
    half of all the food we distributed. We are providing more food to more
    people more often than we ever have, significantly reducing the impact
    of hunger created by the pandemic.
        Fueling this growth are a variety of approaches for increasing our
    capacity in light of the crisis. Food banks have dramatically increased
    our food purchasing activity. In Atlanta, we are spending more than $1
    million every month to buy food, and we expect to increase this number
    significantly in the coming months to keep up with such high levels of
    demand. Food banks have also increased our trucking capacity to support
    more large mobile food distributions. In Atlanta, we are supporting 60
    mobile ``pop-up'' distribution deliveries each week, in addition to the
    regular orders we process, an increase of more than 50% compared to our
    volume prior to the pandemic. Food banks have increased operational
    staff to support higher volumes of activity. In Atlanta, our payroll
    expenses are 25% higher than they were a year ago, in addition to the
    increases in other operational costs related to supplies,
    transportation and so forth.
        Central to our effort has been the resiliency of our extraordinary
    network of community-based feeding programs, many of whom depend
    entirely on the commitment of volunteers to continue operating. Despite
    the obvious risks to the safety of these volunteers and staff, many of
    whom are seniors, the majority of these programs have continued to
    serve hungry families on the front lines. Food banks across the country
    have worked to support our partners financially with grants and other
    support to help them stay open and grow their capacity. At the same
    time, food banks have also worked closely with new partners during this
    pandemic to distribute food in places and to communities where our
    existing partners could not meet the full demand. My food bank has
    worked closely with schools, with local government leaders, with
    business groups, and with other nonprofits to host a variety of food
    distributions. For example, we helped support food distribution events
    with Chairman Scott and a variety of community partners last year,
    where families could access food assistance and COVID testing in a
    single, large-scale drive-thru site. These stand-up partnerships have
    been even more critical in rural communities, where we've seen larger
    numbers of our existing partners forced to close.
        Food banks could not sustain this effort without the support and
    partnership of the broader community. Many food banks have been unable
    to utilize onsite volunteers during the pandemic. In Atlanta, we
    engaged more than 600 volunteers in a typical week prior to COVID, an
    addition to our workforce that has been missing since last March. Like
    many food banks in multiple states, we were able to replace this
    volunteer capacity with support from our Georgia National Guard, as
    Governor Brian Kemp deployed more than 150 guard members to missions at
    food bank locations across the state throughout the past year. And of
    course our food bank network has been supported very generously by all
    types of donors, giving us the resources and confidence we need to
    respond aggressively to the crisis.
    Role of Federal Support in Addressing Food Insecurity
        The support provided by and through a variety of Federal nutrition
    programs has been critical to helping food banks do our work, starting
    with two programs that are providing us with large volumes of food. The
    Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a means tested Federal
    program that provides nutritious food to low income individuals through
    food banks and other charitable organizations nationwide, while
    supporting U.S. grown commodities. The program provides critical
    support, helping us ensure a nutritious balance of food is distributed
    to families in need by allowing us to combine TEFAP with our other
    sources of food. As the Committee already knows, Congress authorized
    more than $1 billion in additional TEFAP spending through a number of
    stimulus bills over the past 12 months, dramatically increasing our
    access to food resources during the crisis.
        Another critical source of federally funded food has been the
    Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), commonly known as the
    Farmers to Families Food Box Program. This program was launched by USDA
    in April of 2020, as an effort to leverage surplus produce, dairy and
    proteins to support farmers, food service distributors and families
    impacted by the pandemic. Distributors are awarded contracts to
    purchase the surplus food items, package them in easy to distribute
    boxes (20 lbs each), and distribute them to people in need through a
    network of nonprofits, including food banks. Almost $5 billion has been
    spent on this program since its inception.
        CFAP food boxes have provided a critical source of food inventory
    for the Atlanta Community Food Bank and many food banks around the
    country. Combined, TEFAP and CFAP have provided our food bank with 50%
    of our total inventory during the crisis, an influx of food we simply
    couldn't replace from any other source. Sustaining our response will be
    nearly impossible without ongoing support from USDA at similar levels.
    This is even more important for food banks serving more rural areas of
    the country, where private sources of food are more scarce. For these
    food banks, which are often serving areas with even higher levels of
    food insecurity, Federal food commodities are accounting for 60% to 80%
    of their total food inventory.
        That said, food banks and communities have not had equitable access
    to CFAP product. The food boxes have not been available in many parts
    of the country, a reflection of the capacity and capabilities of the
    food service distributors to whom contracts were awarded and the
    nonprofits with which they chose to work. This has been particularly
    true in smaller and more rural parts of the country. For example, the
    distribution of food boxes in Georgia has been highly concentrated in
    the metro Atlanta area, with a smaller percentage of this product
    reaching other parts of the state. To remedy this imbalance, we
    encourage USDA to rely more heavily on the well established
    distribution methods and capabilities evident in the TEFAP program,
    where food banks and other social service organizations have already
    developed the relationships and capacity to move large volumes of food
    safely and efficiently into the highest need areas of the country. In
    contrast, with each round of contracts awarded through the CFAP model,
    we are reinventing the supply chain for these products, a less
    efficient, equitable and sustainable operating model. To the extent
    that USDA renews the CFAP program, we recommend that USDA examine
    whether more state and regional contracting with growers and producers
    would better support our agricultural community most impacted by the
    pandemic.
        In addition to the food provided to food banks and other nonprofits
    by USDA, support for food assistance through other nutrition programs
    has played a critical role in response to this crisis. Our food-
    insecure neighbors rely heavily on an array of Federal programs--SNAP,
    school lunches, Pandemic--EBT, WIC, senior meals--to meet their
    families' needs. Millions of Americans would not have the food they
    need to survive without the continued strong support of Federal
    nutrition programs.
        SNAP is the most important of these programs and stands as the
    nation's first line of defense against hunger. Feeding America food
    banks will distribute between six and seven billion meals this year.
    SNAP provides nine times that amount of food. Increasing, or
    decreasing, SNAP benefits by 10% is equivalent to doubling, or
    eliminating, access to all of the food provided through our nation's
    food banks. My food bank strongly supports expanding access to SNAP.
    Continuing to invest in SNAP will reduce food insecurity, improve the
    health and well-being of millions of families, reduce the burden on
    food banks, and continue to stimulate local economies. Alongside
    investing in SNAP, we also encourage USDA to continue to grant waivers
    providing flexibility to a number of nutrition programs (SFSP, NSLP,
    CACFP, P-EBT) as we continue to operate in a challenging environment.
    Forward-Looking Outlook
        As we look forward to the rest of 2021 and beyond, food bank
    leaders across the country are preparing our organizations for a
    marathon. While we all hope for a robust economic recovery and a
    dramatic improvement in levels of food insecurity, our experience tells
    us that the families and communities impacted by the current economic
    crisis face a long, uphill struggle. We expect we will need to respond
    to historically high levels of food insecurity well beyond 2021.
        Food banks are well positioned to meet this challenge. Our network
    has made systematic, strategic investments over time to grow our
    capacity and capabilities to serve more food-insecure neighbors. We
    have expanded our distribution centers, especially in growing our
    freezer and cooler capacity for handling more fresh and frozen food. We
    have invested in trucking capacity, enabling us to move food more
    efficiently across the regions we serve. We have invested in technology
    systems, applying the best practices of the private sector to improve
    the efficiency of our operations. We have invested in the capacity of
    the community partners we supply with food, helping them add freezers
    and coolers, purchase trucks, engage more volunteers, operate more
    efficiently and serve more people. We have grown our fundraising,
    helping us sustain our growth for the long haul. As an example of these
    kinds of investments, my food bank now operates out of a 345,000\2\
    distribution center with 35 dock doors and 80,000\2\ of freezer cooler
    space. We manage a fleet of 25 refrigerated trucks. We have invested
    millions of dollars in our partner network. Because of these
    investments, we are now distributing eight times the volume of food we
    distributed in 2008, prior to the Great Recession.
        We have the capacity to do more. Given our expectation for the next
    12 to 24 months, we will need to do more. I urge USDA to consider
    working even more intensively with our national network of food banks
    to safely and efficiently distribute food to the hardest to serve
    communities across the country. I also urge USDA and Congress to
    consider additional funding for providing food and growing the capacity
    of our food bank network. Even with all of the growth in our
    capabilities and resources, we cannot sustain our current distribution
    efforts without Federal support. As an example, if the volume of
    Federal commodities flowing to my food bank were cut in half, we would
    need to spend more than $20 million to replace it. Food banks simply
    don't have enough resources to make up that kind of difference.
    Conclusion
        Increasing levels of food insecurity is one of the many challenges
    resulting from the pandemic. Families across our country are in crisis.
    For many of these families, this crisis is new. For others, this crisis
    is a deeper and darker chapter of the struggle they've been facing as
    long as they can remember. Without support, these families will
    struggle to survive today and will be less able to recover tomorrow. We
    are compelled to help them.
        Recovering from this crisis, as a community, will be an ongoing
    challenge for all of us. Ongoing Federal investment and support will be
    necessary to accelerate and sustain our recovery. This is even more
    true for food-insecure families, whose recovery will be
    disproportionately harder. I urge the Committee, Congress, and the
    Administration to keep doing what you're doing. Keep your foot on the
    gas. Sustain the expansion of SNAP benefits. Use waivers and other
    nutrition program flexibilities to make it easier for food-insecure
    families to access food. Purchase more food through TEFAP and other
    USDA programs. Leverage high capacity partners like the nation's food
    banks to move this food safely, efficiently and equitably to the people
    and communities who need it. Flood the zone with access to food. Doing
    so will help our families, communities and our country recover faster.
        I want to again thank Chairman Scott for inviting me to testify. We
    celebrate the Committee's interest in ensuring all of our neighbors
    have the food they need. I look forward to working with you on that
    important goal and to answering your questions.
                In gratitude for your ongoing support,

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Kyle Waide,
    President and CEO,
    Atlanta Community Food Bank.
                                   Attachment
    Georgia Food Banks

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Waide, and your
    testimony was certainly very revealing and very well-received.
        And now, our second panelist, Mr. Zippy Duvall, President
    of the American Farm Bureau Federation. You are recognized for
    5 minutes.

      STATEMENT OF ZIPPY DUVALL, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FARM BUREAU
                      FEDERATION, WASHINGTON, D.C.

        Mr. Duvall. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the
    Committee. My name is Zippy Duvall, and I am President of the
    American Farm Bureau, but I am a third-generation farmer in
    Georgia. I am pleased to be here to offer testimony on behalf
    of the Farm Bureau members across the country.
        When COVID-19 hit, it presented extreme hardships to
    America. The farmers were left with nowhere to go with their
    crops, the dairy, and the livestock due to supply chain
    disruptions. We found lines at our food banks over a mile long
    in some cases. Our nation's food insecurity was becoming more
    apparent every day, and it was imperative that something be
    done. As farmers, our mission is to feed our communities and
    our country. We were heartbroken that the produce, milk, and
    meat that we worked our heart and souls out to produce wasn't
    reaching Americans that desperately needed it. Farmers across
    the country took it into their own hands to address hunger. Our
    county and State Farm Bureaus worked with churches and
    community centers to help meet the need, and help we did.
        In the year of 2020, I am proud to share with you that our
    network of state and county Farm Bureaus across the country
    donated $5.4 million, 1.4 million pounds of food, and 20,000
    gallons of milk to local food banks and food pantries. But we
    didn't do it all alone. At the pandemic's onset, the American
    Farm Bureau immediately reached out to our friends at Feeding
    America to join together to call on USDA to help address the
    break down in the supply chain. Some farmers had no outlet to
    sell directly to consumers, and many Americans had no access to
    our local farmers. And some didn't have the financial means to
    purchase the food. USDA quickly answered the call by standing
    up the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which played a
    critical role in addressing hunger by delivering more than 140
    million food boxes across the country.
        Even in times outside of a pandemic, a strong farm policy,
    the work that this Committee does, is critically important to
    addressing the fight against food insecurity. The United States
    is known as the bread basket of the world. As a Georgia farmer,
    there is no greater honor in my book than to claim that title.
    Yet food insecurity has crept into the rural communities, into
    our schools, and into our neighborhoods.
        To further address this need, benefits under the USDA
    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have increased to
    more than $7 billion per month, 60 percent higher than pre-
    pandemic levels, helping millions of Americans each day access
    food.
        I must tip my hat to you in Congress for making the USDA
    focus on this need by including the funding in the last COVID
    relief package. As those who produce the food, we feel a duty
    to make sure that everyone in America is fed. The greatest joy
    a farmer has is being able to share his bountiful harvest with
    someone else. Across the country, we have found creative ways
    to do that. In Montana, Park County Farm Bureau member Matt
    Pierson started Producers Partnership in April of 2020 to
    donate beef to local food banks and food pantries. What started
    as one rancher's idea has now resulted in 17,500 pounds of
    beef, and they have raised $65,000 to process that beef. In
    Arizona, Friends of the Farm used a statewide emergency food
    relief network to purchase fresh Arizona grown produce, dairy
    products, and protein to distribute to Arizonians who were
    struggling with hunger. Nearly 25,000 pounds of produce has
    been purchased from small farms.
        Mr. Chairman, I commend you on holding this hearing on such
    an important topic. We look forward to the bipartisan solutions
    this Committee will accomplish in fighting against food
    insecurity. America's farmers and ranchers have played an
    intricate role in combating food insecurity, and we will
    continue to do so, pandemic or no pandemic.
        Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I look forward to
    answering the questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Duvall follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau
                          Federation, Washington, D.C.
        Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Zippy Duvall.
    I am a third-generation farmer and President of the American Farm
    Bureau Federation. I am pleased to offer this testimony on behalf of
    Farm Bureau members across the country.
        When COVID-19 hit, it presented extreme hardship for America--
    farmers were left with nowhere to go with their products due to supply
    chain disruptions, and we found the lines to food banks over a mile
    long in some instances.
        Our nation's food insecurity was becoming more apparent by the day,
    and it was imperative that something be done. As farmers, we were
    heartbroken that the produce, milk and meat we put our heart and soul
    into producing wasn't reaching Americans who so desperately needed it.
        Farmers across the country took it into their own hands to address
    hunger. County and state Farm Bureaus worked with churches and
    community centers to help those in need.
        And help, we did! As of today, I am proud to share that through our
    network of state and county Farm Bureaus across the country, we have
    given $5.4 million, 1.4 million pounds of food and over 20,000 gallons
    of milk to local food banks, food pantries and pandemic relief
    programs.
        But we did not do this alone. At the pandemic's onset, the American
    Farm Bureau immediately reached out to our friends at Feeding America
    to join together in calling on USDA to help address the breakdown in
    our supply chain.
        Some farmers had no outlet to sell directly to customers, and many
    Americans had no access to local farms or financial means to purchase
    food. USDA quickly answered the call by standing up the Farmers to
    Families Food Box program, which played a critical role in addressing
    hunger by delivering more than 140 million food boxes across the
    country. Even in times outside of a pandemic, strong farm policy, the
    work of this Committee, is important to assisting in the fight against
    food insecurity.
        The United States is known as the breadbasket of the world, and as
    a Georgia farmer, there is no greater honor in my book than to claim
    that title. Yet food insecurity has crept into our rural communities,
    schools and neighborhoods.
        To further address this need, benefits under USDA's Supplemental
    Nutrition Assistance Program have increased to more than $7 billion per
    month, 60% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and helping millions more
    Americans each day access food. I must tip my hat to you for including
    funding in the COVID relief packages.
        As those who produce this food, we feel a duty to make sure
    everyone in America is fed. The greatest joy for a farmer is being able
    to share with others an abundant harvest. Across the country, we found
    creative ways to do it.
        In Montana, Park County Farm Bureau member Matt Pierson started
    Producers Partnership in April of 2020 to donate beef to local food
    banks and food pantries. What started as one rancher's idea has now
    resulted in 17,500 pounds of beef and $65,000 raised for processing
    costs.
        In Maryland, our young farmers packed 5,000 meals for families in
    need as part of their Outreach Program and donated them to Maryland
    Food Bank community partners.
        Members of Oneida County Farm Bureau in New York joined with other
    groups to pass out 4,000 gallons of milk and 43,000 pounds of food to
    those affected by the pandemic.
        In Minnesota, 68 county Farm Bureaus held events resulting in
    donations of 12,200 pounds of food, 43,000 meals and $33,700 to local
    food shelves, reaching 52,250 people.
        In Central California, Farm Bureau members and local organizations
    came together to donate more than 400,000 meals and 1,000 volunteer
    hours. And in Arizona, ``Friends of the Farm'' uses the statewide
    emergency food relief network to purchase fresh, Arizona-grown produce,
    dairy, and protein and distribute it to Arizonans struggling with
    hunger. Nearly 250,000 pounds of produce has been purchased from small
    farms.
        Utah Farm Bureau also stepped up in a powerful way through their
    charitable foundation's Farmers Feeding Utah campaign. In 2020, they
    raised more than $400,000 in donations from individuals and businesses,
    and provided more than 500,000 pounds of food to Utah residents in the
    Navajo Nation, northern Utah, West Salt Lake, Ogden and to smaller
    community pantries throughout the Wasatch Front.
        In Texas, they do everything big and their charity work is no
    exception. County Farm Bureaus in the Lone Star State donated $379,000
    directly to food-relief and community organizations in 2020. Matching
    funds from the state Farm Bureau of another $174,500 increased the
    positive impact and the state Farm Bureau also donated $25,000 to Meals
    on Wheels Waco. Altogether, county and state Farm Bureaus in Texas
    donated more than a half million dollars to charities in 2020 to help
    address food insecurity and keep communities strong.
        I could go on and on with impressive stories of generous giving by
    hundreds of county and state Farm Bureaus nationwide. I could not be
    prouder to lead this organization. We are having a very real impact on
    food insecurity and we're helping to meet the need within our
    communities all across this great country. We are stronger together.
        Mr. Chairman, I commend you for holding this hearing on such an
    important topic. We look forward to the bipartisan solutions this
    Committee will accomplish in the fight against food insecurity.
    America's farmers and ranchers have played an integral role in
    combating hunger and we will continue to do so, pandemic or not. Thank
    you for the opportunity to testify before this Committee.

        Mrs. Hayes [presiding.] Thank you, Mr. Duvall.
        I now recognize Mr. McBrayer. Please begin when you are
    ready.
        Okay. We will go on to the next witness to give Mr.
    McBrayer an opportunity to figure out what is going on. Mr.
    Edenfield, please begin when you are ready. Mr. Edenfield?
        Okay. I recognize Mr. Hodel. Mr. Hodel, if you are ready to
    proceed, we will hear from you.

      STATEMENT OF ERIC HODEL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF
            FINANCIAL OFFICER, MIDWEST FOOD BANK, NORMAL, IL

        Mr. Hodel. Thank you and good morning. Thank you for the
    invitation to participate in today's hearing. My name is Eric
    Hodel, and I serve Midwest Food Bank as the Chief Operating
    Officer and Chief Financial Officer. I am honored to have a
    seat at the table today.
        Midwest Food Bank was founded by a farmer 18 years ago. I,
    too, was raised on a farm and continue to manage a 1,000 acre
    grain and livestock farm, in addition to my responsibilities at
    Midwest Food Bank. I come today understanding the impacts of
    agriculture policy as both a producer and a servant to the
    food-insecure.
        Midwest Food Bank started in 2003 when our founder, David
    Kieser, and his two brothers responded to a request to help in
    the local newspaper. The Kieser brothers saw a community in
    need and quickly turned a barn on their family farm into a
    distribution site for ten local food pantries. They soon
    realized that their need in the community was greater than they
    anticipated. Our values and mission remain steadfast after
    nearly 2 decades of growth via locations, food distributed, and
    quality of service to our over 2,000 agencies.
        In 2020, Midwest Food Bank distributed $383 million in
    food, including three million meals via disaster relief boxes.
    We have ten locations across the U.S.: Florida, Georgia,
    Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, and
    Arizona, and two internationally: Kenya and Haiti. We have less
    than 50 full-time employees, and 99 of every dollar is spent
    for program services.
        Our business model is simple. We receive donations of food,
    financial support, and volunteer efforts. With these three
    inputs, we deliver four programs: number one, distributing food
    to nonprofit agencies; number two, providing family food boxes
    as disaster relief; number three, producing Tender Mercies, a
    high nutrition rice and beans meal; and number four,
    distributing Hope Packs, our weekend feeding program for
    school-aged children.
        Our faith-based mission calls us to serve each of our 2,000
    nonprofit agencies with dignity and respect. We have just two
    simple requirements for our agency partners. First, that they
    are registered nonprofits, and second, that they distribute the
    Midwest food at no charge to their clients. Midwest Food Bank
    does not receive payment for food distributed, and therefore
    does not create a business model that relies on compensation
    from our nonprofits.
        Midwest Food Bank bridges the gap between poverty and
    prosperity for the people we serve. Said differently, our hope
    is to serve our food recipients for a season, not for a
    lifetime.
        We celebrated the downward trend in rates of food
    insecurity across our nation in the decade leading up to 2020,
    and then last year, all aspects of the emergency food system
    were disrupted due to the pandemic. Without question, the
    pandemic catapulted more families into a state of food
    insecurity. Our combination of food distribution to nonprofits,
    and our disaster relief equipped us to serve during this
    challenging season. The USDA Farmers to Families Food Box
    Program was a valuable resource for Midwest Food Bank. Midwest
    Food Bank shifted our resources to be nimble and ensure each of
    our locations had access to the high-quality product. We
    distributed over one million boxes in 2020, and we applaud the
    USDA for the quick program execution from concept to delivered
    box. The program injected nutrition directly into the emergency
    food system while supporting farmers and producers.
        This past year, 2020, was the first year we consistently
    received food funded by government programs via the USDA
    Farmers to Families Food Box Program. As we grow, USDA, The
    Emergency Food Assistance Program, commonly known as TEFAP, is
    a viable option and we recently applied to participate in
    select areas.
        Moving forward, Midwest Food Bank will continue to pursue
    three opportunities. Number one, mission focus: serving our
    agencies with focus on efficiency and excellence. Number two,
    nutrition: increasing the nutrition of the food distributed.
    And number three, partnerships: strengthening our partnerships
    with community leaders and agencies to advance holistic
    programming for those we serve.
        In closing, we ask the Committee on Agriculture to commit
    to equitable policies that channel government resources to
    independent food banks able to meet program requirements.
    Alleviating hunger and malnutrition is a complex challenge
    requiring a multi-faceted solution. We ask that you continue to
    bring efficient, community-centric programs to the table for
    collaboration. Together, we will sustainably bridge the gap
    between poverty and prosperity for American families.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Hodel follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Eric Hodel, Chief Operating Officer and Chief
                Financial Officer, Midwest Food Bank, Normal, IL
        Good morning and thank you for the invitation to participate in
    today's hearing. My name is Eric Hodel, and I serve Midwest Food Bank
    as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. I am
    honored to have a seat at the table today.
        Midwest Food Bank was founded by a farmer 18 years ago. I too was
    raised on a farm and continue to manage a 1,000 acre grain and
    livestock farm in addition to my responsibilities at Midwest Food Bank.
    I come today understanding the impacts of agriculture policy as both a
    producer and a servant to the food-insecure.
        Midwest Food Bank started in 2003 when our founder, David Kieser,
    and his two brothers responded to a request for help in the local
    newspaper. The Kieser brothers saw a community in need and quickly
    turned a barn on their family farm into a distribution site for ten
    local food pantries. They soon realized that the need in their
    community was greater than they anticipated.
        Our values and mission remain steadfast after nearly 2 decades of
    growth, via locations, food distributed, and quality of service to our
    2,000+ agencies. In 2020, Midwest Food Bank distributed $383M in food,
    including three million meals via family food disaster relief boxes. We
    have ten locations across the U.S. (FL, GA, PA, CT, IN, IL, TX, AZ) and
    two internationally (Kenya and Haiti). We have less than 50 full-time
    employees, and 99 cents of every dollar spent is for program services.
        Our business model is simple: We receive donations of food,
    financial support, and volunteer efforts. With these three inputs, we
    deliver four programs: (1) Distributing food to nonprofit agencies, (2)
    providing Family Food Boxes as Disaster Relief, (3) producing Tender
    Mercies, a high nutrition rice & beans meal[;] and (4) distributing
    Hope Packs, our weekend feeding program for school aged children.
        Our faith-based mission calls us to serve each of our 2,000+
    nonprofit agencies with dignity and respect. We have just two simple
    requirements for our agency partners: First, that they are registered
    nonprofits. Second, that they distribute the Midwest Food Bank food at
    no charge to their clients.
        Midwest Food Bank does not receive payment for food distributed and
    therefore does not create a business model that relies on compensation
    from our nonprofit partners. Midwest Food Bank bridges the gap between
    poverty & prosperity for the people we serve. Said differently, our
    hope is to serve our food recipients for a season, not for a lifetime.
        We celebrated the downward trend in rates of food insecurity across
    our nation in the decade leading up to 2020. And then, last year, all
    aspects of the emergency food system were disrupted due to the
    pandemic. Without question, the pandemic catapulted more families into
    a state of food insecurity. Our combination of food distribution to
    nonprofits and Disaster Relief equipped us to serve during this
    challenging season. The USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program was a
    valuable resource for Midwest Food Bank. Midwest Food Bank shifted
    resources to be nimble and ensure each of our locations had access to
    the high-quality product. We distributed 1.1 million of the boxes in
    2020. We applaud the USDA for the quick program execution from concept
    to delivered boxes. The program injected nutrition directly into the
    emergency food system--while supporting farmers and producers.
        This past year, 2020, was the first year we consistently receive
    food funded by government programs--via the USDA Farmers to Families
    Food Box Program. As we are growing, USDA's The Emergency Food
    Assistance Program, commonly known as TEFAP, is an option we are
    exploring, and we recently applied to participate in Florida.
        Moving forward, Midwest Food Bank will continue to pursue three
    opportunities:

      1.  Mission Focus--Serving our agencies with focus on efficiency and
                excellence.

      2.  Nutrition--Increasing the nutrition of the food distributed.

      3.  Partnerships--Strengthening our partnerships with community
                leaders and agencies toadvance holistic programing for
                those we serve.

        In closing, we ask the Committee on Agriculture to commit to
    equitable policies that channel government resources to independent
    food banks able to meet program requirements. Alleviating hunger and
    malnutrition is a complex challenge requiring a multi-faceted solution.
    We ask that you continue to bring efficient, community-centric programs
    to the table for collaboration. Together we will sustainably bridge the
    gap between poverty and prosperity for more American families. Thank
    You.
                                   Attachment

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    2020 Annual Report

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    Bridging the Gap Between Poverty and Prosperity
    Keep Moving Forward
              A message from Co-Founder, President, and CEO, David Kieser

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                                              No one could have predicted
                                            the events of 2020. The global
                                            COVID-19 pandemic created a
                                            dynamic year. With the help of
                                            volunteers, donors, staff, and
                                            most importantly, the blessings
                                            of God, Midwest Food Bank
                                            responded nimbly to the
                                            changing landscape.
                                              All MFB locations remained
                                            open and responsive to the need
                                            of our nonprofit partners. We
                                            enacted safety protocols and
                                            reduced volunteer numbers to
                                            maintain social distancing
                                            guidelines. To allow partner
                                            agencies to receive food from
                                            MFB safe-
    ly, we altered our distribution model. Community, business, and donor
    support funded operations and helped with food purchases. More details
    on our response to the pandemic are on page 14.
        Noteworthy in 2020:

       MFB distributed a record amount of food, 37% more than in
            2019.

       In 2020, we sent a record number of family food boxes in
            Disaster Relief semi loads, nearly six times more than the
            previous year.

       We received record levels of support from both financial and
            food donors.

       While maintaining and growing our roots and existing
            locations, MFB launched two new domestic divisions,
            Pennsylvania and New England.

        We are humbled and thankful. Moving forward, we continue to follow
    the leading of the Lord as we live out our mission.
                In His service,

    David Kieser.

              The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble; He cares for
            those who trust in him.
                                                                 NAHUM 1:7.

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    Contents
        Mission & Values
        Food Insecurity
        Financials
        MFB Programs
        MFB Reach
        International Operations
        Pandemic Response
        Nonprofit Partners
        MFB Food Sources
        MFB Leadership

              Produced and designed by Midwest Food Bank. Photos represent
            all of 2020, including pre-pandemic protocols. Printing
            courtesy of GROWMARK

    Our Mission
        As a faith based organization, it is the mission of Midwest Food
    Bank to share the love of Christ by alleviating hunger and malnutrition
    locally and throughout the world and providing disaster relief, all
    without discrimination.
    Our Values
        Midwest Food Bank's values are built on the Biblical base of the
    `fruit of the spirit'--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
    Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Our values give us a roadmap to
    ``Sharing the Blessings.''

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                            Serving Those In Need

                              We recognize and adapt to our agencies (food
                            pantries, schools, soup kitchens, shelters)
                            needs, providing them resources to help them
                            best solve food insecurity for individuals and
                            families.

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                            Empowering Volunteers

                              Our volunteers find purpose in their efforts
                            shared with MFB. Opportunities are made
                            available for any age and array of abilities.
                            The countless hours and expertise of our
                            volunteers is a unique and blessed
                            differentiator.

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                            Embracing Our Communities

                              We warmly welcome community members and
                            partners, engage with them to serve those in
                            need, and sincerely appreciate the joint
                            partnerships we have.

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                            Working With Integrity

                              Our communications and actions are always
                            done with honesty and transparency.

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                            Executing Through Teamwork

                              We work across all our divisions and within
                            our locations. We place a high priority on
                            collaboration, leveraging best practices for
                            continuous improvement of an already efficient
                            organization.

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    Our Vision
              Provide industry-leading food relief to those in need while
            feeding them spiritually.
    Food Insecurity
    Noun
              the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient
            quantity of affordable, nutritious food

        Food-insecure households have difficulty at some time during the
    year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of
    resources. In 2020, 16 percent (50.4 million households) of U.S.
    households were food-insecure (projected numbers). One in five
    Americans have turned to a food pantry or community food distribution
    at some point since the beginning of the pandemic.
        These numbers include 17 million, or one in four children. As of
    July 2020, an estimated 370 million children were missing school meals.
    U.S. Food Insecurity Rate

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    U.S. Food Insecurity Rate (Children Only)

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              Sources: USDA (200-2019); Feeding America (2020).
    How Many People in the World Are Hungry?
        Globally, about 38% of the world's population goes to bed on an
    empty stomach. This number is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa and
    Southeast Asia, estimated at 57% of the population.

              Source: The State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the
            World 2020.

              ``But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in
            need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love
            abide in him?''
                                                               1 John 3:17.
    Food Recipients

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                                    Ashley

                                      Years ago, the I-58 Mission helped
                                    Ashley when her husband was out of work
                                    with health issues. When COVID hit, she
                                    returned for help. She relies on them
                                    each week for food. The I-58 Mission is
                                    a nonprofit partner served by MFB
                                    Georgia.

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                                    Wendy

                                      Wendy's husband lost his job. With a
                                    mortgage, bills, and children to feed,
                                    Wendy says they wouldn't have made it
                                    without help. She gives back by
                                    volunteering at MFB and other pantries.
                                    Wendy receives food from The Hope
                                    Chest, a pantry served by MFB Morton.

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                                    Bo

                                      A former line worker from Charleston,
                                    WV, Bo has been retired since 2005.
                                    He's thankful for the help he receives
                                    from the Second Avenue Community Center
                                    served by MFB Bloomington-Normal
                                    through their remote distribution in
                                    Belle, WV.

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                                    Berlinda

                                      Berlinda was left at an orphanage in
                                    Haiti. In her childhood she struggled
                                    with a speech disorder as a result of a
                                    long convulsion. Now she speaks without
                                    problems and is very athletic. Berlinda
                                    was helped by Matthew 25, a nonprofit
                                    partner served by MFB Haiti.

    Our Midwest Food Bank Model

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    Midwest Food Bank Growth
    Value of food distributed (millions)

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    Financials

                  Years Ending December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            2018               2019              2020 *
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Public Support
     and Revenue:
      Donated food,       $229,928,875       $270,649,371       $397,204,944
       vehicles,
       equipment
       and services
      General               $7,436,910         $7,487,187        $18,427,058
       public
       contribution
       s and grants
      Special                 $788,242           $809,831           $864,259
       events
      CARES and                $94,829            $67,262         $2,706,416
       Other *
                    --------------------------------------------------------
        Total             $238,248,856       $279,013,656       $419,202,677
         public
         support
         and
         revenue
                    --------------------------------------------------------
    Expenses:
      Program             $232,260,156       $279,505,173       $392,370,479
       services
      Management            $1,123,151           $988,014         $1,278,165
       and general
      Fundraising             $776,111           $854,074           $961,835
        <1%                      0.81%              0.66%              0.57%
         Management
         , General,
         and
         Fundraisin
         g
                    --------------------------------------------------------
          Total           $234,159,418       $281,357,261       $394,610,479
           Expenses
                    --------------------------------------------------------
    Net Assets:
      Food                 $19,606,336        $16,416,429        $33,284,514
       Inventory
      Cash,                $15,066,135        $19,297,314        $24,333,245
       buildings
       (net of
       debt),
       equipment,
       other
                    --------------------------------------------------------
        Total net          $34,672,471        $35,713,743        $57,617,759
         assets
                    --------------------------------------------------------
          With              $1,600,673         $1,205,399           $750,000
           donor
           restrict
           ions
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * Numbers above for 2018 and 2019 are from Midwest Food Bank's audited
      statements. Financials represented for 2020 numbers are year-end
      summaries. The Midwest Food Bank audited statements for 2020 will be
      finalized and available May 30, 2021. CARES and Other in 2020 includes
      revenue from CARES Act, including PPP Loan.

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              Midwest Food Bank multiplies and stewards donations through
            the blessings of volunteer hours and donated food.
    MFB Programs
    Food Pantries

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        Midwest Food Bank is engaged in alleviating hunger and poverty
    throughout the world. In 2020, Midwest Food Bank distributed over $383
    million worth of food to over 2,000 nonprofit organizations. This is
    all thanks to the generosity of our donors, the valuable work of our
    volunteers and, most importantly, the blessings of God.
        The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 a unique year. With feeding
    programs seeing an increase of 20-50% in need, Midwest Food Bank was
    challenged to distribute more food. At the same time, supply chains
    were disrupted. The first few months, in particular, food procurement
    was more difficult than usual, but MFB continued to find and distribute
    food.
    Disaster Relief

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        In a typical year, Midwest Food Bank delivers 20-50 semi loads of
    Disaster Relief in concert with The Salvation Army and other partners.
    These loads primarily go to locations in the Midwest or South to
    victims of tornados, flooding, or hurricanes. 2020 was anything but a
    typical year.
        Pandemic-related quarantines and business interruptions created
    wide-spread food insecurity. Across the U.S., people were seeking food
    assistance for the first time. MFB sent 179 semi loads of family food
    boxes to many locations (see map on page 14). Supporters of Midwest
    Food Bank truly have an impact nationwide.

              MFB sent over 185,000 disaster relief food boxes in 179 semi
            loads.
    MFB Programs
    Tender Mercies

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        Tender Mercies' is Midwest Food Bank's nutritious bagged
    meal of rice, beans, and soy protein, making a delicious meal. It is an
    integral part of fighting food insecurity in the United States. Tender
    Mercies is also a mainstay of our international efforts. In East Africa
    and Haiti, it is distributed to schools and orphanages to help young
    children learn by providing nutrition in their diets.
        In June 2020, single serving bags of Tender Mercies were
    introduced. They were designed especially for Hope Packs and homebound
    elderly people living alone.
        Tender Mercies can be packaged by machine or by volunteers hand
    measuring ingredients. COVID-19 brought a temporary halt to hand-
    packing in 2020. At the same time, MFB experienced a great increase in
    need for the meals.
        In 2020, 11.64 million Tender Mercies meals were packaged, up from
    7.22 million in 2019. 90% of the meals were produced by volunteers
    operating the packing machine.
    Tender Mercies Meal Production

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    Hope Packs

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        Hope Packs, Midwest Food Bank's student feeding program, provides
    food-insecure children with supplemental weekend food. Every Friday
    throughout the school year, qualifying children receive a pack of
    shelf-stable food. This helps to ensure that children arrive at school
    on Monday morning ready to learn.

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        The pandemic caused schools to adjust their teaching model for
    safety purposes. Agencies participating in the Hope Packs program were
    faced with schools remote learning days. Agencies participating in Hope
    Packs had to use creativity to reach food-insecure students. Many
    avenues were used, including scheduling pick-up times and even
    delivering food to students at home.

              A child may be sponsored to receive Hope Packs for a school
            year for only $50.
    Midwest Food Bank Reach
        In 18 years, Midwest Food Bank has grown from a small ministry on a
    family farm, to ten domestic and two international locations.
    Additional locations continue to be evaluated based on need and
    support.

              Illinois--Normal                       East Africa
      [Est. 2003  Serving 523       [Est. 2014  Serving 40
                 Agencies]                             Agencies]
              Illinois--Peoria                         Arizona
      [Est. 2007  Serving 323      [Est. 2016  Serving 296
                 Agencies]                             Agencies]
                  Indiana                               Haiti
      [Est. 2008  Serving 300        [Est. 2017  180 Tons
                 Agencies]                     Shipped to Haiti in 2019]
                  Georgia                               Texas
      [Est. 2011  Serving 291       [Est. 2018  Serving 54
                 Agencies]                             Agencies]
              Illinois--Morton                       Pennsylvania
    [Est. 2012  4.43 Million TM     [Est. 2020  Serving 30
              Meals Packaged]                          Agencies]
                  Florida                            New England
      [Est. 2014  Serving 171            [Est. December 2020]
                 Agencies]

    International Operations
    East Africa

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        The COVID-19 pandemic caused business closures and strict lock-
    downs led to mass hunger, especially in the slum areas served by Kapu
    Africa (Midwest Food Bank East Africa). Working with partner
    ministries, Kapu Africa was able to share Tender Mercies meals in food-
    insecure slums.
        A silver lining during this dark time is the great spiritual
    awakening taking place. Many of these slum-dwellers are social
    outcasts, shown no respect or courtesy. There are countless reports of
    people weeping as they receive food, asking, ``Why are you doing this
    for me?'' The gospel of Christ has been shared with many of these
    people before, but now they want to know what is driving the love they
    are shown.

              7.2 Million Tender Mercies meals were distributed in East
            Africa in 2020.
    Haiti

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        Haiti added the COVID-19 pandemic to its list of challenges in
    2020. All airports, seaports, factories, and schools were closed for a
    time.
        Most Haitian children receive their primary daily nourishment from
    their school lunch. MFB Haiti was able to get Tender Mercies
    distributed through partnerships with faith-based schools. In 2020,
    Midwest Food Bank Haiti more than doubled shipments of food to Haiti.
    Over 160 tons of food relief were shipped, nearly \3/4\ of which was
    Tender Mercies meals.

              In Haiti, nearly 1 million Tender Mercies meals were
            distributed in 2020.

        We also partner with over 20 feeding centers, which provide a noon
    meal to 50 children up to 5 years old. Over 1,100 children receive
    these daily meals.
    Volunteers
        One of the key strengths of Midwest Food Bank is its volunteers.
    They are the life-blood of the organization. From leading volunteer
    groups to driving semi-trucks, people generously give of their time and
    talents to further MFB's mission. In 2020 volunteer service hours
    equaled 150 full-time employees.
        The pandemic created safety challenges for MFB. Safety protocols
    were put in place at each location. Volunteer groups were limited to
    allow for social distancing. While we saw an increase in the amount of
    food needed, fewer volunteers were able to help.
        Multiple MFB locations received the invaluable assistance of the
    National Guard. They filled many of the volunteer positions vital to
    our operations--driving trucks and fork-lifts and helping with food
    distributions. Their presence was a blessing.

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              300,898 hours of service were volunteered by 17,930
            individuals in 2020.

        Many volunteers demonstrated their courage and dedication by
    increasing their hours to meet the need. They applied their personal
    talents and efforts for a return for others. Their service allowed
    Midwest Food Bank to remain open and operational throughout 2020.
    In 2020, There Were 450 Volunteers for Every 1 Paid MFB Staff Member

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    Pandemic Response
        The COVID-19 pandemic presented Midwest Food Bank with a unique
    opportunity to live out our mission. Yet, responding to the needs posed
    uncommon challenges.
        Most states experienced work suspensions and quarantines, causing
    food insecurity. Rather than sending relief to a single disaster area,
    our partner, The Salvation Army, requested semi-loads of family food
    boxes for all over the U.S. The first relief load was sent on March 18.
    When the loads reach their destination, they are immediately
    distributed to those in need.

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        Procuring the contents of the boxes created other difficulties.
    Initially, it was a challenge to have items shipped. The increased need
    for shelf-stable food depleted our supplies of donated food. Leveraging
    our relationships with food manufacturers, Midwest Food Bank purchased
    some products to go into the relief boxes.

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                                      ``I live out here in Sassoon City,
                                    California. But I wanted to say thank
                                    you. I really. really, really
                                    appreciate what you are doing. It helps
                                    out more than you could ever know. I am
                                    a single father of an 8 year old
                                    daughter. I greatly appreciate what you
                                    do. Thank you. I wanted to say thank
                                    you. We greatly, greatly appreciate it.
                                    You are amazing. Thank you. This kind
                                    of thing is really helpful. Thank you.
                                    Thank you and God bless. Thank you.''

       Voicemail transcript MFB received from Tim, grateful recipient of a
                                                           Family Food Box.
    Nonprofit Partners
        Midwest Food Bank's nonprofit partners must be 501(c)(3) charities.
    They agree to give away the food received from MFB free of charge.
    Types of agencies include:

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       Food pantries

       Soup kitchens

       Homeless shelters

       Residential programs

       Children feeding programs

        In addition to the many ways the COVID-19 crisis affected Midwest
    Food Bank, our partner agencies also faced new challenges. Those that
    remained open had to alter their distribution methods. Human contact
    was limited as food was distributed. Our partners saw a 20-50% increase
    in the need for their services.

              MFB Served over 2,000 nonprofit partners in 2020.

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                                      ``During a time like this, when it's
                                    a crisis throughout the world, we are
                                    grateful for the support we get from
                                    Midwest Food Bank.''

                                                              Matt Burgess,
                        CEO of Home Sweet Home Ministries, Bloomington, IL.

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              A semi-load of relief arrives at the Navajo Nation, served by
            Helping Hands for the Navajo Nation, a partner agency of
            Midwest Food Bank Arizona.
    MFB Food Sources

        We receive donated food from all over the country--food produced in
    excess, incorrect labeling, and more. Donated food comes from various
    sources:

       Food manufacturers

       Food distribution centers

       USDA programs

       Grocery stores

       Private food drives
    MFB Recipient of USDA Program
        In May, Midwest Food Bank began participating in the new USDA
    Farmers to Families Food Box program. It was created to help both food
    producers and those struggling with food insecurity as a result of
    COVID-19. With funding provided by the USDA, food distributors bought
    produce, protein, and dairy products directly from farmer and
    producers. The distributors boxed the food items and gave them directly
    to participating charities.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
                      MFB distributed over $52 Million worth of nutritious
                    produce, protein, and dairy products in the USDA
                    program.

    % Dairy, Produce, and Protein

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

              MFB gave away nearly 1.1 million cases of the USDA Farmer[s]
            to Famil[ies] program food.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
              5% of MFB donations come from Share Partners

        Week by week, month by month, Midwest Food Bank is sharing the
    blessings with those in need. With this same recurring cadence, MFB
    Share Partners make faithful financial contributions that bring our
    mission to life. Share Partners are generous donors who are giving
    funds on a regularly scheduled basis.
        For people who wish to make a continual, positive impact, Share
    Partners makes it easy. Each week, month, or quarter, donors can make
    an automatic donation directly from a checking account, a debit or
    credit card.

        Convenience of recurring giving

       Easy enrollment

       Donor selects timing

          Select weekly, monthly, or quarterly

       Donor directs giving

          Choose to support a specific MFB location
              To become a Share Partner, please go to midwestfoodbank.org/
            sharepartner

              Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all
            your crops
                                                              Proverbs 3:9.
    Midwest Food Bank Leads the Food Relief Industry in Low Administrative
            Costs

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

              Sources: 2019 IRS Form 990.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
                              Charity Navigator, America's premier
                            independent charity evaluator, has awarded four
                            out of a possible four stars to Midwest Food
                            Bank

    the last 9 years. Only 4% of nonprofits have achieved at least 8
    consecutive years of Four Star Charity status.
        The Forbes 21st annual list of top 100 charities is based on
    donations received. For 2020, Midwest Food Bank moved up to number 57.
    The charities on the list are rated for ``Charitable Commitment,''
    based on how much of a charity's total expense went to the purpose.
    Midwest Food Bank's rating is 100 out of 100.

                             National Board Members

    David Kieser, President              Ann Kafer
        David founded MFB in 2003 with     Ann is the Vice-President of
     his brothers. He serves as CEO,      Human Resources and Strategy at
     and Board President.                 Growmark, Inc.
    Bill Leman, Vice-President           Denny Mott
        Bill is owner and CEO of Leman     Dennis is a retired Business
     Property Management.                 Manager from Caterpillar, Inc.
    Dave Hodel, Secretary/Treasurer      Trent Scholl
        Dave is a partner in Darnall       Trent is a principal partner at
     Concrete.                            Ledgestone & Associates, LLC.
    Ralph Endress                        Eric Sheldahl
        Ralph is the retired owner and     Eric is a commercial and
     CEO of Young America Realty Inc.     residential real estate
                                          entrepreneur.
    Jim Gapinski
        Jim is owner and CEO of
     Heartland Growers.

                              Functional Leadership

    Eric Hodel, COO/CFO                  Michael Meece, Human Resources
                                          Director
    Lisa Martin, Information Technology  Michael Hoffman, Inventory &
     Director                             Logistics Director
    Brian Zink, Procurement Director     Dana Williamson, Accounting
                                          Director
    Jada Hoerr, Chief Development
     Officer

                              Divisional Leadership

                  Arizona                              Indiana
    Merilee Baptiste, Executive          John Whitaker, Executive Director
     Director
    Eric Sheldahl, Divisional Board      Jim Gapinski, Divisional Board
     President                            President
                  Florida                            New England
    Karl Steidinger, Executive Director  Jan Young, Executive Director
    Stanley Sinn, Divisional Board       Brent Walder, Divisional Board
     President                            President
                  Georgia                            Pennsylvania
    Will Garner, Executive Director      Lori Renne, Executive Director
    Jim Roy, Divisional Board President  Aleta Serrano, Divisional Board
                                          President
       Illinois--Bloomington--Normal                    Texas
    Tara Ingham, Executive Director      David Emerson, Executive Director
    Chris Stoffer, Divisional Board      Rich Stoller, Divisional Board
     President                            President
              Illinois--Morton                       East Africa
    Lisa Martin, Executive Director      Christine Mutsoli, Executive
                                          Director
    Trent Scholl, Divisional Board       Denny Mott, Divisional Board
     President                            President
              Illinois--Peoria                          Haiti
    Monica Scheuer, Executive Director   Jerry Koehl, Divisional Board
                                          President
    Frank Gutwein, Divisional Board
     President

    How Can You Help?
    1  Pray for Midwest Food Bank
        It is our hope to show Christ's love in our actions.
    2  Volunteer
        Bring your gifts and talents to further MFB's mission. Consider
    becoming a lead volunteer, facilitating groups.
    3  Follow us on social media
        Tag us in your Facebook and Instagram posts.
        Check our blog and newsletter for updates.
    4  Connect your friends and family to MFB
        Your church or civic group would enjoy a volunteer service project.
    5  Give
        We strive to be good stewards of funds entrusted to us. Consider a
    monthly gift as a Share Partner.

        midwestfoodbank.org

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Hodel.
        I now recognize Mr. Edenfield. Mr. Edenfield, if you are
    ready, please begin your testimony. I think you are muted.
        Okay, we will go to Mr. McBrayer. Mr. McBrayer, if you are
    ready, please begin your testimony.

      STATEMENT OF MAX E. McBRAYER, Jr., CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
                 RaceTrac PETROLEUM, INC., ATLANTA, GA

        Mr. McBrayer. Hello, this is Max McBrayer. Chairman Scott,
    Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the Committee, my name
    is Max McBrayer and I am Chief Executive Officer of RaceTrac.
    Thank you for inviting me to share what RaceTrac is doing to
    combat food insecurity in America.
        Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, RaceTrac is a family-
    owned business that has been serving guests since 1934.
    RaceTrac, together with its franchise brand, RaceWay, operates
    over 750 convenience stores across 11 states, employing nearly
    10,000 people. Almost all of our stores that redeem SNAP are
    open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and nearly 20 percent of
    them are in rural communities. Over 10 years ago, in response
    to changing customer demand, we embarked on a journey to
    provide more healthy, fresh, and perishable food products to
    our guests. Today, all of our locations have robust, diverse
    food service operations. Food is increasingly our biggest
    customer draw.
        RaceTrac now sells over 12,000 pieces of fresh fruit a
    week, and in 2020, sold almost 800,000 bottles of milk, and
    close to a half million fresh sandwiches. Ten years ago,
    RaceTrac also began to participate in SNAP. Today, all RaceTrac
    stores and 98 percent of RaceWay stores redeem SNAP benefits.
    At RaceTrac stores alone, we process three million EBT
    transactions per year.
        Our stores have been designated critical infrastructure by
    the Federal Government, and have remained open throughout this
    pandemic, providing food and fuel to the public. COVID-19 has
    exacerbated food insecurity in the United States. At RaceTrac,
    we have seen this impact firsthand.
        RaceTrac has seen a 65 percent increase in EBT dollars used
    at our stores. RaceWay stores, which tend to be located in more
    rural communities, have seen a 102 percent increase. Guests are
    constantly coming into our stores and asking if we accept EBT
    dollars. Not only are we seeing an overall increase in SNAP
    purchases among adults, including homeless adults, we have seen
    an increase among students who will use EBT before and after
    school to purchase snacks or lunch.
        RaceTrac's participation in SNAP is critical because it
    enables beneficiaries to conveniently access approximately
    1,700 competitively priced EBT-eligible products. Low-income
    Americans often work and shop for food during unconventional
    hours. Our stores are often the only easily accessible retail
    food store located in that particular area, and our stores are
    open during extended hours when other larger food retailers are
    closed. For that reason, having RaceTrac and other small format
    stores participate in the program benefits many SNAP recipients
    who save time and resources by not having to travel
    inconvenient distances from where they live or work to purchase
    milk and bread.
        Congress created SNAP to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
    To maximize beneficiaries' access to food, lawmakers
    intentionally designed the program to ensure that both large
    and small retailers can participate. This approach has been
    successful. RaceTrac and other small format retailers serve an
    important role in SNAP. We provide convenient locations for
    SNAP beneficiaries to access affordable food at any time they
    wish, day or night.
        No American should go hungry. I hope we can continue to
    work together to fulfill the program's goal. Our industry's
    unique format and business model has been and should continue
    to be a meaningful asset in the government's effort to combat
    hunger in the United States. We hope to remain active partners
    in SNAP in order to provide essential food access to the
    thousands of people in our communities who have come to rely on
    us.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am happy to
    answer any questions you may have.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. McBrayer follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Max E. McBrayer, Jr., Chief Executive Officer,
                     RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc., Atlanta, GA
    I. Summary of the Testimony
       RaceTrac, together with its franchise-brand RaceWay,
            operates over 750 convenience stores across 11 southeastern
            states and employs nearly 10,000 team members. All of
            RaceTrac's stores, and 98 percent of RaceWay stores are
            licensed under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
            (``SNAP'' or the ``Program'') and accept Electronic Benefit
            Transfer (``EBT'') purchases.

       Our stores, the vast majority of which are open 24 hours a
            day, 7 days a week, contribute to a variety of communities
            throughout the southeast United States. Almost 20 percent of
            our stores are in towns of 2,500 to 20,000 people. All of our
            stores have robust, diverse food-service operations that are
            increasingly our biggest customer draw.

       COVID-19 has exacerbated what was already an unacceptable
            situation with respect to food insecurity in the United States.
            At RaceTrac, we have seen this impact firsthand. Our stores,
            which the Federal Government designated as critical
            infrastructure, have remained open throughout this pandemic,
            providing food and fuel to the public.

       Over the past year, our store teams have seen a notable
            increase in SNAP purchases. In fact, the percent of EBT
            transactions at our stores has almost doubled over the past
            year. RaceTrac has seen a 65% increase in EBT dollars used at
            our stores. RaceWay stores, which tend to be located in more
            rural communities, have seen a 102% increase.

       RaceTrac's participation in SNAP is critical because it
            enables beneficiaries to access food without excessive
            inconvenience or expense. Low-income Americans often work--and
            shop for food--during unconventional hours. Our stores are
            often the only easily accessible retail food store located in a
            particular area, and are consistently open longer than other
            large-format food retailers and thus provide extended hours
            during which customers can access food.
    II. Introduction
        Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the
    Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning. My
    name is Max McBrayer, and I am the Chief Executive Officer for RaceTrac
    Petroleum, Inc. (``RaceTrac'').\1\ Today I will share what RaceTrac is
    doing to combat food insecurity in America. RaceTrac and the entire
    convenience store industry places a growing importance on food service
    relative to even 10 or 15 years ago. Our industry's unique format and
    business model has been, and should continue to be, a meaningful asset
    in the Federal Government's effort to combat food insecurity in the
    United States. My testimony today will outline our experience as
    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (``SNAP'' or the ``Program'')
    retailers, and offer some suggestions for how the Federal Government
    can continue to harness companies like ours in its efforts to provide
    affordable, convenient access to food for America's most vulnerable
    citizens.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ RaceTrac is a member of the National Association of Convenience
    Stores (NACS), the National Association of Truckstop Operators (NATSO),
    and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, RaceTrac is a family-owned
    business that has been serving guests since 1934.RaceTrac, together
    with its franchise-brand RaceWay, operates over 750 convenience stores
    and employs nearly 10,000 team members. Our stores, the vast majority
    of which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, contribute to a
    variety of communities throughout the southeast United States. Almost
    20 percent of our stores are in towns of 2,500 to 20,000 people. All of
    these locations have robust, diverse food-service operations that are
    increasingly our biggest customer draw. All of RaceTrac's stores and 98
    percent of RaceWay stores redeem SNAP benefits.
        The past year has been a struggle for Americans and their families,
    particularly with respect to food insecurity. Our presence in rural,
    suburban, and urban areas throughout the Southeast gives us a unique
    vantage point through which to understand the critical role that
    convenience stores and other small format retailers play in providing
    food to low-income families through SNAP.
        For SNAP beneficiaries, RaceTrac's stores serve as critical
    locations to access food. Not only do we provide beneficiaries with a
    variety of competitively priced, SNAP-eligible foods, we provide them
    access to those foods during extended hours, when other food retailers
    are closed. For that reason, RaceTrac's participation in the Program
    benefits many SNAP recipients, who save time and resources by not
    having to travel inconvenient distances from where they live or work to
    purchase milk and bread.
        Over the past year, the percent of SNAP transactions at our stores
    has doubled--and we have seen a 65% increase in EBT dollars used at
    RaceTrac stores and a 102% increase at RaceWay stores. No American
    should go hungry. We hope to remain active partners in SNAP in order to
    provide essential food access to the thousands of people in our
    communities who have come to rely on us.
    a. About RaceTrac
        RaceTrac is composed of two operating divisions: \2\ RaceTrac and
    RaceWay. RaceTrac operates 549 RaceTrac-branded retail fuel and
    convenience stores across seven southern states: Alabama, Florida,
    Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas; and owns more
    than 200 contractor-operated RaceWay-branded stores across 11 states:
    Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
    Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.\3\ RaceTrac
    employs nearly 10,000 individuals across its divisions and
    subsidiaries.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ RaceTrac also has two subsidiaries: Energy Dispatch and
    Metroplex Energy. Our transportation company, Energy Dispatch, hauls
    fuel for RaceTrac and RaceWay, and employs more than 230 drivers and
    operates 88 tractor-trailers out of six states (Alabama, Florida,
    Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas). Energy Dispatch delivers more
    than 1.2 billion gallons of fuel each year. Our wholesale fuel
    supplying company, Metroplex Energy, secures bulk fuel to supply
    RaceTrac and RaceWay stores and other third-party companies by rail,
    pipeline, truck, barge and vessel across 13 states (Alabama, Arkansas,
    Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina,
    Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia). Metroplex
    Energy sells about 4.8 billion gallons of fuel annually.
        \3\ Of the current group of RaceWay franchise operators, 71%
    identify as Desi (i.e., a person of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi
    descent), 18% identify as Arab (i.e., a person of Middle Eastern or
    North African descent), and 10% identify as ``other''.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Every day, RaceTrac operates under its mission to ``make people's
    lives simpler and more enjoyable''--and for that reason, the company
    has been named a top workplace across many of the states in which it
    operates, and has been recognized on the Forbes list of largest private
    companies every year since 1998.
        Since 2015, RaceTrac has built an average of 40 new stores
    annually, investing about $225 million each year across our footprint.
    We plan to invest another $300 million to build 31 new stores in 2021,
    which will lead to expanded employment opportunities as each of our
    stores employs approximately 20-22 people. The company has also
    invested over $33 million in alternative fuels infrastructure. To
    further support the communities in which it operates, since 2010
    RaceTrac has raised over $5.6 million for several charities, including
    the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research, Camp Sunshine
    (a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses), Second
    Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, and the Boys & Girls Club
    Florida Alliance.
    b. RaceTrac has proudly been participating in SNAP for a decade
        Our participation in SNAP is critical because it enables SNAP
    beneficiaries to access food without excessive inconvenience or
    expense. The Program is designed to make life easier for approximately
    43 million low-income Americans, including 18.9 million children,\4\
    and our stores play a critical role in accomplishing this objective.
    All of RaceTrac's 549 stores and 200 RaceWay stores accept SNAP
    benefits. RaceTrac's stores process roughly three million EBT
    transactions per year.\5\ Throughout the Southeast, our stores are
    convenient places for SNAP beneficiaries to access food. Many low-
    income Americans often work--and shop for food--during unconventional
    hours. Not only are our stores often the only easily accessible retail
    food store located in a particular area, they are consistently open
    longer than other large-format food retailers and thus provide extended
    hours during which customers can shop for food.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ See generally, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Characteristics of
    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: FY 2018 (Nov.
    2019), https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-
    files/Characteristics2018-Summary.pdf; U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
    Program Information Report (Sept. 2020), https://fns-
    prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/data-files/Keydata-September-
    2020.pdf.
        \5\ This number does not include EBT transactions at RaceWay-
    branded stores.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Almost all RaceTrac stores and 111 RaceWay stores are open 24 hours
    per day, 7 days a week; \6\ and 93 RaceWay stores are typically open
    from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Our continuous and extended hours ensure that
    customers are always able to access our stores to purchase the food,
    including approximately 1,700 SNAP-eligible items, they need at any
    time. In rural and urban communities, our stores may be the only place
    for the community to shop conveniently for common food items and the
    only location where a SNAP beneficiary can make an EBT purchase.
    Because of our extended hours, our stores may also be the only location
    for consumers to purchase food with SNAP benefits at the beginning or
    end of a late work shift. One store team member put it best: ``My store
    is in a low income area where our guests do not have reliable
    transportation. We are their store for supplies and food. Guests choose
    us for the accessibility and price.'' \7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure the health and
    safety of our customers and store teams, we now close our stores for 1
    hour each night to perform a deep clean/disinfect of the store.
        \7\ Another employee noted: ``We do have several EBT guests that we
    consider to be our regular guests. Whether it's a landscape worker
    stopping in for lunch or a homeless guest without transportation.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    c. RaceTrac's Initiatives to Expand Fresh and Healthy Food Offerings
        RaceTrac has been at the vanguard of the convenience store industry
    when it comes to providing fresh and healthy food selections for our
    guests. In everything we do and offer, we are driven by consumer
    demand--and just like all successful retailers, we constantly try to
    identify and respond to what our customers want.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ The entrepreneurial culture of RaceWay and its operators has
    resulted in store-specific food service offerings that are tailored to
    meet the tastes of a particular community. For instance, RaceWay
    operators have put in place chicken, BBQ and Tex-Mex offerings, in
    addition to stocking staple food items targeted to food preferences of
    certain ethnic groups in the communities where they operate.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Over 10 years ago, RaceTrac embarked on a journey to provide more
    fresh and perishable products to our guests. This shift was neither
    easy nor inexpensive, requiring a significant change to our store
    format and operating procedures. We redesigned our approximately 5,000
    square foot stores, which are nine times smaller than the average
    supermarket and have limited refrigerated and freezer space, to
    accommodate an expanded food offering that would appeal to our guests'
    changing tastes.
        There are many challenges that small format retailers face in
    providing perishable and fresh foods, generally related to spoilage and
    food-safety protocols.\9\ To address those challenges and secure a
    consistent and trusted source for our fresh food programs, we had to
    create our own internal distribution program, RaceTrac Distributing
    (``RTD''). And because we don't run our own commissary, we had to
    institute and manage a commissary relationship in order to develop and
    oversee a system to assemble and distribute product to our warehouses,
    stores, and ultimately, consumers. Food safety protocols were embedded
    in every step of this process. Throughout our entire supply chain (RTD
    and wholesale partners), we have a rigorous food supplier vetting
    process, robust ingredient traceability, and end-to-end tracking and
    management of our cold chain, all to guarantee the safety of our
    offerings.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Unlike a grocery store, which may get daily food deliveries,
    small-format stores like RaceTrac and RaceWay only get deliveries a few
    times a week--in our case, approximately three times per week.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        There has been a steady increase in customer demand for healthy
    staples over the past few years--and RaceTrac has strived to meet that
    demand. We offer an assortment of fresh whole fruits, cut fruit, and
    packaged salads; dairy products, including milk, cheeses, and fresh
    yogurt parfaits; breads, pasta bowls, and cereals; as well as
    hardboiled egg packs, ``protein packs'' with fresh nuts, cheeses,
    fruits, and meats, and fresh sandwiches. RaceTrac now sells over 12,000
    pieces of fresh fruit per week--and in 2020, sold almost 800,000
    bottles of milk and over 410,000 fresh sandwiches.
    d. Our Stores Are Essential for Food Access
        ``To alleviate hunger and malnutrition,'' Congress created the
    Program and strategically designed it to ensure the participation of
    both large and small format retailers as a means of maximizing
    beneficiaries' access to food.\10\ Small-format convenience stores and
    large-format grocery stores serve different beneficial purposes in the
    Program. Convenience stores tend to supplement the traditional grocery
    store with respect to food access. Many SNAP beneficiaries come to
    RaceTrac to conveniently purchase items such as bread and milk in
    between trips to the grocery store. Small-format stores like ours
    provide convenience--both in terms of location and hours of operation--
    as well as competitively priced food to all consumers, including SNAP
    beneficiaries. We constantly endeavor to provide convenience, value,
    and quality to American consumers on the go. In short, we strive to
    make the lives of all of our customers, including low-income consumers,
    simpler and more enjoyable.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ See e.g., 7 U.S.C.  2011, 2012(o), 2018 (discussing food
    access and retailer eligibility).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Despite our best efforts to provide fresh, competitively-priced
    food products, COVID-19 has imposed significant challenges. In addition
    to increased health and safety protocols that were layered on top of
    existing food-safety protocols, we had to contend with sporadic supply
    disruptions and food shortages. We were able to overcome these supply
    disruptions and we continue to work diligently with our suppliers to
    minimize disruption for our customers, who have come to rely on our
    stores as an essential component to their monthly food shopping
    routine.
        RaceTrac stores are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, rain or
    shine. They are open during normal times and during emergencies. While
    COVID-19 has been a historic national emergency, it is not the first
    time that our stores have kept their doors open during times of
    national or regional hardship. For over 80 years, our stores have
    stayed open during national disasters, including hurricanes and other
    extreme weather events. In the words of one frontline team member,
    ``during disaster times like hurricanes, we are the only thing open.
    It's great we can help and provide the needed items to our guests in
    their time of need.''
        Throughout national disasters, we do whatever it takes to keep our
    doors open, providing communities with places to refuel their vehicles
    and purchase basic necessities. This includes the ability to purchase
    hot foods when cooking at home is infeasible. During those times, we
    have seamlessly adjusted our EBT operations to effectuate Federal hot
    food waivers to ensure our most economically vulnerable guests have the
    ability to eat. (For many of our SNAP guests, there has been confusion
    as to why hot foods waivers were not granted during the worst of the
    pandemic shutdown when people were struggling to get by without
    childcare and other support.)
    III. Food Insecurity and COVID-19--A Retailer's Perspective
        Regrettably, hunger and food insecurity are a persistent presence
    in our country. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately
    35.2 million Americans, including 5.3 million children, were food-
    insecure. This equates to more than one in ten American households.\11\
    COVID-19 has exacerbated what was already an unacceptable situation; at
    RaceTrac, we have seen this impact firsthand.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Economic Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food
    Security Status of U.S. Households in 2019, https://www.ers.usda.gov/
    topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-
    statistics-graphics.aspx.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Designated as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland
    Security,\12\ RaceTrac's stores have remained open throughout this
    pandemic, providing food and fuel to the public. Our frontline team
    members have shown up, day after day, complying with stringent health
    and safety protocols to ensure that healthcare workers, first
    responders, and everyday people can refuel, whether that be with a cup
    of coffee and a sandwich or with a gallon of gas. This availability and
    accessibility has been particularly important to the food-insecure
    during the pandemic. As one store team member described: ``During
    COVID, guests could count on us to be there, open, and be in stock.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ ``Food & Agriculture,'' which includes the convenience
    industry, was classified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
    as a Critical Infrastructure Sector in its August 18, 2020, Guidance.
    See Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure
    Security Agency, ``Advisory Memorandum on Ensuring Essential Critical
    Infrastructure Workers Ability to Work During the COVID-19 Response,''
    (Aug. 18, 2020) available at https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/
    publications/Version_4.0_CISA_Guidance_on_Essential_Critical_Infrastruc
    ture_Workers_FINAL%20AUG%2018v3.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        For the past year, store team members have seen a notable increase
    in EBT purchases. According to one of our frontline employees, ``many
    low-income working households shop with us for affordable breakfast,
    lunch, dinner, or snack items. EBT sales have also increased due to the
    state offering more assistance and increasing benefits for lower-income
    households.'' Per a different store team member: ``unemployment
    increases and with poverty and the homeless population levels growing,
    many of them shop with us because of the selection and value.'' Another
    highlighted: ``when guests enter the door, they constantly are asking
    do we take EBT. We have seen an increase with students as well. Kids
    will use EBT before or after the school day to purchase a snack or
    lunch.'' \13\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ These anecdotes are bolstered by the available data regarding
    the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity. See FRAC, Not Enough to Eat:
    COVID-19 Deepens America's Hunger Crisis (Sept. 2020), (finding that
    ``about one in four adults are estimated to be food-insecure during
    COVID-19''); Urban Institute, Forty Percent of Black and Hispanic
    Parents of School-Age Children are Food Insecure (Dec. 2020), https://
    www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103335/
    forty_percent_of_black_and_hispanic_parents_of_school_age_children_are_f
    ood_insecure_
    0.pdf (finding that ``one in four (24.7 percent) families with school-
    age children reported household food insecurity in September; this rate
    rose to over one in three (36.9 percent) among families in which
    someone lost work or work-related income at some point during the
    pandemic.'').
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        RaceTrac's store teams have seen a two-fold increase in EBT
    purchases over the past year. They have served customers with large
    baskets, and have watched as the guest monitors the total on the
    register as they ring them up, in order to add in as many items as
    possible under their available benefits. They have also served guests
    who stop in quickly to make an EBT purchase and then dash out to work.
    Our data confirms what our store teams have been seeing with their own
    eyes: before COVID (2019 and early 2020), EBT accounted for around 0.7-
    1.0% of our total transactions; since March 2020 this has nearly
    doubled to 1.2-1.6% of total transactions. Moreover, RaceTrac stores
    have seen a 65% increase in EBT dollars used and RaceWay stores, which
    tend to be located in more rural communities, have seen a 102% increase
    in EBT dollars used. It is clear to all of us at RaceTrac that in 2020
    many of our guests have been struggling to make ends meet, and are
    experiencing food insecurity. Congress's 15 percent increase of SNAP
    benefits has been critical to ensuring that our most economically
    vulnerable citizens have access to the food they need. In addition, P-
    EBT has been important in ensuring that eligible school children are
    able to access food via temporary emergency EBT benefits while their
    schools are closed or operating with reduced hours.
    IV. Conclusion
        RaceTrac takes its role in the Program seriously. Small-format
    stores like ours serve an important role in SNAP: we provide convenient
    locations for SNAP beneficiaries to access affordable food at any time
    they wish to, day or night. I hope we can continue to work together to
    fulfill the Program's goal to alleviate hunger and food-insecurity
    across the country.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify, I am happy to answer any
    questions you may have.

        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. McBrayer.
        I now recognize Mr. Edenfield. When you are ready, you may
    begin your testimony now.
        Mr. Johnson. While we wait, Madam Chair, I might just note
    to my colleagues they have 5 more minutes to vote, if they
    haven't done so yet.

            STATEMENT OF RON EDENFIELD, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
      EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WAYFIELD FOODS, INC., LITHIA SPRINGS, GA

        Mr. Edenfield. [inaudible] two for one fresh SNAP produce
    purchase program with the assistance of a Food Insecurity
    Nutrition Incentive grant knowledge, FINI, 2018 to 2019. We see
    the importance of these programs to our customers when they are
    going through difficult times.
        Since the pandemic hit, I have never been prouder of our
    500+ associates dedicated to serving our community. When
    Georgia's Department of Labor became overwhelmed with
    unemployment claims, we heard horror stories from our customers
    who went months before they received any benefits. Many are
    still facing this challenge, but for those individuals SNAP has
    been a lifeline for getting food on the table and the emergency
    allotments that increase benefits to a maximum were and are
    critically important.
        When the schools in Atlanta closed due to the pandemic,
    many customers had to quit their jobs to care for their
    children. Feeding their children became a real struggle for
    those who rely on free and reduced-price school meals.
    Thankfully, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020
    that you passed allowed USDA's Food and Nutrition Service to
    facilitate the distribution of pandemic EBT to families
    affected by school closures.
        Georgia families received their one-time allotment of
    $256.50 in P-EBT benefits per child, based on a calculation of
    $5.07 per day for the 45 days the child missed last year.
    Unfortunately, there have been no P-EBT benefits issued for
    this school year, though we are now 7 months into the year.
    Pilot P-EBT program is not under the jurisdiction of this
    Committee. I encourage you to work with the House Education and
    Labor Committee to examine this program and its challenges. The
    model is a good one; the delay is inexcusable. I would
    encourage this Committee to consider P-EBT model for summer
    feeding programs that are under your jurisdiction as well.
        I also want to comment on the food boxes that were
    delivered to supplement families in tremendous need. I know,
    without a doubt, that the existing food partnership that
    distribute funds through an EBT card or through food banks are
    far more efficient and give parents the opportunity to shop at
    their convenience and to purchase the best food for their
    children. Just imagine the frustration of a parent who receives
    a food box containing peanut butter with a child with a peanut
    allergy.
        Our grocery saw increased sales. We were confronted with a
    significant number of costs to keep our associates and our
    customers safe. The national data the FMI, the Food Industry
    Association has collected for more than 40 years finds that the
    supermarket industry profit margin has never hit two percent.
    Perhaps the industry may hit two percent margin this year, but
    for my associates and for many other retailers, that profit
    goes back to them through our employee stock ownership plan.
        In spite of these increased costs, I am proud to say that
    the food retail industry continues to be the largest private-
    sector donor to Feeding America. According to their 2020 annual
    report, food retailers donated more than 1.5 billion meals to
    the Feeding America network last year.
        Although your Committee does not have jurisdiction over the
    WIC Program, I did want to share my frustration that Georgia
    has still not transitioned to eWIC. Although every state was
    mandated to transition to eWIC by October 2020, Georgia
    received a waiver to extend their timeline. We are now hearing
    it could be another year before Georgia is ready to launch
    eWIC.
        When we talk about food insecurity, we recognize that SNAP
    is an important stabilizer for low-income families. It is also
    a powerful economic stimulator for the local economies.
        In conclusion, addressing an issue as complex as food
    insecurity requires all of us to work together. Wayfield Foods
    will continue to work with our partners to increase access to
    quality food in our communities and are pleased to see the
    result of this work in healthier customers. I may be biased,
    but the House Agriculture Committee has the right person
    leading this important work at this critical time.
        I would be pleased to answer any questions you have. Thank
    you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Edenfield follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Ron Edenfield, President and Chief Executive
               Officer, Wayfield Foods, Inc., Lithia Springs, GA
        Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the
    Committee:

        My name is Ron Edenfield and I am President of Wayfield Foods, a
    nine-store independent grocer with stores across the metro-Atlanta
    area. Wayfield Foods is an authorized retailer in the Supplemental
    Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and also in the Special,
    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and
    Children (WIC).
        As a WIC and SNAP-authorized grocer for 39 years, I appreciate the
    opportunity to come before this distinguished Committee to share my
    views on food insecurity and how the many assistance programs you
    oversee have been a lifeline to my customers, particularly during the
    pandemic.
        Wayfield Foods has been a part of metro-Atlanta since 1982. My goal
    was to bring a full-service grocery store to communities that were
    being all but abandoned by other retailers. Most of our stores are
    located in low-income census tract areas. Without the arrival of our
    stores, these communities would be considered food deserts. We work,
    live and deeply engage in these communities that now have access to a
    reliable, economical source of fresh produce and meats. Our customers
    deserve to eat better for less, like any other community in America.
    This is our mission, and we have devoted our brand to reflect this
    commitment. Almost 40 years later, we are proud of the many ways we
    have become part of the community, providing jobs for over 500
    associates.
        Since the pandemic hit, I have never been prouder of our
    associates' dedication to serving our community. I know all of you
    experienced occasional empty shelves as customers literally rushed to
    get the last pack of hamburger meat or the last roll of toilet paper
    during some of the early days of the pandemic. Our dedicated essential
    employees came to work every day, even working overtime to take care of
    our customers, and we quickly got products back on the shelves.
        As an essential industry, our stores never closed during the
    pandemic. Unfortunately, many of my customers have not been so lucky.
    Many have lost jobs or had their hours reduced. We have had Wayfield
    employees startled by the community need and reached into their own
    pockets to give a customer a few dollars when they could not pay their
    bill at check-out. Wayfield Foods has never wavered in our support of
    local food pantries and community groups to provide additional
    assistance, especially as this need is at an all-time high.
        When Georgia's Department of Labor \1\ became inundated with
    claims, we heard horror stories from our customers who went months
    before they received any benefits. Almost a year later, there are still
    customers who tell us they are having trouble receiving unemployment
    benefits. For those individuals, SNAP has been a lifeline for getting
    food on the table and the Emergency Allotments that increased benefits
    to the maximum were and are critically important.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.11alive.com/article/money/georgia-unemployment-
    benefits-elusive/85-e4af9830-b01d-4ac3-9f2c-17cff5767410.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        When the schools in Atlanta closed due to the pandemic, many
    customers had to quit their jobs to stay home and take care of their
    children. Feeding their children became a real struggle for those who
    rely on free and reduced-price school breakfasts and lunches.
    Thankfully, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 that
    you passed allowed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and
    Nutrition Service to facilitate the distribution of pandemic EBT--or P-
    EBT--to families affected by coronavirus-related school closures.
        Georgia families received a one-time allotment of $256.50 in P-EBT
    benefits per child based on a calculation of $5.07 per day for the 45
    days the child missed school during last year's school year.
    Unfortunately, there have been no P-EBT benefits issued for this school
    year even though we are now 7 months into the school year. To date,
    less than half the states have been approved to issue P-EBT benefits
    for the current school year. While the P-EBT program is not directly
    under the jurisdiction of this Committee, I encourage this Committee in
    coordination with the House Education and Labor Committee to examine
    the program and why many states are facing so many challenges in being
    approved for the current school year. While implementing P-EBT remains
    a challenge for states, there are some very positive pieces to its
    model like how it is tailored directly to children in need and that it
    leverages the existing EBT rails. For families who already participate
    in SNAP, they can shop as they usually do with added benefits on their
    existing cards. For families who do not currently receive SNAP, they
    are issued EBT cards that function under the same requirements of SNAP.
    This allows families to continue shopping at their neighborhood grocer
    who is SNAP-authorized and easily redeem those benefits. I would
    encourage this Committee to consider the P-EBT model for summer feeding
    programs as well. I have always thought this approach of utilizing the
    EBT card for summer feeding made a lot of sense rather than having to
    send children away from their homes to feeding sites.
        I also want to comment on the so called ``food boxes'' that were
    delivered to supplement families in tremendous need. While I certainly
    believe the need is there and that we should do everything we can do to
    help these families, I know without a doubt that the existing food
    partnerships that distribute funds through an EBT card or through food
    banks are far more efficient and give parents the opportunity to shop
    at their convenience and to purchase the best foods for their children.
    Imagine the frustration of a parent who receives a food box containing
    peanut butter but has a child with a peanut allergy.
        There is much that has been said in the press that is less than
    accurate about the increased sales resulting in vastly increased
    profits to grocers this past year. While we certainly saw increased
    sales, we also confronted a significant number of costs to keep our
    associates and customers safe, including investments in PPE, enhanced
    cleaning and retrofitting stores with plexiglass to help keep cashiers,
    baggers and customers safe at check-out. The national data that FMI--
    the Food Industry Association has collected for more than 40 years
    finds that the supermarket industry profit margin has never hit 2%.
    Perhaps when this year's numbers are calculated, the industry may hit a
    2% profit margin, but for my associates and for many others, that
    profit goes back to them through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    (ESOP).
        In spite of these increased costs and the huge demand from
    consumers now responsible for preparing three meals a day for their
    families, I'm proud to say that the food retail industry continued to
    be the largest private sector donor to Feeding America. According to
    their 2020 Annual Report,\2\ food retailers were responsible for
    donating more than 1.5 billion meals to the Feeding America network
    last year. And this represents only one stream of the efforts
    undertaken by retailers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/
    FA_2020AnnReport_FINAL_
    updated0204.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Although your Committee does not have jurisdiction over the WIC
    program, I did want to share my frustration that Georgia has still not
    transitioned to eWIC. Although every state was mandated to transition
    to eWIC by October of 2020, Georgia received a waiver to extend their
    timeline. We are now hearing it could be another year before Georgia is
    ready to launch eWIC.
        Retailers and our customers are challenged to deal with an outdated
    system that requires customers to receive all their monthly benefits at
    one time and maintains the stigma of using the WIC paper vouchers. The
    eWIC system will benefit retailers because costly human error will be
    reduced, reimbursement will happen faster and there will be less risk
    of rejected purchases.
        Please encourage your colleagues to do everything they can to move
    Georgia WIC as well as other states who have not implemented eWIC
    forward to better take care of our customers.
        When we talk about food insecurity, we recognize that SNAP is an
    important stabilizer for low-income families, but it is also a powerful
    economic stimulator for the local economies and grocers. Wayfield Foods
    has been in partnership with a SNAP-Ed-funded community agency, Open
    Hand Atlanta, since 2017, to address food insecurity and health in our
    stores directly with our customers. Wayfield Foods & Open Hand have
    supported hundreds of store nutrition education sessions, employee
    trainings and thousands of healthy food demonstrations and produce
    donations over the last 5 years. We are committed to doing this work
    and we have witnessed firsthand, SNAP recipients making the best use of
    their limited funds as they learn to shop for healthy food on a budget,
    read nutrition labels, and other critical nutrition messages that help
    empower them to make better decisions related to nutrition and the
    health and wellness of their families.
        We have also partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank by
    implementing the two for one SNAP fresh produce purchase program with
    the assistance of a FINI (Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive) grant in
    2018 and 2019. Wayfield Foods supports this critical work, and we
    amplify the USDA funding with our own financial and staff support.
    These types of programs show that private-public partnerships can make
    a significant impact on the way people shop, think about food, healthy
    eating and nutrition.
        One of the efforts we were engaged in during the pandemic was
    encouraging our customers and providing support with healthy and
    economical meal solutions with the theme--Stay Strong with Family
    Meals, recognizing that eating well helps to keep our customers healthy
    until they are able to be protected by the COVID vaccination.
        In conclusion, addressing an issue as complex as food insecurity
    requires grocers, community-based organizations, food banks, hospitals,
    universities, and public health agencies working together to build
    nutrition programs that not only reduce hunger and poverty, but enhance
    nutrition knowledge, improve health outcomes and productivity, create
    jobs and economic growth, and strengthen our communities. Wayfield
    Foods will continue to work with our partners to increase access to
    quality food in our communities, and we are pleased to see the result
    of this work in healthier customers.
        I may be biased, but I happen to think that the House Agriculture
    Committee has the right person leading this important work at this
    critical time.
        I would be pleased to answer your questions.

        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Edenfield, for your testimony.
        Without objection, Mr. Sanford Bishop, our soon to be
    fellow Committee Member, will participate in today's hearing.
        Hearing none, so ordered. Welcome, Mr. Bishop.
        Mr. Bishop. Thank you very much.
        Mrs. Hayes. At this time, Members will be recognized for
    questions in order of seniority, alternating between Majority
    and Minority Members. You will be recognized for 5 minutes each
    in order to allow us to get in as many questions as possible.
    Please keep your microphones muted until you are recognized in
    order to minimize background noise.
        I now recognize the Ranking Member, the gentleman from
    Pennsylvania, Mr. Thompson.
        Mr. Thompson. Madam Chair, if it is okay with you, out of
    respect for colleagues that are going to be eventually
    traveling here, I would defer to the end.
        Mrs. Hayes. That is okay with me.
        Mr. Thompson. Okay.
        Mrs. Hayes. I now recognize Mr. Costa, and immediately
    after Mr. Costa, I will recognize Mr. Austin Scott from
    Georgia.
        Mr. Costa. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank the
    Chair as well for holding this important hearing on food
    insecurity in America. Certainly, it has been a challenge in
    this country for years, but in the last 12 months during this
    pandemic when our complex, complicated food supply chain has
    been turned upside down, this deep recession created by the
    pandemic with the closure of restaurants and schools, we have
    found that hunger in America has only increased, sadly. We find
    people going to food banks that have never been to a food bank
    in their lives.
        I represent a Congressional district that has significant
    poverty. Almost 24 percent of my constituents are enrolled in
    SNAP, the second highest in California in Congressional
    districts. And yet, it is one of the most productive
    agricultural regions in the entire country. Such a contrast,
    sadly.
        But, we need to do a better job of connecting the
    resources. This hearing is important to do that, and I want to
    commend folks. Clearly, it has been indicated by the American
    Enterprise Institute that increased benefits over the last
    year--and I do want to commend Secretary Perdue and the efforts
    that the Agriculture Committee working together with the USDA
    last year did to put the Food Box Program together to provide
    supplemental support for our food banks and for our religious
    organizations to, in fact, try to bridge the gap as a result of
    the increased hunger that resulted in that.
        The American Enterprise Institute report indicated that
    increased benefit has helped keep the lid on poverty at about
    11 percent in the last 12 months from going higher. It could
    have been higher.
        Mr. Waide, I want to thank you for all that you have done
    to help people. You mentioned in your testimony that just ten
    percent increase in SNAP benefits is equivalent to doubling
    access to all food provided to our nation's food banks. Could
    you speak a little more about the importance of the 15 percent
    increase that SNAP has had during the pandemic, and the
    importance of SNAP benefits, going forward, as we provided in
    this most recent COVID package?
        Mr. Waide. Yes, I really appreciate the question.
        SNAP as a program is really the nation's first line of
    defense against hunger. Certainly, food banks----
        Mr. Costa. It is our safety net.
        Mr. Waide. It is our safety net. Certainly, food banks do
    extraordinary work leveraging public and private resources to
    get much needed food into the hands of folks who need it.
        That said, just in terms of the scale at which these
    programs operate, SNAP operates at a much larger scale, and so,
    as I said in my testimony, if we reduce SNAP by ten percent or
    expand it by ten percent, that is the equivalent--that changes
    the equivalent of the entire volume of the food that is
    provided through Feeding America food banks.
        Mr. Costa. Okay.
        Mr. Waide. What SNAP really allows people to do is to--and
    Mr. Edenfield spoke to this--is to be able to use the existing
    food supply chain, which is well-established, highly
    sophisticated, highly accessible to people all over the
    country, and to simply use resources very efficiently to get
    the food that they need that is right for their families.
        Mr. Costa. I think that is an important point, but my time
    is limited here. I want to ask one more question, if you don't
    mind.
        Mr. Duvall, I want to thank all of your good work on behalf
    of the American Farm Bureau. As you know, I work very closely
    with a lot of the Farm Bureaus throughout California.
        Your testimony about the importance that farmers take and
    the pride that they do in feeding America. I would say farmers
    and farmworkers--we hope to provide some legislation next week
    that will provide some legal status for our farmworkers. But
    they literally put food on America's dinner table every night,
    and food, I continue to tell everybody, is a national security
    issue.
        Could you elaborate on the importance of SNAP to rural
    communities from your perspective, Mr. Duvall, Zippy?
        Mr. Duvall. Yes, thank you, sir. It is good to be with you
    today.
        It is, in rural communities where the job markets are
    difficult, it is so important. The SNAP Program is so important
    in those areas. Our rural communities continue to struggle for
    a number of reasons, whether it be health care, whether it be
    education, whether it be lack of broadband. Whatever it might
    be that brings jobs there, and that is what is important. We
    need to rebuild our rural communities, make sure that they have
    the broadband, help create some jobs there for our people. But,
    those programs are vitally important.
        Mr. Costa. Thank you. I appreciate it. We need to focus on
    rural America as well, and thank you for your good work.
        My time has expired.
        Mr. Duvall. Thank you.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Scott from
    Georgia, followed by Mr. McGovern from Massachusetts, if you
    could ready yourself.
        Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. Thank you, Madam Chair, and
    Mr. Waide, I want to thank you for your comments on the
    successful Food Box Program. I was there at the Atlanta Farmers
    Market when then Secretary Perdue came down, and the thing that
    I noticed about that--the farmers box is that is the same high-
    quality food that my family might enjoy if my parents were
    coming over for dinner, fresh produce and other things, and it
    is just a different quality than the food boxes that I have
    helped pack with Second Harvest in south Georgia. It is
    important that we have the combination for people as we work to
    help alleviate these challenges in these really unprecedented
    times. I am happy that we are having this discussion and we are
    not attacking the Food Box Program. I want to thank all of you
    that complimented it, and I am going to thank the Democratic
    Party for their support of the Food Box Program. It is
    important that we do anything and everything we can do right
    now.
        I want to, Zippy, say hello to you. It has been a while
    since I have seen you. I look forward to seeing you back in
    Georgia in Congressional District 1, and as we talk about
    policies that impact the price of food, it obviously places a
    greater burden on our low-income citizens in the United States,
    and part of it gets back to U.S. agriculture policy. Starving
    farmers can't help feed hungry people. One of my concerns is
    how long it takes us to get disaster relief to our producers
    when something happens. It is my understanding that disasters
    of the Midwest, those farmers still have not received any
    disaster payments, and there were over 200 million bushels of
    corn and soybeans and other things destroyed through the storms
    of August 10 and 11.
        Zippy, could you talk about the importance of the
    resilience of our ag producers with regard to the food supply
    in the United States?
        Mr. Duvall. Sure, Congressman. I appreciate the opportunity
    and look forward to seeing you real soon in person, too.
        Farm programs are so important to our rural communities. It
    bolsters the economies in the rural communities, and it is as
    simple as that. When we bolster their economies, we feed
    people. And you are exactly right. Starving farmers can't feed
    starving people.
        So, to make sure that our country's food insecurity becomes
    better, that we make sure that all our Americans are fed, we
    have to have strong farm programs as we move forward. It is
    important that our farmers are surviving and have been able to
    get through the natural disasters and the fluctuation in the
    prices that we see.
        Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. Zippy, there has been a lot of
    talk about the challenges of minority farmers. I see it as
    challenges for small farmers. I mean, the margins are so thin
    in agriculture right now, and they have been for many, many
    years. If things like Waters of the U.S. and restrictions on
    pesticides and other things that we use in the inputs of our
    food supply chain are restricted and the cost of producing a
    crop goes up, what would the impact be on the food supply chain
    if the cost of inputs on the agriculture producers go up?
    Because we all know that the food that we buy off the shelves
    in the grocery store, it starts with the inputs on the farm,
    and the next step is the harvest. And then it actually makes it
    through processing into the grocery store.
        Mr. Duvall. Yes. If you increase input costs, I mean, it is
    going to be extremely hard to continue to help feed the people
    in our country. You are exactly right. If it costs us more to
    produce it, it is going to cost the consumer more to buy it,
    and it is important that we streamline regulatory oversight of
    all the tools that are coming down the pike for our farmers to
    use. They need to be efficient.
        And you talked about small farmers. We have enough barriers
    in the way. We don't need to create more barriers with over-
    regulation.
        Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia. Mr. Duvall, thank you for your
    testimony. I am extremely concerned about all of our small
    farmers out there, the lack of the margins. The fact of the
    matter is when you spend $100 at the grocery store, maybe $1 of
    that ends up being positive revenue to the farmer out there.
        And so, again, thank you for your testimony. I appreciate
    the work of the Committee, and I just want to make sure that we
    have a balanced approach to solving this challenge of hunger in
    the country.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. McGovern from
    Massachusetts, followed by Mr. Crawford from Arkansas.
        Mr. McGovern. Thank you very much, and I want to express my
    appreciation to the panel for their excellent testimony today.
        I want to thank Mr. Waide in particular for reminding us
    that while the crisis that we are dealing with right now is
    new, this issue of hunger for many in our country existed long
    before the crisis. One thing is clear, and that is the Federal
    response, our response was inadequate then, and I still believe
    it is not adequate now. There is more that we need to do. I
    disagree with the Ranking Member who took a potshot at the
    American Rescue Plan. It is important that we extend the 15
    percent increase in SNAP. Not, and by the way, I would say that
    not just through September, but we ought to make it permanent.
    The average SNAP benefit is about $1.40 per person per meal.
    That is--you cannot live on that. A cup of coffee is more than
    that now. We need to be thinking immediately about making that
    increase in SNAP permanent. I appreciate the Chairman of the
    Agriculture Committee holding this hearing, but we also need to
    appreciate the fact that if we are going to solve the issue of
    hunger, it falls under the jurisdiction of multiple committees,
    not just the Agriculture Committee. We ought to think seriously
    about doing joint committee hearings with Ways and Means, with
    Education and Labor, and other committees that have some
    jurisdiction over a piece of the response to ending hunger. We
    need a holistic approach to this.
        I am grateful that President Biden and Vice President
    Harris have talked about the importance of dealing with the
    issue of hunger, and I hope that we can get some bipartisan
    support on a couple of requests that I have made to the
    Administration. One is they ought to appoint a hunger czar, or
    as my friend Jose Andres calls for a food czar, but somebody
    who can coordinate an effort to kind of connect all the dots.
    Again, just like we have multiple committees here in Congress
    that deal with the issue, there are multiple agencies and
    departments that deal with the issue. And you know, unless
    there is somebody bringing everybody together in a room, it is
    hard to have a holistic, coordinated response.
        I also hope the people will support an effort that I am
    trying to convince the Administration to undertake, which is to
    do a White House conference on food, nutrition, health, and
    hunger. Again, you know I don't want to manage this problem. I
    want to solve this problem. And you know, FRAC points out that
    right now we have an estimated 50 million Americans, including
    17 million children, who are hungry or food-insecure. Every one
    of us should be ashamed by that statistic. We are the richest
    country in the history of the world. We should not tolerate
    that at all. I would like to call on the President to make this
    one of this Administration's priorities. Do a conference on
    this issue. Bring together struggling families. Bring together
    the food banks, our mayors, the advocates who are on the front
    lines doing such incredible work, those of you who are on this
    panel who play a role. Bring our medical experts, our schools,
    our business community, our farmers. Bring everybody who has a
    role in this together, and let us piece together a holistic
    response to this with goals and benchmarks to see whether we
    are reaching those goals and those benchmarks.
        Hunger is a political condition. We have the resources. We
    don't have the political will.
        I will just finally say that everybody in Washington, you
    are never going to find anybody who is going to say they are
    pro-hunger. Notwithstanding some of the votes that some people
    take. But the bottom line is, we have to do more than talk the
    talk. We got to walk the walk, and we need a dramatically
    different approach. We need to think out of the box. We need to
    bring other people to the table, and we need to, again, develop
    a plan to solve this.
        And let us, again, in the immediate term, let's make these
    improvements in SNAP, this 15 percent increase, let's make that
    permanent. We all should agree on that. The benefit is
    inadequate.
        But beyond that, we need to develop a holistic plan, and
    included in that has to be the understanding that if you want
    to end hunger, we also have to deal with the issue of wages.
    The majority of people who are on SNAP right now who can work
    actually do work. They earn so little, they still quality for
    the benefit. So, we need to do much more.
        I thank the panel. I thank the Chair for the hearing, and I
    yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. McGovern.
        I now recognize Mr. Crawford from Arkansas, followed by Ms.
    Adams from North Carolina.
        Mr. Crawford. Thank you. Let me get to Mr. Edenfield.
        You referenced food boxes in your testimony, and how
    current infrastructure is far more efficient. I kind of
    struggle with that as such a broad sentiment, especially for
    those in rural communities like my district who have really
    benefitted from the program, including distributions at food
    pantries, especially in the early phases of the pandemic when
    produce was being plowed over, milk dumped, and grocery shelves
    emptied. The Farmers to Families Food Box Program seemed like a
    reasonable and efficient combination. Do you disagree with
    that?
        Mr. Edenfield. Well, the food box----
        Mrs. Hayes. Can I ask everyone who is not speaking to mute?
        Mr. Edenfield. Well, the food box is a short-term solution,
    and it has been beneficial. There is no doubt about that. But
    talking about long-term solutions, a lot of things, especially
    when we are talking about the rural areas, and you mentioned
    rural areas. Rural areas also are where we have food deserts,
    and a lot of times, the food deserts you just don't have that
    much population. Anything that takes away from having a store
    there, a full line store to select from, it is like a
    competition there. And I must say, the competitions aren't
    good. But one of the things I think in looking at food deserts
    is anything you can do to alleviate that.
        I am not saying it wasn't good. It was a good thing. It
    certainly served a purpose, and it is a good short-term
    solution. I just don't look at it as being a long-term
    solution. Also, especially when it is predetermined what they
    are going to get in that box. Now, some of the things that went
    through the--it was entirely different, but when it is not--it
    is predetermined what a family is going to get, as I mentioned
    earlier, I mean, if a family gets peanut butter and they have a
    child with a peanut allergy, that is not a good thing. So--and
    as hard as farmers--I grew up in a farming community, so I will
    always have a heart for farmers. As a matter of fact, it is
    some of the hardest, most fulfilling work there is, and I
    still--when I go back home now to south Georgia, I look at the
    farm community and how different it was when I grew up, there
    has been a lot of changes there, and there have been a lot of
    changes from the food deserts--when I was growing up, they had
    different things like garment factories and everything to help
    support that economy that they don't have anymore. Basically,
    it is farming and it is going to create more of a challenge to
    have quality grocery stores in these areas, especially if food
    distribution [inaudible]. Did I make sense?
        Mr. Crawford. Thank you, I appreciate it.
        I want to ask Mr. Duvall if you have any thoughts on how we
    can expand distribution points moving forward, particularly as
    we look at options to continue a more direct farm to family
    link without putting government bureaucracy in the middle of
    that?
        Mr. Duvall. Sure, Congressman. I appreciate the question,
    and of course, without putting bureaucracy in the middle of it,
    if we've got to go to our NGOs and our local communities, Farm
    Bureau is one of those. We know the people in our community. We
    go to church with people that know people in that community
    that need help. And the people on the ground, just like tending
    to our farmland, we know our land better than anything. Those
    NGOs in those communities know the landscape of their
    communities, and they know where they can help. What we have to
    be careful of, though it is not easy for someone to admit they
    need help, so also we have to be working with the regional NGOs
    to be able to offset some of that pressure on people to be able
    to come forward and be able to receive the help that is
    available to them there.
        But our farmers and ranchers and our Farm Bureaus are there
    and willing to help any time that they can and in any way they
    can.
        Mr. Crawford. Thank you.
        Madam Chair, I yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you.
        I now recognize Ms. Adams from North Carolina, followed by
    Mr. DesJarlais from Tennessee.
        Ms. Adams. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the
    Ranking Member as well for hosting the hearing today. To the
    witnesses, thank you for your testimony.
        It is an incredibly urgent and important conversation.
    Right now, more than 50 million Americans are struggling with
    hunger, with an estimated 17 million children living in
    households facing food insecurity. Over 18 million Americans
    are receiving unemployment benefits, and up to 40 million
    Americans cannot afford rent and fear eviction.
        In North Carolina alone, 1.5 million people currently
    depend on SNAP to put food on their tables, an increase of
    300,000 North Carolinians since the pandemic began. In
    Mecklenburg County, where my district is, there are more than
    150,000 people receiving SNAP, an increase of more than 50,000
    people since March of last year. It is clear that there is a
    hunger crisis in our nation, and the jump in SNAP participation
    only shows us part of a larger picture.
        Mr. Duvall, thank you for your testimony in support of
    America's farmers. In this Committee, we are incredibly proud
    of the contributions that farmers make to our nation, and we
    are glad to hear of the great work that you have done, and that
    farmers have done, to combat hunger.
        I do want to ask some needed additional context to your
    remarks. In addition to the increase in SNAP benefits, which
    the American Enterprise Institute has estimated has kept
    millions of Americans out of poverty, our Committee also
    provided a rather large number of needed Federal relief dollars
    to producers in this country.
        My question to you is, to build upon the importance of that
    interconnection, Mr. Duvall, could you comment on the
    importance of SNAP in rural communities, such as those in your
    home State of Georgia?
        Mr. Duvall. Yes, ma'am. Anytime you go into the rural parts
    of our country, it is vitally important that those SNAP dollars
    be there. On a previous question I talked a little bit about
    rebuilding our infrastructure that will bring jobs back out to
    our rural communities, and that is hopefully going to come
    through this Biden Administration and through you all in
    Congress. But it is vital. We have seen an increase in costs of
    food to families that are going to the grocery store to buy it
    of about six percent, where normally on a year-to-year basis it
    is about two percent. There is a desperate need out there for
    help, and those funds are very important.
        Ms. Adams. Well, thank you so much.
        Mr. Waide, in my district Loaves and Fishes is a nonprofit
    that provides groceries to individuals in Charlotte Mecklenburg
    in short-term crisis has a program that provides unutilized
    perishable TEFAP foods to those in need. It alone has increased
    from serving around 500 people per month pre-pandemic to
    serving between 5,000 and 7,000 per month.
        So, can you expand on how the COVID-19 pandemic has
    affected the way you store, handle, and distribute food, and
    how you have managed those hurdles?
        Mr. Waide. Thank you for the question. The key challenge
    that we face from the pandemic in how we operate is really in
    the distribution methods. Rather than ask clients at food
    pantries to come inside, shop for food, and then leave, we have
    really pivoted to a mobile distribution model where people are
    driving through parking lots and we are putting food directly
    in trunks or in cars, just to maximize peoples' safety.
        There has been a huge influx of perishable products through
    the Food Box Program and through other sources of food that we
    have relied upon significant investments in our infrastructure
    in freezer and cooler capacity to help handle that food. And
    then, of course, we have had to buy a lot of food. My food bank
    alone is purchasing $1 million or more per month in food
    purchases, about five times what we were doing prior to the
    pandemic, and we think that is going to continue kind of
    indefinitely.
        So, those are some of the ways we have had to adapt, and we
    expect to have to operate in this way for a number of months to
    come.
        Ms. Adams. Well, thank you for all that you do. I had a
    Kellogg fellow who worked--who was in my group, Bill Bolling,
    who worked with the Atlanta Food Bank. Is he still with you?
        Mr. Waide. Bill was my predecessor and right now, he is
    failing at retirement.
        Ms. Adams. Oh, okay. When I saw the Atlanta Food Bank----
        Mr. Waide. He is still very active in our----
        Ms. Adams.--I looked, and I said you don't look like Bill.
    Thank you for all your work.
        I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman [presiding.] Thank you, Ms. Adams.
        And now, I recognize Mr. DesJarlais for 5 minutes.
        Mr. DesJarlais. I thank the Chairman, and thank our
    witnesses for being here today for this important hearing.
        Mr. Duvall, as you know, the average U.S. family spends
    just shy of ten percent of their disposable income on food,
    while other countries experience much higher food costs and
    spend a higher percentage of their disposable income on food.
    Many of these countries employ market distorting farm policies,
    or no farm policy at all, leading to volatility and
    availability of and price of their food. What role does farm
    policy have in stabilizing the availability and price of food
    in the United States?
        Mr. Duvall. It plays a huge role, because these farm
    programs, they bolster the economies in our communities, and as
    you bolster the economies there, we also produce the food and
    generating the money in our communities to be able to feed our
    hungry people there.
        We are the bread basket of the world. We are known--and we
    are proud of that. We should never have hungry people in our
    communities and across this country. We look forward to working
    with you all to find other solutions to be able to solve this
    problem.
        Mr. DesJarlais. Okay. We touched upon this the last time
    you were here, which wasn't long ago, so it is great to have
    you back. But you know, here on the Committee, we strive to be
    very conscious about how policies may impact the price of food,
    and in turn, place an even greater burden on those struggling
    to feed their families.
        I am greatly concerned when I hear priorities of folks
    across the aisle, particularly as it relates to imposing
    burdensome regulations on farmers, whether it be for climate
    change, WOTUS, or even restrictions on crop protectants and
    provide cost-effective ways to manage the risk of weeds and
    pests. Do you share these concerns, and what is the impact on
    the overall food supply chain if we arbitrarily increase the
    cost of production on our farmers and ranchers, and who winds
    up paying for these mandates?
        Mr. Duvall. Well, of course, first of all we need to be as
    efficient as we can, and [inaudible] better. We need to
    streamline the approval of the new tools that are coming down
    the pike for our farmers to be more efficient, and then, of
    course, if you raise the cost to our farmers to produce that
    food, someone has got to pay for it, and it is going to be paid
    for by the consumer at the end of the chain.
        Farm programs play a role in making sure that we keep it--
    the fluctuation of prices from going up and down, and our risk
    management tools are vitally important to making sure that we
    can protect our farms and be there year after year after year.
        So, all of this put together helps our country be food-
    secure, and now we have to figure out how best to deliver it to
    the people that need it, especially during this pandemic when
    so many people lost their jobs.
        Mr. DesJarlais. Absolutely, and I appreciate your comments.
    I also want to thank the Chairman again for his comment at the
    last hearing about making sure that Farm Bureau, stakeholders,
    producers would have a seat at the table when we talk about
    imposing regulations, and so, I appreciate his commitment to
    that as well.
        With that, I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, and now, the lady from
    Maine, Ms. Pingree, you are recognized for 5 minutes. Is she
    here?
        Ms. Pingree. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sorry, I moved an
    inch away from my camera. I apologize. Thank you. I wasn't
    expecting to come up.
        I want to just thank the witnesses. I really appreciate
    your testimony, and I appreciate the Chairman for getting such
    a diverse group to testify in front of us.
        So, Mr. Edenfield, thank you for your testimony and for
    your support for your customers, making sure that people had
    access to healthy food. I really appreciate what you talked
    about.
        You mentioned that your store was part of the incentive
    program to help SNAP participants to buy more fruits and
    vegetables a few years ago, and I know in my home State of
    Maine, the Harvest Bucks and Farm Fresh Rewards Program have
    become only more important during the pandemic to help people
    access fresh and healthy foods. Can you talk about what it
    would have meant for your business and your customers if those
    fruit and vegetable incentives for SNAP had been available
    during the pandemic?
        Mr. Edenfield. Thank you for the question. No, the pandemic
    would have been an absolutely ideal time to have that, because
    the response was great. When we participated in that program,
    we tried to have extra specials going on: not only did they get
    double, sometimes they almost got triple what they would have
    normally got in fresh produce.
        And so, it is a great program. As far as health
    initiatives, some of the things that we do as far as pushing
    and working with our community on healthy initiatives, and it
    just kind of fit right with that. And, it certainly meant a lot
    to our customer base, and it was very, very well received, and
    utilized where I thought we got the most out of it and the
    customers got the most out of it.
        Ms. Pingree. Great. Well, thank you for that, and I do
    think when we talk about hunger--and clearly that is the focus
    of this hearing, but we also have to remember that it is not
    just about calories, it is also about making sure people get
    fresh fruits, healthy vegetables, so that kids can grow up with
    a healthy diet and build those habits. I know how important it
    is and I know that is important certainly to the food banks.
        Mr. Duvall, Zippy, thank you so much for once again being
    with us. You are now a regular at our hearings, and so, we
    appreciate you taking the time to be with us.
        I have been working on this issue of reducing food loss and
    waste, and it is such a strange contrast in our country to be
    wasting about 30 percent of the food, yet we have so many
    people going hungry. And that was really exacerbated during the
    pandemic, particularly in the early days. You mentioned that it
    was just heartbreaking to watch farmers having to slaughter
    animals that couldn't get to the slaughterhouse or plow under
    fields of vegetables, and I appreciate the work that you talked
    about making sure that farmers could move that food.
        But, sometimes I hear that there are obstacles for farmers
    who want to donate food, or just even make the connections to
    make sure that food can get to the places it needs to be. Can
    you talk about that? Have you seen farmers experience an issue
    around donating, or just the obstacles of getting the food
    where it needs to go?
        Mr. Duvall. Yes, ma'am. It is very difficult. When we have
    a just in time system like we do, and we have something like
    this happen, it really clogs everything down because most
    farmers, especially medium to larger size farmers, have a
    particular way they are going to sell it. They are going to
    sell it that way, and they do it day in and day out, every day.
    Now, the smaller farmers, we saw an increase in their
    capability of selling direct to the people, but that is through
    farmers' markets, local farmers' markets, and anywhere we can
    do to assist them to make it easier for them and have access to
    areas where they can use the SNAP program benefits to be able
    to purchase those, that is good for those smaller-type farmers.
        But yes, sometimes it is very difficult for them to be able
    to make that transition from that just in time to trying to go
    somewhere different when the interruption comes in the chain.
        Ms. Pingree. Thank you for that. I think we have learned a
    lot about the just in time food system and the food chain in
    general, and certainly that gives us opportunities to look into
    that. And I appreciate you mentioning the small- to medium-
    sized farmers. I know in our state, there was a tremendous
    increase for small- to medium-sized farmers who were able to
    sell directly, but you are right. Some of them also experienced
    problems, how do the customers make contact with them, and
    often for things like SNAP benefits, you need to have broadband
    access so that you can actually use a card at a farmers'
    market, and that leads to another program we talk a lot about--
    or problem we talk a lot about on this Committee. I am glad to
    hear that talked about.
        My time is up. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I really
    appreciate this hearing today.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much.
        And now, the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Davis, you are
    now recognized for 5 minutes. Is he here? Okay. Is Mr. Davis--
    okay. We will then move to Mr. Mann from Kansas. Proceed.
        Mr. Mann. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for having
    this important hearing. Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous
    consent to submit a letter in support of the Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program from the Topeka Rescue Mission
    Ministries.
        [The letter referred to is located on p. 134.]
        Mr. Mann. My question is for Mr. Hodel. The Midwest Food
    Bank is active in combating food insecurities across the U.S.
    and around the world, and works with more than 2,000 agencies
    to distribute food. Within the U.S., the Midwest Food Bank's
    reach spans both urban and rural communities, definitely
    understand and appreciate that, and including those that look
    like rural areas that I represent throughout the big 1st
    District of Kansas.
        Could you tell me a little bit, if you would, about your
    work in rural communities and how your organization has adapted
    and is adapting to meet the needs of our rural citizens?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mann. I appreciate the
    question.
        The way our distribution model is set up, we are very
    focused on reaching the rural communities, and a lot of that is
    done through remote or satellite distributions. And so, we will
    take semis out of our main warehouses and we will work with
    other organizations, other businesses, and bring that semi a
    load of food of both frozen, cooled as well as shelf stable
    food, and we take that out into the rural communities and set
    up a remote distribution so that it is closer and easier access
    for our agencies and our pantries to come pick up the food. And
    so, we are very proud of our effort to be able to serve the
    rural community, and it is tied all the way back into our
    organizational roots, and the focus on the farmers and reaching
    back into those communities.
        Mr. Mann. Great. I understand, you and I both grew up on a
    farm and in the production side of agriculture, and that side
    of the food supply. How does that influence your work on food
    insecurity issues coming from the production side of the
    industry, and now with what you are doing today?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, on a macro level, you are born and you are
    taught from your parents and your grandparents that your job as
    a farmer is to feed America. And so, in the nonprofit sector of
    a food bank, you carry the heart of that mission with you, and
    you know your job is still to feed America. This is now,
    unfortunately, families that have fallen on troubled times or
    somebody that has lost a job or whatever the situation might
    be, it is still kind of that same macro mission that was seeded
    in you at a young age.
        For me, it is an easy transition to go from both the
    producer as well as an organizational leader to make sure that
    that mission is fulfilled, and that you are helping somebody
    get fed, just equitably and without discrimination.
        Mr. Mann. Yes. I appreciate what you all do. I represent
    the big 1st District of Kansas, a lot of farmers, ranchers,
    livestock producers who are trying to feed the world, care a
    lot about hungry people throughout the country, in their
    communities, and really appreciate you all being on this panel
    and serving with us today.
        Mr. Hodel. Thank you.
        Mr. Mann. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much.
        I am going to take my questions. I wasn't here at the very
    start, and I want to thank Mrs. Hayes for stepping in for me.
        The real fundamental question that I want to get each of my
    guests, all five of you are all so distinguished. Mr. Waide,
    Mr. Duvall, Mr. Edenfield, Mr. McBrayer, and Mr. Hodel, if you
    had to name one thing, what would be your major thing as to why
    we are now in this hunger crisis? We need to get that question
    answered from each of your variety of perspectives, because you
    each come from different perspectives. But if we are going to
    get the right answer, we have to make sure we ask the right
    question. And that is if you could share with us why we are in
    this hunger crisis today? What would be that one major thing,
    in your mind, each of you, quickly please?
        Let's start with you, Mr. Waide.
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Great question.
    Fundamentally, the answer is that an extraordinary number of
    American families have experienced economic disruption as a
    result of this crisis, and they were, prior to the crisis, at a
    place of real vulnerability where they couldn't absorb the kind
    of economic impact they faced as a result of losing jobs, of
    having their kids out of school, and so forth.
        And so, for us to solve that problem, obviously we have to
    get the economy going, but when people face that crisis, we
    have to have a really robust intervention system to help people
    stay solid until they can get back to work and back on their
    feet.
        The Chairman. Mr. Waide, while we're on that, the food
    banks and Feeding America, you all are at the front of the
    point of the spear when it comes to this issue of food
    insecurity and hunger, being the community food banks. It would
    be helpful for us in the Committee and the people across the
    nation who may be tuning in as to how do you get your food,
    your supplies to feed the hungry as you do? Could you share
    with us how the food banks acquire that food that you all
    deliver? How do you get it, and what do we need to make sure
    that your food supply chain is secure?
        Mr. Waide. Food banks work with a wide variety of food
    suppliers to get the food that we then distribute in the
    community. We work with manufacturers and distributors to
    source excess inventory from those channels. We work with
    farmers to get any number of agricultural products, especially
    produce directly from the farm, surplus farm products that we
    can then move through our system. We work with retailers to get
    short-dated and excess inventory from stores to our vast
    network of agency partners really quickly so that that food can
    still be utilized, and of course, we work with government to
    utilize Federal programs like TEFAP and to provide lots of
    accountability and food safety measures to ensure that
    government-funded program goes where it needs to go when it
    needs to be there, with lots of accountability around it. And
    then last, we purchase a lot of food, and that is an important
    part of our supply chain.
        We then move that through a grassroots network of partners.
    We provide lots of advice and guidance and oversight for those
    partners to ensure they are serving people equitably, to ensure
    they are not charging people for food, to ensure they are
    operating safely, and using that food in responsible ways. And
    that ensures, then, that we are feeding literally tens of
    millions of people every year.
        The Chairman. And let me just ask you this, because you are
    key and we need to know this. And so, who pays for this? Where
    do you get your money from? What is it that is your greatest
    need and threat to not being able to adequately respond?
    Because I tell you, in my working with you, I was just
    fascinated. But people say they go and they get their food from
    the community food bank, you are there, you got plenty, but the
    question has to be what is it that we need to do for the food
    banks here in Congress to make sure that your supply of being
    able to acquire this food is safe? Because you mentioned people
    contribute, you get this, but as the economy goes up and goes
    sideways, where are we in terms of making sure that our
    community food banks are secure and do you need us in Congress
    to be able to provide a way for you all, the food banks,
    Feeding America, to get more resources to make sure that you
    don't run out of food?
        Mr. Waide. Mr. Chairman, the majority of our funding as
    food banks comes from private sources. In Atlanta, 60 percent
    of our funding comes from private fundraising. We certainly
    have some amount of government funding, about \1/4\ of our
    funding, and then we have fees and other sources of revenue
    that make up the difference.
        I think for us, the most important risk that we face and
    the most important thing that this Committee and Congress and
    the Administration can do to support us is to continue to
    invest robustly in food purchases through TEFAP and other USDA
    programs. If that food supply declines, it would significantly
    impact our ability to respond in the way that we have. My food
    bank has sourced about 50 percent of our inventory since June
    from TEFAP and from the Farmers to Families Food Box Program,
    the majority of that through TEFAP. And so, significant
    investments in that program are the most important thing to
    help us continue to distribute food.
        And the second thing I would say, of course, is we need to
    continue investing in SNAP as a way to relieve some of the
    burden on food banks.
        The Chairman. Very good, and there is so much here for us
    to inquire. My time has certainly run out there, but I will
    come back to each of the others in my closing comments and try
    to get answers there. But there is one other that we got to get
    an answer from, and you can be thinking about it, and that is
    our veterans. It is unthinkable that we have over one million
    of our veterans going hungry. That is right. And there are some
    estimates that it is more than that. I want to come back to
    that, because we have to make sure that all of our American
    people are not going hungry, and most certainly not our
    veterans.
        With that, Mr. Davis is back, so for the next 5 minutes we
    recognize Mr. Davis.
        And panelists, I will come back to my line of questioning
    because there are some very important things here, because I
    want you all to be thinking about how we in Congress can help
    you.
        Now I recognize Mr. Davis.
        Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks again to the
    witnesses. Those pesky little votes they are calling, I
    apologize. I am--was a little late getting back here.
        But I have always been a big supporter of the Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program. As a matter of fact, if you talk to
    former Secretary Perdue, he would tell you I bent his ear and
    his staff's ear at the beginning of this pandemic to talk about
    ideas that ended up culminating in this very successful program
    that I advocated for, and we have seen, just based on the
    testimony already, the immense value to every single American
    who needed these boxes that got them.
        So, it is an innovative program, proved to be immensely
    valuable, and we are combating hunger in a time of crisis. It
    is disappointing to see so many people make feeding hungry
    families actually a political issue. In my opinion, this
    program is the type of innovation we need, and should be the
    start of a conversation on how we can use it as a model for
    years to come. Additionally, I would like to submit for the
    record, Mr. Chairman, a study from the Wallace Center that
    showcases the value of investment in this program.
        [The report referred to is located on p. 121.]
        Mr. Davis. My question for you, Mr. Hodel, your testimony
    reflects on the immense value of this Food Box Program, too,
    and as you know, the program currently asks that dairy,
    protein, and fresh produce be provided in a combination box. Is
    that the correct approach?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you, Mr. Davis, for the question.
        I would say it depends. If it works. Personally for Midwest
    Food Bank and for the majority of our agencies that we serve,
    receiving them in kind of a bulk item allows us better
    flexibility in terms of refrigeration and freezer. When it
    comes in a combination box today, it limits us a little bit in
    terms of the time that we have to get them out to an agency,
    and an agency that may not have a lot of refrigeration space
    has to immediately get those into the trunk of a car. That
    works really well. We had a partnership with Jackie Joyner-
    Kersee Foundation where we distributed 500 boxes in east St.
    Louis, and it went from the truck to the trunk of the car, and
    those boxes worked really well. In general, we would probably
    prefer them to be in bulk so that we could put the meat into
    the freezer and we could freeze it, and we could put the milk
    and the produce into the cooler and we could hold it, and it
    gives us just a little bit more flexibility in terms of the
    supply chain to be able to get those to our agencies and the
    agencies also would have that same flexibility.
        Mr. Davis. Excellent. I know you have alluded to this
    before, Mr. Hodel, and so have the other witnesses. I think
    there is unanimous support for the program. We just want to
    make it better.
        I do believe from your testimony, you believe that there is
    a value to continuing this Food Box Program in a post-pandemic
    era. Give us another reason why you think that that is a good
    idea?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, absolutely. I think diversity is key, and
    so, the programs that have been talked about here today are all
    very good, but this program really is an additional pipeline of
    nutritious food into the supply chain for food banks. And so,
    that is why the nutritional value of it, and then the
    partnership that can be connected and the exposure that the
    food bank has to the farmer and to the producer to get this
    great product, and to get it into the food bank pipeline, I
    sincerely plead that it continues because we have seen it as a
    tremendous benefit to the families that are in need and are
    fighting hunger. It really gives a nutritious option for them
    to have.
        Mr. Davis. Well, Mr. Hodel, thanks again for joining us
    today. I hope all is well back home. I will be there hopefully
    in a matter of hours, but I appreciate your comments, and the
    comments from all of our witnesses today.
        And for the new freshmen on the Committee, I am actually
    going to yield a minute back, which doesn't happen often. So,
    mark this day down.
        I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, and thank you for giving
    us that extra minute, because we can use it.
        And now I will recognize the lady from Virginia, Ms.
    Spanberger. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
        Ms. Spanberger. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
    thank you to our witnesses who are here today. I am so grateful
    that this Committee is holding a hearing on this incredibly
    important topic.
        Before the pandemic, far too many families had to make
    sacrifices to feed themselves and their children, and this
    crisis has only worsened food security in our communities,
    including mine in central Virginia. The realities of this
    crisis are that parents must make difficult decisions about
    what to forego to feed their children, and recently unemployed
    people are experiencing hunger, sometimes for the first time,
    and there remains a severe lack of available resources for
    those who have been suffering from hunger long before this
    pandemic.
        I have heard about these issues all across the communities
    I serve, ten counties in total, and I have been a frequent
    visitor because of a personal interest and also because of this
    wonderful Committee assignment to our local regional food bank
    to understand really what goes into ensuring that people
    throughout central Virginia and our food pantries that serve
    them have the resources that they need. As an example, before
    the pandemic, a church located in Henrico County reported that
    they typically served about 24 families a week through their
    food pantry. But just last month, there was a line of 125 cars
    waiting to receive food at the drive-thru pantry. And I know I
    am telling stories that many of my colleagues have heard across
    their districts and certainly our witnesses know firsthand
    through their tremendous work to ensure that people are having
    their needs met and that we are delivering these tremendous and
    important programs. I am grateful to each of you for your
    efforts to ensure that food is delivered to hungry Americans,
    and I wholeheartedly support efforts to improve Federal
    programs and their efficiency and effectiveness, and Mr. Hodel,
    I really appreciated your answer to Mr. Davis's question about
    how you store the products you receive through the food box.
        But, I will get to my questions. Mr. Edenfield, SNAP online
    recently became available for some large-scale grocery stores,
    and there are currently several grocery stores in central
    Virginia that allow SNAP recipients to purchase food online.
    What obstacles do you foresee in trying to implement SNAP
    online for midsize and smaller grocery stores?
        Mr. Edenfield. Well, thank you. That is a very good
    question. For us--and we are small. We are a nine-store
    independent. It takes a little bit more on technology and it
    takes more to get into it. One of the things that I am still
    not sure exactly how it works is who, there is a cost on the--
    if you are talking about home delivery, there is an extra cost
    there, and how that would work out. And so, I think that I
    would like to find out more about this here, and I can see this
    coming because sometimes there is a real need.
        I know in our stores, there is a problem with
    transportation sometimes. I have seen people that live a \1/2\
    mile or \3/4\ mile, maybe even a mile from the store going down
    the street with bags of our groceries sometimes. So, it is an
    issue. It is an issue that needs to be looked at. But it is
    going to be a little bit more challenging for the smaller
    independents as far as the technology and everything that--to
    get there, and we are close to being ready for that, but we are
    not. Well, like I said, one of the things--the questions I have
    is who pays that delivery charge there?
        Ms. Spanberger. And Mr. Edenfield, I have an additional
    question for you.
        I am curious if you could provide your thoughts related to
    the use of SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods. Currently,
    families can't use SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods, and I
    am wondering what your thoughts are on this current policy,
    whether it might place a burden on SNAP participants who visit
    grocery stores like yours, and who might need additional
    flexibility? I know it is a little bit of a leading question,
    which I admit, but I am curious about your comments on this,
    sir.
        Mr. Edenfield. Well, there are mixed emotions on this here
    because that spreads out when you talk about hot foods. I guess
    it could be so many different things. Most of the hot foods in
    most grocery stores are pretty economical. You can get a
    rotisserie chicken at a pretty low cost. I would have mixed
    opinions on it because sometimes I guess it would open the door
    maybe for other things, but at the same time--and the example
    of rotisserie chicken, while it can be bought hot, it can be
    cooked a day and refrigerated and bought the next day cold. So,
    it can be a little confusing. That is a very good question.
        Ms. Spanberger. That is a very good example, sir. I
    appreciate that very much. Thank you.
        Mr. Edenfield. It would take a lot of work, a lot of
    talking to go over this here and a lot of discussion.
        Ms. Spanberger. In terms of delineating what elements and
    portions of your store or other stores would be eligible for
    it. That makes sense.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Edenfield. Thank you to the other
    witnesses, and Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Spanberger.
        And now I will recognize the gentleman from Georgia, Mr.
    Rick Allen, for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and again, I want to
    thank you for hosting this hearing today, and hearings on these
    important matters.
        As we go forward, one of the things that, that we hear
    every time that we get together and talk about hunger, is the
    number of people who go to bed, particularly children, hungry
    at night, and when they go to bed, and then we have other folks
    who are not getting the food supply that they need. Yet when
    you look at the amount that our farmers are producing, I mean,
    it is 120 percent, plus we export 25 percent of the food
    produced here. I think we need to go from the source. In other
    words, let's find the children that are going to bed hungry,
    and let's find out what the root of the problem is there. That
    should not happen in this country. I agree with you, Mr.
    Chairman. We need to go directly there and work backwards and
    see how is the most efficient way to make sure they don't go to
    bed hungry.
        I was very proud of the folks in my district who provided
    breakfast and lunch and their snack pack for every child in my
    district. No child should have gone hungry in the 12th District
    of Georgia.
        So, my point being--and Zippy, this question is for you.
    Obviously, we have gotten very efficient. In fact, farmers are
    just about producing themselves right out of business. Going
    forward, we have thrown $6 trillion at this problem, and
    another $2 trillion is going to be signed into law this week.
    That takes our borrowing to $30 trillion. We are seeing
    inflation--six percent inflation, as you mentioned, at the
    grocery store. We are seeing gas prices increase dramatically,
    and as we see this and it begins to spiral, is it directly
    related to the amount of borrowing this government is doing and
    the impact it is having on capital markets? Zippy, could you
    tell me your thoughts on that?
        Mr. Duvall. That is a good question, Congressman, and I
    don't know that I can even get my mind around $1 trillion, to
    start with, coming from the farm.
        I don't know that I am qualified to answer that question,
    Congressman.
        Mr. Allen. How about----
        Mr. Duvall. But it can't be good for us as a country.
        Mr. Allen. Yes, the ag economists, have they looked at the
    potential risk of the collapse of capital markets that our
    farmers so depend on for this national security and food
    security issue?
        Mr. Duvall. No, sir, not that, I don't have their evidence
    in front of me.
        Mr. Allen. Okay. I would suggest that we get our ag
    economists to look at the current financial picture, and the
    dependence of our industry on government and the ability for
    government to continue to fund that, in addition to their
    borrowing costs and what those borrowing costs could look like
    if we continue--I don't see this stopping. That is the thing
    that concerns me. I don't see anybody that is thinking anything
    about, big deal, $30 trillion. Well, heck, why not make it $60
    trillion if it doesn't matter? I just don't know where you draw
    the line here, but I can tell you this. There is no reason in
    the world why we--anyone in this country should go hungry. Of
    course, we know in the last event that frankly, the processing
    folks were a big part of the problem, yet I called all of my
    processors in my district and they are working 24/7. I said how
    are you doing this? They said, well, we are working per CDC
    requirements, and our folks are showing up for work and we are
    getting the job done. And of course we have had tremendous
    efforts from healthcare professionals, teachers. None of this
    has been easy. But if you look at where we are financially, the
    importance of food, Zippy, we have to look at the impact of
    what we are doing here in Congress as far as spending goes, and
    how that is going to impact our ability to produce the food we
    need. I think your organization needs to get the right
    professionals together and we need to look at this key
    component of how our economy works.
        Mr. Duvall. Congressman, we have some great economists
    here, and we will put them to work to see what the answer to
    your question is, and try to get back to you.
        Mr. Allen. We will save that answer for a future hearing.
    Thank you, Zippy.
        I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congressman Allen.
        And now I recognize Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire for 5
    minutes.
        Ms. Kuster. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you again
    for scheduling this important hearing.
        Hunger is so heartbreaking and food insecurity is plaguing
    my state just as it is the rest of the country. One in seven
    people in New Hampshire are now struggling with hunger, and the
    number of food-insecure has grown by almost 70 percent.
        Part of the tragedy is this challenge is not new. COVID
    worsened the problem, but I like to say it pulled back the
    curtain and exposed the staggering degree of food insecurity
    that existed even before the pandemic. No one in America should
    have to go hungry. We can and must do much better.
        So, I have been proud to help champion increases in food
    assistance in the COVID response packages that Congress has
    passed over the last year. Yet, American Recovery Act which we
    passed and sent to President Biden just yesterday provides
    billions in additional food support at a time when Americans
    still desperately need it.
        I am also constantly inspired by the work of our food and
    nutrition organizations across New Hampshire, including the New
    Hampshire Food Bank, which has provided 15 million meals in
    2020, and logged over 15,000 volunteer hours all in the midst
    of a pandemic health crisis, with great help from our New
    Hampshire National Guard.
        But it is clear that food banks and soup kitchens and
    incredibly dedicated volunteers and advocates cannot stem the
    tide of hunger alone. Without robust support from SNAP and WIC
    and other Federal nutrition and food assistance programs,
    countless more of our friends and neighbors won't know where
    their next meal is coming from.
        Mr. Waide, your testimony demonstrated perfectly when you
    say increasing SNAP by ten percent has the practical effect of
    doubling the amount of food already provided by our food banks,
    and to that end, I have been excited to see SNAP online
    purchasing pilots launched in 47 states, including New
    Hampshire. My hope is that these pilots will continue and grow.
        From your perspective, Mr. Waide, have you seen the impact
    of SNAP online pilot programs in Georgia, and how does it help
    reduce the stigma of SNAP? And also, those who are sick or
    elderly or unable to get to a store?
        Mr. Waide. Well, as an initial statement, for this larger
    food insecurity crisis, we have to take a both/and approach to
    the overall issue, and we need more investment in food
    commodity programs like TEFAP and the Farmers to Families
    Program. We need more investment in SNAP, and so forth.
        The solution is all about access and making it easier for
    folks to access food, given all of the challenges that we are
    navigating. Online access to SNAP in this environment where we
    are still needing to practice social distancing, where people
    are challenged in terms of their time commitments to get to the
    grocery store, can help ensure that families, especially
    families with children, can access the food that they need. It
    is also important for seniors who face higher risks around the
    virus and who are challenged to get to the grocery store.
        So, we certainly think any effort to increase access is a
    good one, and with the right kind of controls, we can do this
    in a way that is both accountable and increases accessibility.
        Ms. Kuster. Excellent, and thank you for mentioning the
    Farmers to Families Program. I don't think it is lost on any of
    us that for some folks living in rural communities, their
    farmers and producers are closer to home than the nearest
    grocery store or in a food desert, a convenience store.
        Mr. Duvall, do you think helping farmers' markets and rural
    farm stands become licensed under SNAP and able to accept EBT
    will make a difference in addressing rural hunger?
        Mr. Duvall. By all means it would. I mean, we have seen an
    increase in people coming to those small markets, and we need
    to make sure that those funds are available through those small
    markets.
        Ms. Kuster. Excellent, and I know that will be a boost to
    our small family farmers in New Hampshire.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back with 10
    seconds remaining.
        The Chairman. Very good. And now I recognize Mr. Johnson of
    South Dakota. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Johnson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        Like all of my colleagues, I want to thank the panelists
    who have done a nice job and an insightful job of getting us a
    better understanding of hunger in America. I particularly would
    like, Mr. Hodel, talking about the poverty to prosperity
    pathway, and talking about helping people for a season, not for
    a lifetime. I think that is a beautiful goal and an aspiration
    that is, frankly, I am sure, shared by every Member of the
    Committee. How do we get people on that pathway out of poverty?
        And with that in mind, I want to talk to all of the
    panelists about how we help America, how we help Americans and
    American families move from an unfortunate position of
    dependence and needing this necessary help to a greater degree
    of independence. And so, you have been wonderful advocates
    today, but all of you or most of you are also employers, and so
    maybe you can share a little bit with the Committee things that
    your organizations are doing to make sure that you are creating
    jobs or giving your employees better career development, or
    just in any other way really contributing to an economic
    vitality that can help lift people out of poverty. And I
    suppose I should pick somebody so we don't have a free for all,
    so Zippy, my friend, if you want to go first, and then we
    will--I will call on others from there.
        Mr. Duvall. Well, thank you, Congressman. I appreciate the
    question.
        Of course, our farmers are all the time creating jobs. We
    have limiting factors that keep us from doing that through
    regulation, or whether it be lack of labor, but if you really
    look at what the graduates come out of our ag schools, there
    are more jobs available than there are students that come out.
    It comes down on our end of creating jobs, it comes down to
    awareness and the education of our children that, ``Hey,
    farming is not a bad place to make a living. And just because
    you would go work under a farmer on his larger farm, doesn't
    mean that you are less of a citizen than anyone else.'' We need
    to put the education out there to our young people that there
    is great opportunity in our farmland, and our farmers will hire
    them and put them to work.
        Mr. Johnson. Yes, very well said, Mr. Duvall. Thanks.
        Madam or Mr. Chairman, I can't see the time, and I know
    Chairman Scott wanted to keep us on, so when I have a minute
    left, maybe just politely give me a nudge.
        Mr. McBrayer, how about you and RaceTrac. Talk to us about
    your efforts.
        Mr. McBrayer. Sure, I am glad and happy to talk to you
    about our efforts.
        As I said earlier, RaceTrac is a privately owned company,
    750 stores in 11 states. We are spending about $350 million in
    capital every year building new stores, and each of those new
    stores takes 20 to 25 additional jobs to run. In addition to
    that, we have 10,000 employees. We operate in a business where
    turnover is quite high, and so, we are hiring 1,200 to 1,300
    people a month into our stores. We think we are on the
    frontline of creating not only access for SNAP beneficiaries
    with the dignity of choice of the food that they eat, but if
    they are unemployed, we will take their application at our
    stores any time, because our needs are great. We were able to
    stay open the entire pandemic. We didn't have to close our
    stores unless directed by government to do so, and we meet
    people at the point of their need with access to food.
        We can only do that because of the dedication of our folks
    in the field, and that need is growing every day.
        Mr. Johnson. Thank you, and I did find the timer and I have
    just a minute left, so my apologies to Mr. Waide and Mr.
    Edenfield and Mr. Hodel. You are not all going to be able to
    answer. Do any of the three of you particularly want to use the
    last minute we have?
        Mr. Waide. Yes, this is Kyle Waide from the Atlanta
    Community Food Bank.
        Mr. Johnson. Thank you.
        Mr. Waide. Our view about how we are trying to create
    economic opportunity for our team is that we believe we are
    more successful when our employees are engaged, and they are
    engaged when we are demonstrating how much we value them
    through our professional development efforts and the way in
    which we compensate them and provide them with benefits.
        We have continued to develop new training programs to help
    people access new opportunities here at the food bank, like a
    driver's apprentice program. We have continued to provide
    supplemental pay or hazard pay to our employees even now, 12
    months after the onset of the pandemic. We have a minimum
    salary at the food bank of $15 an hour. We provide extensive
    health benefits, and we think it is critically important for us
    to retain our employees, and keep them engaged for us to be
    successful. I think those practices, if practiced broadly by
    the private-sector, can really benefit lower income workers who
    face the brunt of food insecurity, not just during times of
    crisis, but all the time.
        Mr. Johnson. Mr. Waide, well said.
        Thank you, and I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, Congressman Johnson.
        And now I will recognize Mrs. Hayes from Connecticut for 5
    minutes.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the
    witnesses for being here today, and for holding this incredibly
    important hearing on food insecurity.
        Every community in our country has seen the impact of
    astronomical hunger over the past year. Nationally, we have
    heard that food insecurity could be impacting as many as 50
    million Americans, including 17 million children. That number
    is so large that it is almost inconceivable. To put it in
    perspective, it is about 13 times the population of the State
    of Connecticut.
        Yesterday in Congress, we passed the historic American
    Rescue Plan to begin to address this crisis by continuing the
    crucial 15 percent increase to SNAP, bolstering SNAP online
    purchasing programs, and supporting critical child nutrition
    programs like WIC, pandemic EBT, and providing needed funds to
    ensure seniors have regular nutritious meals.
        As the Chairwoman of the NODO Subcommittee, I intend to
    continue lifting up this vitally important work and
    improvements to Federal nutrition programs, and working with
    the Ranking Member and the Subcommittee Members to address
    hunger before it strikes.
        My question today is for Mr. Waide. There is a
    misconception about the type of person who typically struggles
    with food insecurity. In your testimony, you described
    increased demand at the Atlanta Food Bank due to the pandemic.
    Can you speak to the demographics and the changing demographics
    of the clients you have served throughout the past year?
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you for the question. First of all,
    this food insecurity crisis that has been exacerbated by the
    pandemic has really touched all communities far and wide, and
    we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who
    are experiencing food insecurity for the first time, who are
    coming to food pantries for the first time. Thirty-five to 40
    percent of the people that we are serving are doing so for the
    first time in their lives.
        That said, we also know that communities that were already
    vulnerable prior to the pandemic have experienced this rise in
    food insecurity more severely. Communities of color, especially
    Black and Latinx communities, have disproportionately
    experienced these challenges. We know that rural communities
    have as well, and fundamentally, it is a challenge facing
    families who typically work in lower income, lower wage jobs.
    Our prototypical client base or client household is a family
    with kids where somebody is working or trying to get back to
    work, and simply they cannot make the math work in their day-
    to-day lives. The long-term solution to that is how do we
    create more economic opportunity for those families, while
    providing them the supports they need to establish themselves
    in higher paying jobs and opportunities.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. I think that is a very important
    point to make. Many of the people who we have seen visiting our
    food banks are people who are working a job and just trying to
    make ends meet, and they can't get the bottom line to balance
    out.
        Mr. Waide, how would you describe the influx of funding,
    commodities, and waivers from the COVID relief packages--how
    have they bolstered your ability at the Atlanta Food Bank and
    other community organizations to combat hunger in Georgia, and
    how do you think Congress can continue to build on the progress
    that we have made thus far?
        Mr. Waide. We could not have done what we have done without
    the support of those Federal programs. Our food bank is
    distributing 65 percent more food today than we did prior to
    the pandemic. We will complete this fiscal year having
    distributed close to 120 million pounds of food, and the
    funding that we have also received, not just through Federal
    programs, but through generous philanthropic support from the
    private-sector, has allowed us to respond so aggressively.
        We know that this crisis is not going to be over any time
    soon. We expect higher levels of food insecurity well beyond
    2021, and so, for us to continue to respond to this elevated
    level of demand, we need ongoing access to food support from
    Federal programs. For us, the TEFAP Program has been critically
    important. This is product that we have a well-established
    supply chain for accessing and distributing. The Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program has also been critically important,
    and we support finding ways to sustain that program while
    making important improvements. The improvements that we would
    recommend around the Food Box Program are really making it more
    long-term sustainable and improving some of the execution
    around the program. There is a lot of churn in the distributors
    that are selected to operate the program, meaning we are
    reinventing the supply chain with each new round of funding. We
    are also engaging a lot of partners who don't have real
    experience in this work, and we would urge the USDA and the
    Committee to consider making changes to the Food Box Program so
    that it operates more like TEFAP with the kind of
    accountability measures that are in place there that allow us
    to ensure that the food goes to the right place.
        Mrs. Hayes. [presiding.] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Waide.
        I am sorry, my time has expired. Thank you. I am sorry, my
    time has expired, but that is very helpful. Thank you.
        First of all, I want to just apologize to my colleague, Mr.
    DesJarlais for the mispronunciation of his name earlier.
        I now recognize Mr. Moore from Alabama, followed by Mrs.
    Bustos of Illinois.
        I apologize. I now recognize Mr. Feenstra.
        Mr. Feenstra. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you,
    Ranking Member Thompson.
        First, I want to thank each of our witnesses for their
    testimony today. Hunger is an important issue to examine, and
    we know the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted hunger in many, many
    ways.
        Iowa's 4th Congressional District is one of the leading
    districts for agriculture production in the nation, supplying
    beef, pork, eggs, dairy, turkey, and more to our nation's food
    supply. I know farmers in my district are passionate about the
    role they play in feeding the world, and know firsthand the
    responsibilities they have in affordable, predictable, and safe
    food supply oftentimes goes unnoticed.
        This question is to Mr. Duvall. Mr. Duvall, at the
    beginning of the pandemic, we saw supply chain disruptions and
    bulk purchases of food at grocery stores that resulted in some
    shelves of food at grocery stores to be empty. For example,
    entire meat sections were empty of all products at many stores;
    beef, chicken, pork, turkey completely sold out. For some
    families, this likely meant that they were unable to access
    foods they would normally purchase for their families, or had
    to look towards more expensive and unusual products to purchase
    for their families.
        I believe it is important that we examine what could have
    been done to prevent a situation like this from taking place,
    and proactively think about situations in the future that could
    impact the regular supply of food products in our grocery
    stores.
        Mr. Duvall, could you discuss any ideas the American Farm
    Bureau may have about how to better secure our supply chain to
    ensure product supply disruptions don't happen again, and
    number two, could you also discuss any threats to our
    agriculture supply that you believe this Committee should be
    looking at in the future, like African swine fever, foot-and-
    mouth disease, bird flu, et cetera, that could have potential
    causes for disruptions as we move forward in society? Thank
    you.
        Mr. Duvall. Well, to speak to the disruptions, we have
    learned a lot. I know that all links of the food chain have
    learned extremely a lot, and we have to be nimble to be able to
    change as these issues come up. Hopefully we will never see
    another pandemic, but I know we will be more prepared for it.
    To realize that we really made that change in about 4 months
    was pretty amazing how resilient our food supply chain really
    is. But we have learned a lot and--but if you think about
    putting in things to make--the things that we have been
    implementing, it slowed the system down. And when you slow the
    system down, it is not as efficient and it costs more. There is
    a balance between how much are we willing to spend trying to
    get it there, and it is mostly in processing, of course, not at
    the farm level, processing. How much are we willing to spend
    and how much of that is going to be passed on to people at the
    grocery store, and what does that do to hunger? It makes it
    worse. So, to slow it down is expensive.
        Speaking to the farmer, what we can do to the farm and make
    sure that that food is always there? Our risk management
    programs in the farm bill are absolutely crucial. It is the
    cornerstone on the farm bill, and we need to make sure that we
    streamline the approval process of the new products that come
    out to help us be more competitive in the world and to stay on
    the cutting edge, so that we can be efficient.
        Mr. Feenstra. Thank you, Mr. Duvall, and I just wanted to
    say, my family works very hard on a cattle and hog farm in
    northwest Iowa, and you know, it was really a scary time when
    March and April hit, and all of a sudden we had to make big
    decisions because the packing plants were closed, and there was
    no meat or produce on the shelves.
        I just hope, I learned a lot, but when it comes to African
    swine flu or bird flu, can you talk about how we should be
    proactive in those areas? Because that could be the next thing.
    We had it with COVID, but now there are other storm clouds on
    the horizon that could do the same things.
        Mr. Duvall. You are exactly right. When HPAI came through
    with poultry--I am in the poultry industry. It was great
    communications between universities and State Departments of
    Agriculture and the Federal Government. We just need to make
    sure that all those plans are there, and of course, I have
    mentioned this many times. The importance of research and
    development dollars to make sure that we are ready to vaccinate
    or do whatever we have to do to protect our animals and the
    people as we move forward.
        Mr. Feenstra. Thank you, Mr. Duvall, and I yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you.
        I now recognize Mrs. Bustos of Illinois.
        Mrs. Bustos. All right, thank you, Madam Chair.
        Mr. Hodel, thanks for your testimony before the Committee
    today.
        Last summer, I took a virtual tour of Midwest's warehouse
    in Peoria, and got to meet some of your wonderful team members.
    One issue that came up during the conversations that I had
    there was the issue of storage, and with the Farmers to
    Families Food Boxes, many of the food banks and pantries didn't
    have the infrastructure that was needed so they could keep
    perishable commodities fresh. We heard this from other places
    as well. My question is did the Midwest Food Bank have the cold
    storage infrastructure that you needed to keep items like milk
    and eggs and meat fresh? And as part of the Farmers to Families
    Food Box Program, did you receive an allotment of funds for
    storage and distribution?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you, Mrs. Bustos, for the question.
        In general, yes, we did have adequate capacity. Midwest
    Food Bank has worked hard to ensure our freezer and cooler
    capacity size is adequate as we build and expand our
    facilities. We did bring on additional storage. We were able to
    purchase some additional external trailers or seed containers,
    so we added some capacity in the midst. In some cases, we were
    blessed to do that with some private funding and support. In
    other cases, we did see some CARES dollars get extended out to
    the food bank that allowed us to put that cold storage and
    capacity in place.
        Like anything with the disruption, we kind of had to modify
    our modes of operation multiple times in real time. One of the
    things that we did to accommodate for that was to increase the
    frequency of our distribution. Knowing our agencies could not
    hold the items, we would increase their pick-up two, three
    times a week so that they could take what they could hold and
    distribute within a day, and come back the next day. Those were
    some things from an operational perspective that we just had to
    be nimble and work our way through.
        Mrs. Bustos. How do you see that, as far as the cold
    storage, going forward? Do you still have additional needs, and
    if you could even broaden that beyond just your own
    organization, what you are hearing from your colleagues as far
    as what the need is for cold storage?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, I think that is always the prized space in
    the warehouse is the cold storage, and it varies. It varies
    across the food banks that we have or the food banks that I
    visit. I think support for the wholesale food banks to have
    that infrastructure in place would certainly be welcome funding
    support, because we know that those dollars translate in
    holding nutritious food. And so, those dollars really at the
    end-user client result in that they get a more healthier food
    item, because we were able to have it in cold storage.
        And likewise, I think the granting opportunities available
    for even our agencies, there are thousands of pantries across
    the U.S. that would benefit from additional coolers and
    additional freezers. We try to connect them with those
    resources as well. It is both at the wholesale food bank level,
    but also at the retail food pantry level that that benefit
    would help.
        Mrs. Bustos. Thank you, Mr. Hodel.
        A follow-up question. The Midwest Food Bank serves a large
    portion of central Illinois, including parts of the
    Congressional district that I serve. What are some of the
    unique challenges that you have faced in delivering meals to
    more of the rural areas in our state?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, the infrastructure for people to get to our
    food banks--and so, we have just had to kind of extend
    ourselves out in terms of our distribution sites. But, it is
    also the challenge of just knowing who is in need. Sometimes
    them raising their hand or getting a good contact with them, we
    have found it requires kind of multiple trips into a region and
    setting up a mobile pantry, then the word starts to spread. And
    so, it is through repetition and some consistency that is key,
    but at the same time, making sure you have product there that
    they can take home and use, and it is a benefit for them and
    their family.
        So, it is a journey that we continue to learn, but we
    certainly have our eyes and ears open to how we can best serve
    kind of all of the rural areas equally.
        Mrs. Bustos. All right, very good. Thank you, Mr. Hodel.
        My time is about ready to expire, and with that, I yield
    back, Madam Chair.
        Mr. Hodel. Thank you.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mrs. Bustos.
        I now recognize Mr. Moore from Alabama.
        Mr. Moore. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        I just have a question for Mr. Hodel. If we have been told
    over the years to give a man a fish, you will feed him for a
    day. You teach him how to fish, you will feed him for a
    lifetime. I was just curious. I know food banks have evolved
    over the last few years and you all have made some great
    changes and adjustments, especially considering this pandemic
    we have been facing. Are we working to connect families with
    programs other than just SNAP? There are some training
    programs, employment opportunities, and the one thing I picked
    up on this call is there are plenty of opportunities for people
    to work, and I am sure there are some people coming through
    there if we could coordinate the training, not just feeding
    them, but teaching them, so down the road they have
    opportunities to have employment, and they are not so dependent
    on us to feed them. I think that that is the direction that I
    would love to see us go: less dependency on government, more
    independency for people out there.
        I am just curious if you guys have had an opportunity to
    connect socially with other groups and organizations maybe and
    through the SNAP Program, the training programs to allow these
    people to get off of SNAP and get on their own feet? I think
    that is--at the end of the day, government programs are great
    safety nets, but I don't want them to be spider webs. I don't
    want to trap people in those programs. I want freedom and
    opportunities out there. Is that something we can do, Eric, or
    do you all see us going in that direction at some point? And
    Mr. Waide, feel free to weigh in as well. I am just curious as
    to your input on this.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you for the question, Mr. Moore.
        We do certainly try to connect those individuals that are
    in need, and to get them plugged in. One of the things that was
    a benefit during the pandemic, as businesses had to close or do
    furloughs, we provided a place for their employees to come and
    their employers encouraged them to come and volunteer, so they
    were able to still get paid by their company, but they were
    volunteering and they were giving back to the community. That
    was an example of probably keeping somebody from slipping into
    that poverty level, by keeping them employed but also giving
    them purpose and putting them to work, so they knew what it was
    to serve the community.
        And so, those are the types of creative programs that we
    try to be open and partner with, the business and the
    supporters of the food bank.
        Mr. Moore. Well great. That is a great answer. I am glad
    that you do that. I think sometimes we have to think on our
    feet, and certainly I know those of us in the private-sector,
    and here in government, obviously, in the last few years have
    had some challenges, so anything we can do to get people to
    work and to give them opportunities, I appreciate that. I must
    say, hopefully we can start training them to work outside just
    our organization, but in the private-sector because one
    gentleman on here said he had 1,300 job openings a month. They
    are hiring people, and I know that Zippy said he needed some
    people on the farm all the time, so anything we can do to
    produce opportunities and train people to connect with just the
    food bank for the training programs, I would be supportive of
    that. Thank you.
        Mr. Waide. If I may, Representative Moore, I would love to
    add to the context here.
        At our food bank, we certainly agree that helping people
    get access to increased opportunity through higher paying jobs
    is an important part of solving for food insecurity. Just
    yesterday I was down at Atlanta Technical College where we are
    partnering with them to distribute food to students who are
    trying to access greater opportunities. We work with Goodwill
    and other workforce development organizations. And so, that is
    really important.
        At the same time, it is important to understand that these
    kinds of transitions are not a light switch, and that it takes
    time for families to make such transitions. And in the
    meantime, we have to support them so that they can sustain the
    effort that is required to get the training they need to access
    new kinds of opportunities. So, that is the first important
    point.
        The second important point is it is important to also
    recognize that there is a tremendous amount of turnover in the
    people who access SNAP during normal times. In Georgia, the
    average amount of time that people spend on SNAP is less than a
    year, which means the program worked as it is intended. People
    get on the program as they face crisis, and then as they regain
    stability in their lives, they exit the program. Which is
    exactly what we want for our food pantries as well, is to help
    people transition out of a place of needing help and into a
    place where they can provide for themselves.
        Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Waide. I appreciate the input. I
    will say in my district, prior to the pandemic, we saw 15
    percent user rate drop to 13 percent, so that is encouraging.
    We like to see people getting on their own feet, so thank you
    for what you do. We appreciate what you guys do and what you
    are doing for our country and our hungries, as we call them.
        Thank you all so much for your time. I yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you.
        I now recognize Mr. Carbajal from California.
        Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all
    the witnesses that are participating today.
        Certainly, COVID-19 has forced millions of Americans into
    economic uncertainty, unsure whether they will be able to keep
    the roof over their heads or put food on the table.
        Under the last Administration, USDA and SNAP emergency
    allotments to bump existing SNAP households to the maximum
    allotment. This meant that households already receiving the
    maximum allotment, which are the lowest income SNAP households,
    did not benefit from emergency allotments. Mr. Waide, can you
    talk about how this policy might have affected the people in
    the communities your food bank serves, and whether you think it
    would be beneficial for those communities if SNAP households
    already receiving the maximum allotment also received emergency
    allotments?
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you for the question. What we know
    is that some of the families who have been most impacted by the
    current crisis are families with children. They are sort of
    facing the crisis on two fronts. On the one hand, they are
    facing economic challenges related to losses of jobs. On the
    other hand, they have kids who ordinarily would be physically
    in school and they are not able to go to school physically.
    They are not getting access to the meals in the school, and it
    is hard for parents to leave the kids at home to go to work.
    And so, those households are often the maximum beneficiaries in
    terms of the SNAP Program, so we do believe that helping those
    families have access to more benefits would be helpful, because
    those are the families that are experiencing, by far, the
    greatest challenges.
        Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much.
        Mr. Duvall, in your testimony, you discussed the ingenuity
    of farmers across the nation, and the important role those
    changes have played in fighting food insecurity. Can you talk
    about some of the obstacles that farmers faced in trying to
    donate food early in the pandemic? How can we make it easier to
    connect farmers who have extra food with those who are in need?
        Mr. Duvall. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question.
        A lot of our farmers' markets just disappeared, because
    they were going to food services rather than to grocery stores,
    and they had to adjust for that. The Farmers to Families Food
    Boxes was a great place to help those farmers that lost their
    markets go straight into that program. Programs like that and
    ones that are sustainable in the future that are open to all
    size farmers--I heard the combination box spoke of earlier,
    when the funds are slim, that kind of takes the ability for
    small to medium-sized farmers to be involved in that. We need
    to have a steady flow of funds going into programs like that so
    that our farmers can be prepared to market to that program.
        Mr. Carbajal. Thank you so much.
        Mr. Edenfield, your testimony mentions the partnership
    Wayfield Foods has with the SNAP-Ed funded community agency,
    Open Hand Atlanta. How has the pandemic affected that
    partnership and the nutrition education programs offered?
        Mr. Edenfield. Well, it has affected it because that is
    one, I say one on one. We have groups where there are 10 to 15
    people, and so, there hadn't--since the pandemic, there really
    hasn't been any of that at all because of the opportunity to
    distance and it just kind of threw that off track, along with
    some other things there. Really, for the last year, there
    really hasn't been any movement in that. It is a great program.
    I think it is all volunteer, the people that come to it, and as
    far as spending wisely, not only healthy eating, but to get the
    most out of your money, feeding a family of four on $10, and
    planning for it to be a healthy meal. It is a great partnership
    and a great plan, but there hasn't been anything going on there
    in the pandemic.
        Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much, Mr. Edenfield.
        Madam Chair, I yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. I now recognize the Ranking Member
    of the Nutrition Subcommittee, Mr. Bacon from Nebraska.
        Mr. Bacon. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to
    working with you on this great Subcommittee, and working as a
    strong team to do what is right for our country and our
    communities.
        I appreciate our panelists today. Thank you for sharing
    your wisdom and your perspective.
        We have the greatest economy in the world, but yet, we need
    to have a strong safety net that is effective and efficient.
    The best poverty program and the best way to fight food
    insecurity is a growing economy and jobs. We can't lose sight
    of that as well. Prior to COVID, the largest wage earners were
    seeing increases in income, the higher percentage and the
    highest wage earners. We were seeing that poverty gap close for
    the first time in about 2 decades. Unemployment was at a 50
    year low. Our goal right now should be to defeat COVID, and get
    our economy back in high gear, and we are on that track,
    particularly with the vaccines.
        With that said, we are always going to need a strong safety
    net to ensure the most needy among us have access to nutritious
    food, and out of that, one of our main goals is to have a smart
    safety net program that is giving a hand up as a primary focus.
    Helping folks become independent for themselves and their
    families is an important priority.
        So, Mr. Hodel, your testimony mentions helping recipients
    for a season, but not a lifetime. Tell us more about that--and
    you may have done this a little bit in some previous
    questioning, but we have--are going on our fourth vote so we
    have been in and out. So, hopefully we are not being redundant.
    But I would appreciate any statistics or recommendations that
    you have, and how we could perhaps modify SNAP that would help
    with that goal of making it a seasonal program versus a
    lifetime program. I would appreciate your perspective.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you for your question, Congressman
    Bacon.
        Food insecurity, we have talked about this a little bit,
    hovered around 11 percent for 2000 to 2007. The economic
    downturn in 2008 spiked the food insecurity back to 15 percent,
    and so to your point, the economic disruption really drives an
    increase in the food insecurity, and so, that 10 year journey
    of progress we are now back on. We have to work our way to try
    to help fight food insecurity to get it back to where it was
    pre-pandemic, or even better.
        Our independent organization serves pantries who welcome
    anyone in with a need, and our clients do the same. And so, our
    clients can change over the course of a month, and their
    clients can do the same. Specifically, we have had situations
    where we talk about a hand up or bringing people up. We have
    had clients that have transitioned into volunteers and even
    transitioned into employees at Midwest Food Bank. You can see
    the food relief support that they got to get their family on
    track, the ability to be in action and the purpose of working
    or volunteering, then developed skills that they were able to
    really demonstrate that turn into an employment opportunity for
    this person.
        And so, I think that is a journey that we can kind of work
    with people, and it is individual by individual and it is
    family by family. We continue to survey our agencies to make
    sure that we are staying in touch with them and their needs,
    and we want to make sure that we are providing them the best
    service, the right products, and then providing holistic
    support. And so, this an area of focus of the food bank as we
    continue to go forward.
        Mr. Bacon. Thank you.
        My next question is to the entire panel, or whoever would
    like to speak up, not that everybody has to.
        We put in about $40 billion in additional nutritional
    programming and funds over the five previous COVID relief
    bills. Were any of you surveyed about these needs or asked to
    provide testimony as we developed the spending? If so, how, and
    by whom? Thank you.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, I guess I will answer the question. I
    wasn't surveyed, but certainly would be willing to be a part of
    the solution, going forward.
        Mr. Bacon. Right. Thank you very much, Mr. Hodel.
        Any of our other panelists? Did anybody reach out to you
    about what the needs would be when we came up with this $40
    billion?
        Mr. McBrayer. This is Max McBrayer. We were not surveyed,
    nor was there any outreach. But as previous, we would be happy
    to----
        Mr. Bacon. Thank you, sir.
        With that, Madam Chair, I will yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. I now recognize Ms. Craig of
    Minnesota.
        Ms. Craig. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and thanks again
    for holding this incredibly important hearing.
        My family and I are frequent volunteers at the Open Door in
    Eagan, Minnesota, and it has just been extraordinary to see how
    many ways across Minnesota our food pantries have figured out
    how to distribute food during this pandemic. The Open Door
    Mobile Pantry has allowed the organization to distribute food
    at more locations throughout Dakota County. On the other hand,
    Open Door found that during the pandemic, they were lacking
    other critical pantry infrastructure, like extra refrigeration
    to keep up with the growing demand.
        Mr. Waide, let me start with a first question for you. What
    do you see as the greatest infrastructure challenges at our
    charitable food distribution sites, and how can the Federal
    Government be a better partner in addressing these
    infrastructure needs?
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you for the question.
        What we have seen in metro Atlanta and north Georgia is
    that when we can make critical infrastructure investments,
    particularly in freezer cooler capacity, not just in our food
    bank, but in our vast network of community-based feeding
    program partners, then we can dramatically increase access to
    perishable products, which are often more nutritious. And so,
    investments from the Federal Government, from USDA to help grow
    this capacity beyond the way that we have grown it already will
    help us take advantage of all those great products that our
    agricultural community is producing in surplus and get it to
    families who need it.
        Ms. Craig. I appreciate that, and I guess I am going to
    stick with you here for one more question then. Also in my
    district, Neighbors Inc., which is based in South St. Paul,
    provides emergency assistance and supportive assistance
    programs to low-income community members in northern Dakota
    County. I have heard from Neighbors Inc. that those who were
    once volunteers turned into clients over the course of the
    COVID-19 health crisis.
        Mr. Waide, you talked about the importance of your
    volunteers who pack food boxes, organize food distributions,
    and address other needs. How has the pandemic affected your
    ability to retain a volunteer workforce? And of course, we are
    all looking forward to the day when those vaccines are in arms
    and we can get back to volunteering in our community.
        Mr. Waide. Well, again, another great question. The high-
    level view on that, without getting too in the weeds, is we
    have been really inspired by the degree to which volunteers
    have continued to participate in our work. Many of them are
    seniors and put themselves at risk to continue to do that work.
    They are doing it out in the community to get food to people in
    need.
        That said, in our facility we have stopped utilizing
    volunteers and have not resumed that yet, just as a way to
    minimize risk inside our building. Not every food bank has done
    that, but that is what we have done. And we were really
    fortunate to have the National Guard step in to replace that
    volunteer capacity to help us continue to do our work.
    Volunteer access is critical, especially critical out in the
    community in local pantries, and we are doing everything we can
    to help connect volunteer labor to those frontline pantries so
    that they can continue to serve the community.
        Ms. Craig. Well, I appreciate your testimony today, and all
    of you. I will just add as a final remark here that, I know I
    visited almost every food distribution center. Sometimes cars
    were backed up 1 or 2 miles for months in my Congressional
    district and across Minnesota. I know as our COVID relief
    packages have been developed, that input from a number of us
    has been obviously received and we have been very focused on
    making sure that the COVID relief packages address food
    insecurity in our country.
        So, thank you very much to all of you, and Madam Chair, I
    yield back.
        Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Ms. Craig.
        I now recognize Mrs. Cammack from Florida.
        Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it, and
    thank you to all of our witnesses here joining us virtually. I
    know that we have had votes called throughout this hearing, so
    I have been in and out, but again, I appreciate an opportunity
    to talk about this very important issue.
        As we all know, 2020 was unlike any year that we have ever
    experienced, and this program has been a godsend to many folks,
    both as producers, but also as consumers. I am excited to talk
    about that here today, and like Representative Craig, I visited
    several food banks in my district and have talked with folks
    and gotten their feedback, so I am excited to hear from our
    witnesses here today.
        Particularly, I heard from food banks and other nonprofits
    in our district who struggled at the onset of the pandemic to
    provide food to our constituents. They report that the Food Box
    Program really is a lifeline for our communities, and there are
    ways that we can further develop and streamline this.
        But despite the important achievements of this program, I
    have also heard from several of our local producers about their
    struggle to participate in the program. The program, in earlier
    rounds, purchasing gave several of our local producers the
    opportunity to provide produce only, meat only, and dairy only
    boxes. However, when we moved to the combination boxes, that
    raised logistical costs to the point where many producers
    reported they could no longer participate in the program, in
    addition to other hurdles that they couldn't overcome. It is
    disappointing to hear from farms within my own district that
    after delivering nearly one million produce only boxes to
    Americans in need, they were unable to participate in later
    rounds that required combination boxes. What is even more, even
    as I have spoken to those who have continued to participate in
    the program, they have struggled amid extremely short,
    inflexible turnaround times with suppliers expected to ship out
    boxes only 7 days after being awarded a bid.
        As we move forward with improvements, I hope we can
    remember that this program is called the Farmers to Families
    Food Box Program, and its success is determined not just by how
    many boxes are delivered to Americans in need, but also how
    many of America's agricultural producers, big and small, are
    supported through this challenging time.
        So, with that, I am going to jump into some questions for
    Mr. Zippy Duvall. Zippy, it is good to see you. Your testimony
    told a similar story of many farmers around the country who
    care not just for producing food, but also ensuring that it
    gets to those most in need. And that being said, I have heard
    from many of Florida's producers about the difficulties
    associated with the switch under the Food Box Program from a
    produce only, dairy only, meat only box to the combination box.
        From what you and your members have seen, what effect did
    the shift to a combination box have on your producers who
    participated in the Food Box Program as a whole?
        Mr. Duvall. Well, it did restrict the use of the program
    for our small- to medium-sized producers, and we heard earlier
    that food banks really work better when they get it in bulk.
    But our smaller guys can't do that, and those hurdles were put
    up. Well, we know that USDA was faced with a problem to be able
    to stretch the dollars, not knowing that there would be
    additional funds put into the program. They had to stretch
    those dollars as far as they could to feed as many people as
    they could, and we think that is why the combination box came
    into effect. Knowing that there is going to be a steady stream
    of dollars in a program like that, and not moving the goalpost
    when it comes to regulations that you have to abide by to get
    in the program. Set it up to where the farmers can get used to
    how they are going to deliver it, and allow them to produce it.
        But we got to keep in mind, it is a farmer to family food
    box, and the ones that got hurt the most were our small- and
    medium-sized farms in that situation.
        Mrs. Cammack. And as a follow-up to that--so, I heard some
    of our local producers talk about how they came across folks
    that were bidding on this and participating in the program
    using foreign produce that had been dumped on our markets. Have
    you heard that same thing?
        Mr. Duvall. I heard that. I can't qualify it, but I did
    hear that.
        Mrs. Cammack. Okay. That kind of defeats the whole local
    domestic produce to our communities in need issue, again, and
    then as a follow-up, so how would you recommend moving forward
    that we can improve this? I think there is a logistical push
    that we are seeing on the recipient's side which would help
    streamline a little bit, and that both Eric and Ron have spoken
    to. But from the farmer and the producer side, what can we do
    to streamline to ensure that more farmers, especially our
    smaller and midsize producers, are able to participate in the
    program, regardless of where they are at geographically?
        Mr. Duvall. We got to make sure that we understand the
    small family farm. It is a small business, doesn't have an HR
    department, doesn't have a stream of lawyers. It doesn't have
    anyone that is out there helping them abide by the rules that
    are put in front of them to participate. We got to make it
    simple. We got to streamline it, and we got to shape it so it
    will fit all sizes of our farms, and make sure that it is
    funded.
        Mrs. Cammack. Excellent. Thank you so much, Zippy. I think
    my time has expired, and I appreciate it.
        With that, I yield back.
        Mr. Duvall. Thank you.
        The Chairman [presiding.] Thank you very much, and now I
    recognize Congresslady Schrier of Washington.
        Ms. Schrier. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you
    very much to our witnesses. I really appreciate all of you
    being here to discuss the very real and pervasive issue of
    hunger in America.
        Now, the Feeding America network of food banks, which is
    the largest charitable food assistance network nationwide, has
    experienced average increases of almost 55 percent in demand
    for food assistance since the start of the pandemic, and in
    some areas, far more. Last year, food banks provided six
    billion meals to people in need. Now, the number of children
    not getting enough to eat is ten times higher than it was
    before the pandemic, and research by the University of
    Washington showed that in my home state, about \1/3\ of
    households surveyed are now food-insecure. Fifty-nine percent
    of these households include children, and people of color were
    1\1/2\ times more likely to be food-insecure. As a
    pediatrician, I cannot overstate how important it is to ensure
    our children not only have access to food, which is clearly the
    first priority, but also that the foods are healthy and
    nutritious and varied, and ideally, local. Poor nutrition is
    linked to poor school performance, and also to later chronic
    diseases, ranging from diabetes to heart disease.
        So, one of the ways that USDA tried to tackle this was what
    we have talked about a lot here, the Farmers to Families Food
    Box Program, and in fact, I heard from multiple small farmers
    and co-ops who participated in the first round who loved this
    program. The food banks called it a lifeline, and the farmers,
    as they experienced full scale market failures because of
    school and restaurant closures, were really saved by this
    program. However, there are unresolved problems and later
    issues that Representative Cammack just talked about. I led a
    bipartisan letter with the Washington State delegation
    outlining some of the changes needed, and she touched on some
    of these, being, kind of involving large farms and not small
    ones, having really big boxes that were too much for food bank
    refrigeration systems, lack of notification when things were
    coming, shipping food from across the country and leaving out
    our small and local farmers, and many of these small and local
    farmers were really just shut out in the later rounds, leaving
    their farm circumstances really in dire situations, despite a
    really well-intended program.
        And so, I was wondering, at best the Food Box Program
    provides this unique opportunity for USDA to catalyze just an
    extraordinarily effective response to food insecurity,
    developing, getting food from farms to families, but as my
    colleague just discussed, leaving the smaller farms out. I was
    wondering, what steps, Mr. Duvall, might you consider in future
    rounds to make sure things like smaller packaging, separating
    perishables from nonperishables, in meeting the needs of food
    banks might be considered?
        Mr. Duvall. Well, you have touched on it some yourself in
    your question. We have to go in and investigate what happened
    between the beginning of the program and what was happening at
    the end, and fix those problems and make sure that all size
    farms have the opportunity to participate in that.
        In any program, when you make it more difficult, the small
    family farm gets left out.
        Ms. Schrier. That is right. Now, I have a follow-up
    question, and maybe this one is best for Mr. Waide.
        In the last Congress, I introduced a bill, H.R. 6724,
    Farmers Feeding Families Coronavirus Response Act that actually
    would be a bit more nimble. It would channel money to the
    states, and then the states do have relationships with the
    small and medium farmers, and with the food banks. And so, I
    was just wondering, Mr. Waide, can you--have you thought about
    having food delivered more on a small scale, getting the states
    involved and distributing it more like the TEFAP Program?
        Mr. Waide. So, thank you for the question. We certainly
    think that there are advantages to the TEFAP system that should
    be integrated in the way that we think about a food box
    program. I think forward looking visibility on how long the
    program is going to last is really important, having
    consistency in the participants. And in particular, the issue
    you are raising is really important of--and that Mr. Duvall is
    raising is getting great input from people at the local level
    about how the program can work better.
        We have a great relationship, in part thanks to Mr. Duvall,
    with Georgia farmers across the food banks serving Georgia.
    Commissioner Gary Black here in Georgia helped facilitate that
    relationship, and there is a really strong community in Georgia
    of all of those agricultural participants. Speaking to them at
    the local level will help ensure the program can be sustainable
    and meet both of its objectives of getting food to people while
    also supporting farmers.
        Ms. Schrier. Thank you very much. The states have great
    relationships.
        I am out of time. I wanted to thank you, and I yield back,
    although I don't think I have anything to yield.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much.
        And now we will hear from Mr. Baird of Indiana. You are
    recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Baird. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I really appreciate
    all the witnesses being here today and sharing their expertise
    about the food insecurity.
        I am going to start with Mr. Hodel. I have thoroughly
    enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about your organization
    and the model that you have used and the way you do business.
    In terms of food security, each and every one of us in this
    hearing are probably fortunate compared to some on the global
    average. I have particularly enjoyed learning about how your
    organization is so successful, including counties that are in
    my district here in Indiana, and through such a massive
    volunteer base and without dependence on government assistance.
    And most striking to me as a note I found reported on your
    website that 99 percent of every dollar your organization
    receives is spent on program funding and goes back to those in
    need, and whom the donors feel that those funds should go to.
        Mr. Hodel, would you share your perspective on how your
    model of doing business might be expanded to deliver these
    quality foods that we produce in this country to the food
    desert areas?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you, Mr. Congressman. I appreciate
    the question.
        We are thankful to be able to serve in Indiana. We have a
    great division there, and a great partnership with leaders, and
    so it is a team effort that we really are privileged to be able
    to serve the greater Indiana community, and counties and
    individuals.
        Our model is really built off of volunteers. Volunteers are
    our secret sauce. Mr. Waide talked about that a little bit,
    their reliance on the volunteers as well, and so we are
    tremendously blessed and we do a lot to train, empower, and
    educate our volunteers so that they can play critical roles
    within our locations. Each of our divisions operates with about
    four paid staff members, and so from there, they provide the
    leadership to then have core volunteers, and then also to lead
    volunteer groups that come into the facility. A big part of our
    efficiency model goes to the credit of the community giving
    back, and I think that is also part of our mindset. We are
    serving a community, and we are looking to the community to
    help them give back to those that are in need. And so, it is
    definitely a community focus that we bring in to our locations,
    and we try to be open and flexible with a variety of volunteer
    opportunities, as well as a variety of volunteer times. And so,
    we try to be flexible for those individuals to come in and
    help.
        We are also blessed with major corporations that have
    volunteerism as a part of their mission, and so, a lot of our
    locations that we operate out of have a fantastic relationship
    with the corporations that also provide the volunteer base to
    the food bank. That is probably our main driving force that
    allows us to operate efficiently.
        The next level then would be the donated food. Our
    partnerships with food manufacturers, food distributors,
    grocery chains, et cetera, we are incredibly thankful and
    blessed to be able to have that donated food that we take and
    we rescue and we bring into the food bank and make sure that we
    have it reorganized and ready for our pantries.
        So, that is probably the two-pronged approach in terms of
    our model, and our focus on efficiency.
        Mr. Baird. Well, thank you for that.
        I want to move to Mr. McBrayer now. In your testimony you
    referenced the important role that convenience stores play in
    somewhat of a--like a missing middle for those further removed
    from larger grocers, which is really those that are living in
    food deserts. I commend the efforts your stores have undertaken
    to provide healthier options, and to be a resource for our
    communities and your communities in providing quality food.
        So, my question really comes, Mr. McBrayer, do you think
    that there is opportunity to leverage the National Network of
    Convenience Stores as a potential distribution net [inaudible]?
        Mr. McBrayer. Congressman, I missed a good portion of what
    you said. Would you mind repeating?
        The Chairman. Yes, that was a very good question, because
    that is sort of what we are looking for in this Committee, how
    we can solve this problem.
        Mr. McBrayer, did you hear it?
        Mr. McBrayer. I am going to take a stab. I heard about half
    of it.
        Mr. Thompson. Jim, you may want to turn off your camera to
    get good audio.
        Mr. Baird. Okay.
        The Chairman. Could you ask that again, Jim, your question?
        Mr. Baird. Now can you hear me?
        The Chairman. Yes, we can hear you.
        Mr. Baird. Okay. I just, Mr. McBrayer, you referenced in
    the importance of the convenience stores and that you serve
    maybe kind of a missing middle for those further removed from
    the larger groceries, and so that really ends up being the
    people we are talking about that end up in the food deserts.
    And so, I commend your efforts. And so, to get to my question,
    do you think there is an opportunity to leverage the National
    Network of Convenience Stores as a potential distribution
    network for helping deliver these high-quality foods,
    particularly to those food deserts? Did you get all that?
        Mr. McBrayer. Yes, I did. Thank you.
        Yes, our convenience stores--and I am speaking of RaceTrac
    and RaceWay, provide that last mile, which is a term of art
    these days, to meet people where there is need, whether it be
    at 4 o'clock in the afternoon or 4 o'clock in the morning.
        The convenience store industry is about 160,000 individual
    stores in this country. It is absolutely an important idea to
    talk with our trade organizations of which we are members of
    three, and say how might we do this and get participation in
    that discussion, because we are the last mile. People who shop
    at grocery stores--we are not the solution to the whole
    problem. We are the point at which people can interface quickly
    and with dignity and obtain food to take home and eat. We can
    also provide more, as we talk about how we might be willing and
    able to do that under some type of Congressional approach.
        I would like to say that the SNAP Program, as we see it, is
    functioning very, very well. It is not complete, but there are
    opportunities, going forward, and we would avail ourselves of
    that.
        Mr. Baird. So, thank you. I can't see the clock on how much
    time I might have left, but if there are any other witnesses
    that would like to testify, feel free to do so, if I am not
    over my time, Mr. Chairman.
        The Chairman. Yes, you are, but, you have really hit on a
    very good point, and it is the sort of thing that we are after
    in this hearing. And we can follow up on it, but if there are
    any other panelists that might want to elaborate on this----
        Mr. Baird. I yield back. I yield back.
        The Chairman. Did you hear me?
        Mr. Baird. Yes, yes.
        The Chairman. Oh, you yielded back, but let me just take it
    just a little bit further, because there may be, Mr. McBrayer,
    in response to his inquiry about setting up a distribution
    network. You see, people have to understand, convenience stores
    are the lifeline for rural areas. Many of them don't have
    Krogers or all the varieties that are in our urban centers. And
    so, I am very interested in us following up on that, and your
    question was a good one. And staff, you all write that down to
    see how we might--and Mr. McBrayer, your answer was right on
    target. And there may be a need that we in Congress can get
    some added resources to fill in the gaps here. But I would like
    to work with Mr. Baird.
        All right. I like that one, and we will follow up with it.
    Thank you for that.
        And now, I will recognize Mr. Bishop of Georgia for 5
    minutes.
        Mr. Bishop. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and our
    Ranking Member. Let me go back and be sure to welcome my good
    friends from Georgia who are witnesses, Mr. Waide, Mr. Hodel,
    Mr. Edenfield, and Mr. McBrayer, and of course, my friend of
    long standing, Mr. Zippy Duvall. I want to also send a special
    note of condolence to Mr. Edenfield on the passing of Mr. Moses
    White and his wife from COVID, who for years were strong
    advocate for grocery stores. We still grieve with you on the
    loss of Mr. Moses White.
        Let me get right to it. I can't see the clock, despite the
    increasing food insecurity among our active-duty military
    families during the pandemic, the service members basic
    allowance for housing, the BAH, is treated as income for
    determining SNAP eligibility, which results in military
    families experiencing food insecurity, and being determined
    ineligible for SNAP benefits. And Congress so far has been
    unsuccessful in addressing this gap, either in the farm bill or
    in the National Defense Authorization Act so, it has fallen to
    the food bank networks and other charitable organizations to
    perform the government's role in ensuring that America's
    military families don't go hungry.
        Today, the food pantries operate on or near every military
    base in the U.S., including Fort Benning in my district, and a
    Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany.
        So, Mr. Waide and Mr. Hodel, can you talk about the work
    that your food banks and the other food banks in your area do
    to serve the military families, and can you characterize the
    need that you are seeing among this subpopulation?
        Let me just go ahead and ask my second question, which will
    be directed to Mr. Edenfield on rural grocery stores. Of
    course, the latest estimates suggest that 1.1 million rural
    households lack access to a vehicle, and they have low access
    to supermarkets or grocery stores. They live over a mile away,
    and some of the residents in my district like those in Crawford
    County and Talbot County, the nearest grocery store is over 15
    miles away. Mr. Edenfield, you can think about what can we do
    to make it easier for small, rural counties to attract
    investment and support for bringing grocery stores to the area?
        Other residents that live in my district like in Columbus
    or Albany, which are considered urban areas, they still are
    almost \1/2\ hour from the nearest full-service grocery store.
    Some of them are hosting pop-up grocery stores in trucks, but
    this isn't a really sustainable solution for rural or urban
    food deserts. What can we do to increase the number of
    supermarkets in our rural and in our minority communities in
    the urban food districts?
        If Mr. Hodel and Mr. Waide will go first and save some time
    for Mr. Edenfield, I would appreciate it.
        Mr. Hodel. Go ahead, Mr. Waide, and then I will follow.
        Mr. Waide. Great. I appreciate the question, Congressman,
    and I think at our food bank, we certainly see a
    disproportionate number of veterans accessing services
    throughout our pantry network. We work with a variety of
    community-based partners that in particular serve veteran
    populations. We know that other food banks around the state, as
    you mentioned, operate food pantries and food distributions
    actually on site at bases located across the state. And we know
    that this population faces unique challenges that we have to be
    prepared to face.
        For us at food banks, we are serving veterans in the way we
    serve everybody, which is let's get them access to food. We
    think we need to be creative as a country, as a network of food
    banks to develop solutions to meet veterans where they are and
    get them the access that they deserve.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, I will add in for Midwest Food Bank, a
    couple points of interest. Our human resource director is a
    Purple Heart veteran, and so we have a heart and an eye towards
    our veterans and we appreciate their service for our country.
    We also provide kind of a holistic opportunity where veteran
    families will come in and utilize our facility and they will
    have meetings around kind of reentering the workforce, and talk
    about emotional topics like post traumatic stress disorder. We
    allow that group to come in and operate their meetings out of
    our facility, and then also provide that physical food service
    to the veterans as well.
        Those are a couple of things that we are doing and focused
    on at Midwest Food Bank.
        Mr. Bishop. I am particularly interested in the active-duty
    military people who are usually low-grade, non-commissioned
    officers who have families, and of course, since the SNAP
    eligibility includes their BAH, they end up not being ruled
    eligible so they end up having to come to food banks.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, no comment on that policy, but definitely a
    comment on our desire to serve them as they come to the food
    bank to make sure that they have the food that they need.
        Mr. Bishop. Thank you both.
        Mr. Edenfield, if I have any time--I can't see the clock.
        Mr. Edenfield. Yes. First, Congressman Bishop, I want to
    thank you for the condolences of Moses and Joyce. We miss them
    dearly.
        Now, on the rural grocery stores, that is a challenge and
    it is hard to answer, because in the last 40, 50 years so much
    of that is strictly farming, where at one time, as I mentioned
    earlier, there was some small manufacturing works, garment
    factories and something like that to help support those
    communities. And now, there pretty well is farmers and farming
    and the farm laborers. It is a numbers thing and it just takes
    so much to be able to--even the small grocery store. It is
    still going to be, unless something else can move into these
    areas, or if there could be just a little more population, it
    is going to be hard sometimes to get. And 15 to 20 miles is a
    long ways to go.
        I can understand that, but unfortunately, I don't know that
    there is a quick and easy answer to it.
        Mr. Bishop. You also have the issue in urban areas.
        The Chairman. Time.
        Mr. Bishop. Has my time expired?
        The Chairman. Yes, it is a little over 2 minutes, my friend
    from Albany. I didn't want to interrupt that line of questions
    because, combined with what you are bringing up and what Mr.
    Baird was talking about gets to the whole meat of why we have
    held this hearing. We have to find creative ways to end this
    hunger. And that starts with where people go to get the food.
    Our food banks, our convenience stores, our grocery stores. And
    we have to develop the mechanism and infrastructure where they
    are.
        Let me get to some other Members, and we will come back to
    that point. Let's see. Mr. LaMalfa from California, you are
    recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the
    time, and the kind way you conduct the Committee here.
        Well, at the risk of maybe some redundancy since we have
    been running back and forth between votes and who knows who has
    asked what, I just have a couple thoughts here on how we are
    doing things and how we can be more successful.
        I was particularly interested, again, in furthering the
    thought on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which
    seemed to have pretty good success and very much so delivering
    quality, fresh food that hadn't quite been as available in the
    past, and it is, of course, domestically grown food. Can we
    touch on that a little bit more, Mr. Hodel, on how that has
    benefitted the food bank's ability to deliver a good quantity
    and good quality of food to those in need?
        Mr. Hodel. Thank you for the question.
        We typically run with 4 to 5 weeks of supply, as we try to
    look out and be prepared for our agencies, and we were running
    at that level last January, February. And then the pandemic
    hit, so we continued to be strong in our procurement. We
    continued to lean into purchase of items to make sure that we
    had our shelves stocked. But we saw our weeks of supplies dip
    to 3.2 weeks of supply in April, and 2.6 weeks of supply in
    May. And a conversation that I had with some other CEOs of food
    banks, they were seeing the exact same scenario unfold.
        For us, the Farmers to Families Food Box was a huge boost.
    In June we returned--as that program became aligned, we
    returned back to 4 weeks of supply. We could see very much in
    our metrics what that value influx of food did in terms of
    being able to supply to our agencies, and then let alone the
    nutritional benefits. It has been talked about and commended
    very well, the milk, the fresh produce, the meat and the
    protein, the cheese, the dairy products, just tremendously well
    received. Which again helps with that nutritional cycle
    improvement for those that are in need.
        Again, very appreciative and the feedback we got all the
    way through our agencies and our clients was extremely positive
    and thankful and grateful for the Farmers to Families Food Box.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Mr. Hodel, I am not trying to put words in
    your mouth, but how would you compare the quality of what was
    coming in the food boxes versus the delivery of the freshest or
    the highest quality food in past practice? Did this improve
    that quality, as well as the quantity? You were talking about
    getting back up to that timeline of a longer period of supply
    on hand.
        Mr. Hodel. Correct. I mean, when we look at our metrics in
    terms of the percent of nutritional value of food that we
    distributed, we saw almost a double digit increase with the
    addition of that. The quality of the food--we are blessed with
    some good relationships with some retailers and some producers
    that we have a pipeline to fresh yogurt, to fresh strawberries,
    so we do feel like we get good quality food that comes into our
    coolers and goes out to our agencies. Quality to quality, it is
    very equivalent, but just in terms of the overall net benefit
    of the nutritional volume of food that went out of our
    facilities was almost a ten percent increase, which we were
    very thankful for.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Let me talk about food waste here a little
    bit. That is really--sticks in my craw--as well. One of my
    colleagues talked a while ago about the number being about 30
    percent of food that just flat goes to waste, and do you find
    with the food banks that maybe some jurisdictions have health
    department regulations that aren't really realistic as far as
    how food quality might still be, even though there might be an
    expiration date or a use-by date? Talk about that a little bit,
    please. I mean, more food that can actually be reaching people
    that is arbitrarily--maybe in my view--deemed as not quite
    good.
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, great question. The Good Samaritans Act
    allows us to be able to take those post-dated items and to give
    those out, which again, we are thankful for the foresight of
    our forefathers to putting that in place. But we do have a--
    kind of a food distribution challenge to be able to identity
    and rescue and connect where that extra or excess food is, and
    so that is a logistical challenge that our procurement team
    works through to try to make sure that we are connecting where
    there is opportunity and where that waste is occurring, to make
    sure that we are salvaging that and bringing it into the food
    bank network.
        And so, at times on the business side I would say there is
    some hesitancy at times to maybe form that partnership with a
    food bank for fear of the risk that it maybe imposes on them as
    a business. Policies around kind of reducing that risk for a
    business would be helpful and would be an additional pipeline
    of opportunity for food that the food bank network could
    leverage.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, would you mind yielding me another 30 seconds
    so I could ask Mr. Duvall something?
        The Chairman. I yield the gentleman an additional 30
    seconds.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Duvall, I wanted to touch on with the issues we are
    facing with food supply and such, how important is it as a
    representative of farmers in America that we have a
    domestically grown food supply versus reliant upon imported
    food, and the challenges that farmers are facing in America in
    20 seconds?
        Mr. Duvall. Yes, my 20 seconds is food security is national
    security, and it is absolutely essential that we as a country
    be able to feed ourselves. For example, when we had energy
    insecurity and we would depend on other countries for energy,
    we surely don't want to go there with our food. It is vitally
    important we continue to do that.
        Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
    yield back.
        The Chairman. All I can say to that, my good friend, Zippy
    Duvall, is amen. That is why we are having this hearing,
    because if we don't do something about these food shortages,
    then you truly have a national security issue when we have to
    depend upon other nations to feed the most powerful nation in
    the world. I assure you, we will no longer be the most powerful
    nation.
        And I can't thank the Committee enough. I mean, you all are
    asking some great questions. Our panelists are giving some
    great help here as our experts.
        And now, let me continue with Mrs. Axne from Iowa. Is she
    on?
        Mrs. Axne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is so good to be
    here, and thanks to all the witnesses for sharing the work that
    your organizations have done during this time of need.
        We have 42 million Americans, including 13 million
    children, who are estimated to experience food insecurity this
    year. We all know on this Committee that this needs to be
    discussed, and I really appreciate everyone for being here, and
    for our Chairman in making this a priority.
        As you just mentioned, Zippy, it is a shame that we have
    food insecurity in this country at all, but the effects of the
    pandemic have only worsened the situation. In Iowa, we saw an
    increase of 50 percent in food insecurity, with over 450,000 of
    our friends and neighbors struggling to get the food they need.
    But we know this is an issue in every community, rural and
    urban. But as Mr. Waide noted in his testimony, rural
    communities have experienced higher levels of hunger before the
    pandemic, and the pandemic has only exacerbated those issues.
    In fact, Feeding America's latest reports estimates that over
    14.4 percent of rural Americans were food-insecure last year,
    and that is six million individuals in rural communities who
    lack the food they need.
        I am also very concerned about the availability of fresh
    and healthy food options for these communities. For example,
    when I am traveling across my district, 16 counties, it is
    majority rural, and I stop at a convenience store, often the
    only fresh item is truly a yellowing and bruised banana that is
    sitting on the counter. In fact, these convenience stores are
    often the easiest place and the most accessible place for folks
    to shop in between trips to the grocery store, which could be
    quite a distance away. We have to make sure that all of our
    communities have access to fresh, healthy foods in a convenient
    and affordable manner. And I am sure that is something we all
    support here on the Committee. I am so glad, Mr. McBrayer, to
    hear about the priority your business has placed on expanding
    those offerings to your customers.
        My first question, Mr. Waide, you noted in your testimony
    that smaller and more rural parts of the country have not had
    equitable access to CFAP products. Can you expand on that, and
    what would be your suggestions to fix this?
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you for the question.
        The issue is that the way in which we are distributing the
    CFAP products is relying upon the relationships that the
    distributors that are awarded the contracts have in
    communities, and the incentives for those distributors is to
    move the product, generally as quickly as they can so they can
    complete the contract. They don't always have relationships in
    every part of the country, especially in those parts that have
    fewer resources and higher rates of food insecurity and lower
    access to the kind of products that you are talking about.
        The solution is that we are utilizing networks similar to
    the Feeding America network, where we have real relationships
    on the ground in every county in the United States. And so,
    listening to local stakeholders, utilizing those organizations
    that already have expertise in handling this product that
    already know how to get product to even the more difficult to
    reach areas, needs to be a part of the accountability that we
    put around the program. Right now, there is not as much
    accountability around the CFAP Program around how product is
    distributed equitably as there is around the TEFAP program, and
    so, we would use that as a model for how you put some of those
    accountability measures in place and leverage the expertise of
    organizations that know what they are doing in this space.
        Mrs. Axne. Well, thank you for that answer, and that is
    going to give us another opportunity to look at fixing that
    problem. I really appreciate that. That is a common-sense
    solution that we should be able to get behind. So, thank you
    for that.
        I have heard from food banks in my state that the demand
    for mobile food bank setups have doubled this last year, mostly
    in rural communities. Can you inform us on the Committee about
    the successes and challenges that those rural food banks are
    having in meeting their community's needs?
        Mr. Waide. Sure. The mobile distributions have been
    extremely important to our ability to reach all aspects of our
    community, particularly given the social distancing that is
    required to operate safely. And it allows us to move a lot of
    food very quickly. The challenge around those operations, just
    going forward, you have to be there when the people are there,
    and so, it is not as well developed an infrastructure as you
    have maybe in some more densely populated areas where people
    can go to standing pantries at hours that are more convenient
    to them.
        Part of the solution that we are trying to develop is how
    do we make those mobile distributions more accessible at more
    times, more frequently in communities that are more remote, and
    food banks around the country are developing solutions around
    that.
        Mrs. Axne. Thank you so much. I know we are out of time,
    but that is why I am so proud to support the American Rescue
    Plan, because SNAP also plays a big part of this, and I know
    the food banks are a great part, but we need the support from
    SNAP, and this is going to help us get to those needs.
        Thank you so much. I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Mrs. Axne, and now I will
    recognize my good friend, Bobby Rush, from Illinois. You are
    now recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Rush. I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to
    welcome all the witnesses today, and as I have indicated once
    before on this Committee, I am the grandson and son of two
    Georgia farmers. I was raised, born on a farm in Sylvester,
    Georgia, southwest Georgia, and spent my early years on a farm.
    Mr. Chairman, I would also like to say in the late 1960s, early
    1970s, I was part of an organization that created in this
    nation the first network of free feeding programs named
    Breakfast for Children Program. And I am so delighted to be a
    part of this very important hearing today.
        My question goes to Mr. Edenfield. Mr. Edenfield, in your
    testimony, you encourage, and I quote, ``this Committee to
    consider a P-EBT model for summer feeding programs as well.''
    Can you please discuss how this particular modeling of the P-
    EBT benefits for summer programs could ensure that kids do not
    go hungry?
        Mr. Edenfield. Yes, sir, thank you.
        This is something I see as very important because each
    summer, as a matter of fact, I tell my team we try to structure
    a lot of our ads, a lot of what we are doing, when we realize
    the kids are out of school, they are not going to be getting
    that lunch program. We take bread, we take some lunchmeat, some
    fruits, how to have a healthy lunch that is there, and try to
    have as equal amount of food as possible [inaudible]. And I
    thought for many years now that this is--now sometimes there
    are other programs, but there is not really a family program
    where you stay at your house and you have those extra benefits
    that comes here in the summertime. I think that is something
    that is very important to look at.
        Mr. Rush. Yes, but let me ask you another question, Mr.
    Edenfield, or any of the other witnesses. As a part of the
    distribution system for food and to address the food
    insecurities that far too many Americans are facing, is there a
    role for cooperative food stores and cooperative--at one time
    in American history, a cooperative helped play a key role. Is
    there any place, any space in the landscape for--our nation
    today for cooperatively owned food distribution sources?
        Mr. Edenfield. That is a good question too, and if there
    is--and this would be--of course, this is an opinion--would be
    more so in the rural areas there right now. And they could
    not--I am not saying it wouldn't work in other areas, but there
    is such a shortage in some of the rural areas that that would--
    when you talk about a cooperative there, so many people buying
    in and having ownership in that there that would help make that
    work. And so, it would seem like to just think about it, that
    would be the most logical place to start a plan like that.
        Mr. Rush. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you so much, and I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Bobby.
        And now, I recognize Mr. Al Lawson from the great State of
    Florida, 5 minutes.
        Mr. Lawson. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I welcome
    everyone to the Committee. I know that there have been a lot of
    questions asked over the last 3 hours or so, but I have this
    question. I will give it to Mr. Waide. Florida 5th
    Congressional District is no stranger to food insecurity, and
    sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the situation for
    our families even worse. From Farm Share of north Florida,
    northeast Florida, to Second Harvest of Big Bend, food banks
    and their services have been essential in feeding Floridians.
    Can we talk about the unique way food banks like yours have
    been able to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and how you think
    the Federal Government can better help you all on the other
    side of the pandemic?
        Mr. Waide. Well, thank you, Representative, and as we have
    been talking about this morning, the way that the food banks
    have been able to respond to this crisis is we have really
    dramatically grown our sourcing of food by buying more food, by
    working closely with our food donor partners, leveraging
    Federal commodities that have been provided through the various
    stimulus packages, and then really growing the number of mobile
    distributions that we provide, continuing to support the needs
    of our existing partners, and just working to expand our
    transportation capacity so that we have more food going more
    places more often to make it more accessible.
        The support we need, going forward, to continue to respond
    to elevated levels of need, which we think will be with us for
    some time, is certainly we need ongoing investment in TEFAP, in
    the Food Box Program, so that we continue to have the inventory
    we need to respond. If those programs are not sustained for the
    current levels, there is no way that we are going to be able to
    replace that volume of food using private sources. We need
    those programs to continue to be funded aggressively.
        We also think it is important to continue to sustain
    expanded SNAP benefits to reduce the burden on food banks, and
    we think, as some folks have been talking about, pandemic EBT
    is a program that is really important, particularly as we think
    about the impact on kids--families with children.
        Mr. Lawson. Okay, thank you very much.
        My second question, from veterans to college students, my
    district is the home of many of the most vulnerable population
    when it comes down to food insecurity. And as the COVID-19
    crisis highlighted how these special populations have often
    been forgotten in our social safety network. What
    recommendation would you all make to ensure our students--even
    though I know several universities in my district have food
    banks--veterans, and I have a lot of veterans in my district,
    especially in Duval, probably more veterans there than in any
    other place in the State of Florida. And all of them can be
    served by programs such as SNAP and The Emergency Food
    Assistance Program.
        Mr. Waide. It is critically important--our food bank
    believes it is critically important that as we think about the
    populations you described, we just make food as accessible as
    possible. And the easiest way, the most efficient way to do
    that is through expanded benefits in the SNAP Program. That is
    a program that is widely accessible, it is really efficient, it
    works. And it is the easiest way to get food to people who need
    it, using our existing world-class infrastructure of grocery
    retailers that are available all across the country.
        Mr. Lawson. Okay, thank you very much. That is a great
    answer, and I look forward to working with you.
        Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back.
        The Chairman. All right. Now, may I ask, is Mr. Panetta
    back?
        Mr. Panetta. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I am here.
        The Chairman. Very good, very good. We will now go to you,
    Mr. Panetta, and you are now recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Panetta. Outstanding. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and
    thanks to all the witnesses for your preparation for being here
    for now going on 4 hours. I appreciate your patience with this.
    I am the last questioner, but I will make it quick even if I am
    not.
        Look, I just wanted to obviously thank the Chairman for
    holding this type of hearing that really, with the diversity of
    all of the witness' experiences, shines an excellent light on
    the issues with hunger, not only during COVID, but when we are
    not in COVID as well. As many of you know, I come from the
    Central Coast of California, and as Zippy Duvall knows well,
    they call it the Salad Bowl of the World. We are surrounded by
    fresh fruits and vegetables, but sometimes the people that
    harvest those fresh fruits and vegetables don't have access to
    the food that they are working around all day, unfortunately.
    And that is why these types of programs that we are talking
    about are very, very important, especially during COVID-19.
    Every week that I am in the district, I get out to a food bank,
    and as you can imagine, I have seen those lines only get
    longer, unfortunately, over this past year.
        But, as it was said in a hearing we had last term, food
    banks, as important as they are, we cannot food bank our way
    out of this. And so, clearly, that is why SNAP is so important
    in this crisis, and it is also a situation which is being
    remedied or addressed at least with the American Rescue Plan,
    considering the 15 percent increase in SNAP funding. Which I
    believe, and I am sure some of you believe, will be very
    beneficial and instrumental in dealing with our hunger issues.
        Mr. Waide, I know you have been answering a lot of
    questions today, but I have one final one for you. You
    mentioned that increasing the SNAP benefits by ten percent is
    equivalent to doubling access to all of the food provided
    through our nation's food banks. What would the cost to
    charities and nonprofits be to fill in the gaps if SNAP
    benefits were reduced?
        Mr. Waide. Well, if SNAP benefits were reduced, again if we
    reduce the SNAP benefits by ten percent, we would have to
    double our network. And so, we are already distributing 65
    percent more food today than we were prior to the pandemic at
    my food bank. We are spending more than 50 percent more than we
    were in our expenses to do that. And so, we would have to go
    and find the resources to double that again just to make up the
    difference of a ten percent cut to SNAP.
        Obviously, that would not be achievable for any length of
    time, and that means that American families, kids, seniors
    would go hungry.
        Mr. Panetta. Understood, understood.
        Mr. Edenfield, if I may, can you talk about how the
    important role of SNAP--I want to hit on kind of in normal
    times--and as an income support for low-income workers in
    better times, what have you observed? Is it efficient? Are
    people using SNAP to buy the right kinds of food for their
    families?
        Mr. Edenfield. We find it to be very efficient. We find
    that if you take--and we have some stores that have a heavier
    concentration of SNAP customers than other stores. And where it
    is a heavy concentration, there is definitely more of the home-
    cooked type meals, from scratch type meals, whether it is your
    rice or your flour or your milk, so many different things, and
    then so there is much more cooking going on, and this also
    stretches the dollar a little bit more. And so, I find it to be
    very efficient and very effective.
        Mr. Panetta. Great, great.
        President Duvall, let me just kind of pivot over to you.
    Obviously, farmers in my district did a pretty good job in
    donating food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; but, can you go
    into some of the obstacles that farmers faced in trying to
    donate food during the pandemic?
        Mr. Duvall. Well, it is just the awareness or where they go
    with it. That is the biggest obstacle, and when they get there,
    are they going to accept it? I think the coordination is the
    biggest obstacle.
        Mr. Panetta. Fair enough. I appreciate that.
        Once again, thank you, everybody, and thank you for your
    service to those who need it the most. I appreciate that.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much.
        Ladies and gentlemen, this has been an historic and very
    impactful hearing on a very historic issue. We have not had
    this amount of hunger and food insecurity certainly in our
    lifetime here. And it is our responsibility as the House
    Agriculture Committee to be bold and to understand this is our
    challenge here. And I want everyone to know that I have had
    some discussions with both the Speaker as well as President
    Biden in the Oval Office when I was there, particularly dealing
    with how we are able to make sure we have adequate food supply
    in two of the most pressing areas: in our rural communities,
    which don't have the grocery store. And I am so pleased when I
    heard Congressman's--Mr. Baird's comments and the reply from
    our convenience store CEO, Mr. McBrayer, on how we can come
    together.
        And so, I want everyone to know how this entire Federal
    Government is aware of this issue, and they are looking to us
    in the House Agriculture Committee, as well as the Senate
    Agriculture Committee, to come up with solutions.
        So, I can't thank our Committee Members enough for all that
    you all have done, and I do want to say a word to Mr. Edenfield
    about my good friend, Moses White. Please make sure you give
    our warmest regards to Moses White's family. Moses White and I
    went to FAMU, Florida A&M together, and he passed recently, but
    he was a champion for getting out there and making sure that
    folks did not go hungry. Mr. Edenfield, your stores have been
    certainly leaders in that.
        At this time, before I give my closing remarks, I would
    like to recognize our distinguished Ranking Member for his
    closing remarks and any other information you would like to
    share.
        Mr. Thompson. Sure, and my 5 minutes of questioning. I
    deferred to the end here----
        The Chairman. Yes, please.
        Mr. Thompson.--because I knew that--I mean, it kind of
    creates some hardship when we have these hearings on going home
    day, because folks are depending on airlines, and there are
    fewer and fewer choices. I wanted to make sure all of our
    Members on both sides of the aisle had the best opportunity to
    speak.
        And so, let me do my questioning first. Mr. Chairman, first
    let me say I am grateful that President Biden and Speaker
    Pelosi have finally caught up to where the Agriculture
    Committee has been in a bipartisan way for years. I welcome
    them to this. We have been the leader on this, and it is great
    that they maybe have had an awakening on just how important our
    work is here that we have always done, the 2014 Farm Bill, the
    2018 Farm Bill.
        My question, first of all, thank you to all of the
    witnesses. Nutrition assistance requires collaboration between
    governments, nonprofits, communities, individuals, churches, my
    home community Alliance Club, other service organizations,
    volunteers. It just--it is amazing how many people come to the
    table, and it is those partnerships, public-private
    partnerships and efficient interactions between Federal, state,
    and local agencies, and quite frankly, the nonprofits, the
    churches, everyone that is involved.
        So, let me start with Mr. Hodel. How do your collaborative
    efforts improve service delivery, and are there areas for
    improvement to ensure that recipients' needs are met?
        Mr. Hodel. Yes, thank you for the question.
        At the Midwest Food Bank, we believe we do have the
    capacity and efficiency model to serve our communities quickly
    and fairly. And, this last year has taught us doing more of the
    same is maybe not prudent, but also stopping and fixing is
    certainly not an option. Experimenting, disrupting, and trying
    new efficient channels to market that are innovative I think
    are our solution. It has been talked about today that there is
    a multi-prong approach to help fight and solve this food
    insecurity, and so the initiative and continued refinement of
    the Farmers to Families Food Boxes is a great example of an
    additional pipeline. How do you provide that pipeline to the
    farmers? How do you make it incentivized for the farmers to be
    able to sell and receive fair value for their products? And
    even what type of reward is there for food rescue? And, those
    are the kinds of questions that can be tackled, and I am
    willing to be a part of that conversation, but also there has
    been some great progress in this last year, and we are
    appreciative of that.
        Mr. Thompson. Thank you. Thank you for that.
        Mr. Waide, your thoughts on how--with your operation, how
    do collaborative efforts improve your service delivery, and are
    there areas for improvement that we should be looking at?
        Mr. Waide. Well, our entire model is based on
    collaboration. My food bank has 170 employees. We are trying to
    feed close to a million people, and we can't do that without an
    extraordinary number of partners and volunteers and donors, who
    all get engaged in the effort to fight hunger.
        In terms of improving the way that we operate, certainly
    our food bank is looking at ways that we can operate better,
    and the lessons learned from the pandemic are that we have to
    move faster, we have to be bigger, we got to get closer to
    where people are. We are going to need help from government to
    do some of that work. We certainly need help with food
    inventory. We need help in terms of sustaining access to SNAP.
    But we also need great investment and collaboration in the
    private-sector, and we are leveraging expertise from world-
    class logistics companies here in Atlanta to help us think
    about how we improve. We are leveraging expertise at community-
    based churches to understand how we can serve people with
    greater compassion, and we are going to put all that together
    to do even more to serve our food-insecure neighbors who need
    our help now more than they ever have.
        Mr. Thompson. Mr. Waide, thank you for that.
        President Duvall, Zippy, the first thing is just an
    observation that perhaps you think about. I know I am thinking
    about it with, from ag, with resources for ag economists. Just
    as kind of a follow-up to Mr. Allen's questioning, with the
    amount of spending that we are seeing, and obviously when there
    is a crisis, I appreciate, quite frankly, the roughly nine
    percent of the bill that is going to the President's desk here
    tomorrow of $1.9 trillion. I think that is really important and
    helpful. I have concerns over the 91 percent, but what I would
    like us to look at, it would be helpful for all of our ag
    economists to take a look at the impact, we can go back in
    history to see this--the question will be, what was the impact
    on food affordability? Because affordability and access speaks
    to having proper nutrition, and with higher inflation--our
    inflation has eked up. I hope it doesn't go any further, but I
    am afraid with the amount of--the massive spending it might.
    That is not really looking for a response, Zippy, but something
    I know I want to work with ag economists to look at--and you
    have some great ones at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
        My question for you actually has to do with the--it was
    suggested by one of our witnesses today that the Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program funds were not efficiently used. Now,
    your testimony suggests there may be a place for a program like
    it moving forward. I wanted to give you an opportunity to talk
    more about that, and what that balance might look like moving
    forward.
        Mr. Duvall. Well, what we got to look at is our farmers
    always answer the call. If there is a new program out there
    that is put forward to help feed people that need it so badly,
    our farmers will adjust their marketing schemes, they will
    adjust their production, they will adjust their processing in a
    way to do that. And we just have to remove all the barriers
    that they have to go through to get there, and be creative in
    what those programs look like.
        Mr. Thompson. Very good. Well, let me just pivot into my
    closing remarks. Mr. Chairman, I promise it will be brief. They
    are all thank yous.
        Thank you for this hearing, first of all. Zippy, thank you
    to you and our American Farm Bureau, all of our state and
    county Farm Bureaus. Quite frankly, nutrition starts with our
    producers. Two simple truths: farmers feed and nutrition
    matters. And so, thank you for that. Thank you to Mr. Edenfield
    and Mr. McBrayer, I want to thank you and your team members
    that work for you. They have been working as life essential
    employees when other folks have been sheltering at home or
    telecommuting. They have been working in settings that probably
    have had more interactions with the public in a pandemic than
    any setting that I can think of. The stories that we hear, the
    large gatherings and these grocery stores, convenience stores,
    on behalf of everyone on the Agriculture Committee, our
    appreciation to you and your teams. And thank you for carrying
    those fresh foods. Those are incredibly important. That is what
    makes the Farmers to Families Food Box so important. It really
    is concentrated with fresh foods, it is good for families, good
    for health, and good for agriculture.
        And finally, thank you to Mr. Hodel and Mr. Waide for the
    work of your food banks, and all those that work so hard to
    make them successful.
        And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        The Chairman. Thank you very much, and I concur with you.
    You and I were exchanging glances as we were hearing the
    expertise from our participants, and from the excellent
    questions and exchanges from our Members. And I hope that those
    who have been across the country who have been watching this
    hearing, you will go away with it knowing that we are very
    serious about making sure we solve this hunger crisis that we
    are in.
        I want to just have a few closing comments so people will
    know where we are going to go from this point so that everyone
    should know, this doesn't end. This is the beginning of our
    approach to deal with hunger in our nation.
        And so, I want to start with Mr. Kyle Waide. Mr. Waide, if
    you recall, you and I had a conversation a few months ago as we
    were doing one of our COVID-19 testing drive-thrus and food
    distribution. And at that point, I mentioned to you that we
    were going to have a hearing, but I also recall that you
    brought to my attention that there might be a need for some
    language change within something that we could do here in
    Congress, and I am wondering, I certainly put you in touch with
    the staff, and I wanted to make sure we had responded to that.
    I think you may remember. Do you remember that conversation we
    had, Mr. Waide?
        Mr. Waide. Well, we are in touch with your staff, Mr.
    Chairman, and are in good dialogue around that.
        The Chairman. Okay. You know what I am talking about? Do
    you remember that? It had to do with some aspect of making sure
    that you were getting the kind of smooth transition with some
    phase of your activities with us here in Federal Government. If
    not, we can proceed and pursue that, and I just can't remember
    exactly what it was on, but my mind was back there.
        But I want to thank you, Kyle, for that, and I am asking
    that you continue to work with our staff, because I want to try
    to find some ways that we can help here in Congress the food
    banks. You are a very important part. All you have to do is
    watch the TV news and see the lines of cars and trucks and
    vehicles, some miles long, some in the car since 4 o'clock in
    the morning, coming to our food banks. You are their lifeline.
        And so, it is very important for us to know how much more
    we can help you, and help our food banks.
        And Mr. Edenfield, with Wayfield, I know the history there.
    You and I have been partners for a long time in Georgia, and
    especially working with my good friend, Moses White, and our
    relationship there. And I just wanted to also let you know that
    we want you to work with our staff and our Committee. The
    reason we have these hearings, folks, is to bring in the
    expertise, get the information, and then we in the Committee
    parcel out much of this to our Subcommittees, and it may be
    certain pieces of legislation that we need to introduce, and it
    may be appropriations of funds that come from these hearings.
    We look forward to continuing that relationship.
        And Mr. McBrayer, obviously you know I am coming to you
    because of the great interplay you had with Congressman Baird,
    and that is something that really has perked the interest of
    our Committee because Mr. Bishop even came in to that. You can
    see the enthusiasm within our Committee to reach out to you.
    You are the ones out there that are in the point of the battle.
    They come to you. They come to the grocery stores. They come to
    Wayfield. They come to Kroger. They come to your convenience
    stores to get the food. But we have a problem of the rural-
    urban divide, and those fault lines are getting larger and
    larger, and none larger than our food. And so, I am very
    interested, Mr. McBrayer, and you see the Members of the
    Committee are, about seeing how we can enhance that and utilize
    and develop it. It would be wonderful, like Mr. Edenfield said,
    if we could get grocery stores popping up in the rural areas.
    But it is all business, and they are going to go where they
    have the largest market. But those convenience stores are
    there. I know. I grew up in Aynor, South Carolina, and if it
    weren't for the convenience store, the furthest grocery store
    was down the road in Conway. And if you wanted to go to a big
    one, it is up in Florence or down to Myrtle Beach. But there
    was a convenience store in Aynor that provided our food. So,
    that is the case throughout.
        I am overwhelmed with this hearing, with the amount of
    information that you all have given.
        Zippy, what can I say about you, my friend? You are always
    there and you bring in such valuable information. And Mr. Eric
    Hodel with the Midwest Food Bank, your comments and your
    participation were great.
        And so, I come to the end of this hearing, but believe you
    me, this is the beginning of our work to make sure that we will
    not have this hunger crisis much longer. I commit this
    Committee to doing that. Our staff is committed. I just want
    you all to stay in touch with us, and we will come out with
    that.
        And I might mention also, what we want to do, we wanted to
    get a series of these hearings in and bring in--and so we would
    know what to do. The next hearing, as you know, will be on the
    status of the Black farmers, and we will have that on the 25th.
    That is 2 weeks away, and then the rural development, as I
    said, Ranking Member, you and I said we would work together on
    rural development, and that hearing is scheduled for right
    after the Black farmers hearing, so we can get that. And then,
    for those of you who might know, our staff then goes to work,
    pulls the subcommittee hearings together with all our
    subcommittees so we can parcel out the work ahead, and each
    Member and each subcommittee will have their responsibilities.
        So, with that, I turn to my wonderful staff. Is there
    anything else we need to mention before I close out? We are
    good, except one thing, to say thank you to our wonderful staff
    who has done a good job, and you are part of the staff as well.
    We have two staffs. Congressman Thompson has a staff, I have a
    staff, and don't they work together well?
        Mr. Thompson. They did a great job.
        The Chairman. So, let's give them a hand. We see the
    Chairman and Ranking Member giving them a hand.
        Thank you all. It has been wonderful. God bless all of you.
    Thank you. This meeting is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 1:10 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
        [Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:]
      Submitted Letters by Hon. David Scott, a Representative in Congress
                                  from Georgia
                                    Letter 1
     on behalf of deniz besik, p h.d., assistant professor of management,
               robins school of business, university of richmond
        Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Thompson:

        I would like to thank you for holding this hearing on food
    security. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my thoughts on this
    important issue and potential solutions for the Committee to consider,
    including through operations research.
        My name is Deniz Besik. I am Assistant Professor of Management in
    the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond. My
    research focuses on supply chains in the food industry, and I study
    perishable food supply chains, focusing on food quality and safety. I
    am also a proud member of the Institute for Operations Research and the
    Management Sciences, which is the world's largest international
    association for professionals in operations research, management
    science, data science, and analytics. These important tools are helping
    many sectors save lives, save money, and solve problems.
        Food is essential for sustaining life, and maintaining a healthy
    diet requires physical and economic access to nutritious, sufficient,
    and safe food. A food-insecure household cannot provide enough food for
    every person to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. In contrast,
    the word ``hunger'' is defined as a consequence of food insecurity,
    referring to feelings of discomfort, sick, and uneasiness due to
    prolonged and involuntary lack of food, according to the United States
    Department of Agriculture (USDA).
        A year before the declaration of the global COVID-19 pandemic by
    the World Health Organization in March 2020, the USDA states that 10.5
    percent of U.S. households, this is about 13.7 million (one in nine
    people), experienced food insecurity in 2019. Beyond the short-term
    impacts of [COVID]-19, in the form of sickness and death, or its
    possible long-term impact on the wealth of nations, one of the very
    crucial issues still pending to be addressed is food insecurity in the
    United States.
        According to the Allianz Financial report, in 2020, a year defined
    by a global pandemic, the United States could rank the wealthiest in
    terms of its net financial assets in the world. Simultaneously, more
    than 42 million people (one in eight), including 13 million children
    (one in six), suffer from food insecurity and hunger in the same year,
    according to Feeding America. To be able to address the issue of hunger
    in the United States, the first step is to identify: who is food-
    insecure, where do they live, and then we can suggest possible
    solutions.
        This past year has helped us to identify weaknesses within our food
    system or food supply chains. COVID-19 crisis elevated the already
    existing inequalities regarding healthcare and food insecurity status
    of vulnerable communities, including low-income people, children, older
    adults, and immigrants living in the United States. One category of
    high-risk groups who might suffer from complications of COVID-19 is
    those who have chronic illnesses such as hypertension, coronary heart
    disease (CHD), hepatitis, stroke, cancer, and asthma. According to a
    USDA report, chronic health conditions are associated with a low level
    of food security status among people living at or below 200 percent of
    the Federal poverty line (FPL). Additionally, according to a report by
    the Food Research and Action Center, in 2020, the food insecurity
    status among Black and Latinx Americans is shown to be
    disproportionately high, where one in five Black and Latinx adults with
    children reported that they experience food insecurity.
        Another contributing variable towards food insecurity is the issue
    of ``food deserts'' in the United States. The USDA defines ``food
    deserts'' as the situation where low-income communities lack stores
    that sell healthy and affordable food. Americans who live in food
    deserts, or ``nutritional wastelands'' in urban or rural settings,
    can't obtain healthy food to maintain a well-nourished diet, resulting
    in obesity and other diet-related illnesses. According to a USDA
    statement in 2017, which also includes a location finder for food
    deserts, about 13.5 million people have low access to healthful food
    sources. Another report by the USDA in 2015 also shows that 2.1 million
    households who lived in a food desert also needed a vehicle to access
    the nearest supermarket.
        At present, the food and agricultural industry is one of the
    largest sectors in the United States, accounting for approximately 20%
    of its economy, comprised of an estimated 2.1 million farms, 935,000
    restaurants, and with more than 200,000 registered food manufacturing,
    processing, and storage facilities, according to the United States
    Department of Homeland Security (2019). The Alliance of Food Chain
    Workers (2016) report states that there are over 21 million workers
    employed in the food industry, making up 14% of the United States'
    workforce. Moreover, the United States' agricultural sector shows
    steady growth, with consumer spending on food reaching over $1.6
    trillion annually (Plunkett Research (2011)). The food industry
    dynamics are very complex; the connection between various stakeholders
    is intertwined, and all the players work towards providing food to the
    consumer, starting from the farm and ending at the dinner tables of the
    consumers, while maximizing profits under tight competition. Creating
    and sustaining the connection between the farm and the consumer is
    called a food supply chain network.
        Food supply chains are very intricate local, regional or global
    networks, creating pathways from farms to consumers, encompassing
    production, processing, storage, and distribution. Food or agricultural
    supply chains are divided into two main types: perishable food supply
    chains and non-perishable food supply chains. (Besik and Nagurney,
    (2017), Nagurney, Besik, and Dong (2019)). Perishable foods include
    fresh produce in fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish. Fresh
    produce is seen as one of the most dynamic branches in the food sector,
    with an annual consumption value of 100 billion products. In the United
    States, the growth in demand, and the increased expectations of the
    consumers for year-round availability of fresh produce, has spurred
    food supply chains to evolve into more sophisticated systems involving
    overseas production in different countries, including Mexico,
    Argentina, Chile, and even Canada. Due to seasonality, most of the
    fresh produce sold in the grocery stores in the northeast of the United
    States is imported from other countries or grown domestically in a
    state such as California or Florida (Cook (2002)). It is reported that
    \2/3\ of the United States' vegetable imports come from Mexico, and
    most of the remainder arrives from Canada (Cook (2002)). Hence, the
    interactions between the demand and supply of food are no longer
    limited to a nation or a region but have grown into a more extensive
    cross-border operation, including complex relationships and long
    distances.
        There are many challenges related to food supply chain management,
    such as food quality and safety, or the impacts of trade policies
    (Nagurney, Besik, and Li (2019)). It is not very straight-forward to
    conceive a general rule of thumb for managing food supply chains. When
    a supply chain disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United
    States, every stage and player in the food supply chains, including
    farms, processors, packers, distributors, retailers, and consumers, had
    been affected tremendously. When the nation went under partial lock-
    down in most states, many people suffered from unemployment and started
    experiencing food insecurity for the first time in their lives.
    According to Feeding America, nearly 33.5 million people in America
    filed unemployment. At the same time, the demand at U.S. food banks
    increased by an average of 70 percent in 2020 from their values in the
    previous year. More shockingly, 40 percent of food bank demand
    originates from consumers that have never used food banks before.
        While American citizens were filing unemployment and the demand for
    food banks skyrocketing, grocery stores, representing the endpoints in
    food supply chains, experienced rises in food prices, especially those
    in the category under perishable. Demand shocks coupled with
    disruptions in supply chains affected meat, fish, dairy, and egg
    prices. COVID-19 outbreaks in certain U.S. meat processing facilities
    created a meat shortage in many supermarkets and caused the meat import
    prices to rise 16 percent in May 2020, according to World Economic
    Forum. Additionally, U.S. consumers experienced a 4.3 percent price
    increase for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs; whereas they paid 1.5
    percent more for fruits and vegetables, with an additional 2.9 percent
    for cereal and bakery products, contributing to a 2.6 percent overall
    price increase for groceries at the supermarkets in April 2020
    (Washington Post (2020)). Furthermore, as restaurants and schools were
    closed, consumers started to visit grocery stores more, forcing some
    producers to change their supply chain operations such as processing,
    packaging, and distribution to adapt to the supermarkets' requirements.
    As a result of this change in demand markets for producers, some
    farmers had to either accept lower prices for their produce or destroy
    their products. The contrast of seeing people forming long lines in
    front of food banks while farmers were destroying their produce
    demonstrates how fragile the food systems or food supply chains are.
        To gain resiliency in food supply chains and find some solutions to
    food insecurity and hunger in America, we need to start thinking about
    all the players in the food system, including the government, through
    providing food assistance programs such as SNAP. Federal food
    assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
    Program (SNAP), previously called Food Stamps, provide various benefits
    in alleviating the food insecurity or hunger levels of households,
    including the vulnerable communities. People who are registered for
    SNAP can buy food in all food stores. According to several studies, the
    SNAP program helped to reduce the level of food insecurity and hunger
    in the United States (Gundersen, Kreider, and Pepper (2017), Ratcliffe
    and McKernan (2010)). SNAP Program is a crucial defense mechanism for
    fighting against food insecurity and hunger in the United States.
    However, the research community could explore more on this subject by
    using operations research tools such as big data analysis combined with
    statistical tools to highlight the significance of the SNAP program in
    the United States. Combining information by the Federal and local
    governments with geographical data for food deserts provided in the
    USDA website could help operations researchers identify the communities
    in need and how much the SNAP can help eliminate food insecurity.
        Food banks are also another player in our food system, which can
    contribute to eliminating food insecurity and hunger in the United
    States. According to Feeding America, food banks across America
    distribute 4.3 billion meals each year. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
    many food-insecure households looked for a solution at food banks.
    While donations to local food banks were skyrocketing, the Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program was initiated by the government in 2020. As a
    part of the Farmers to Families Food Box program, USDA purchased $6
    billion worth of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products from producers
    in the U.S., which were sent to food banks through local and regional
    distributors, creating a new food supply chain from distributors to
    food banks. However, given the complexity of food supply chain
    management, especially in perishable food chains, food banks'
    operational characteristics could be limited. Few main issues related
    to food banks originate from a limited number of volunteers, lack of
    storage space, and possible logistical and quality problems due to the
    perishability of most fresh produce, dairy, and meat products.
    Providing efficient food supply chain management by considering the
    role of food banks as a new player in the game is still waiting to be
    explored by the research community. Using operations management tools
    such as mathematical programming and big data, the supply chain
    management between farms and food banks can be improved to reduce food
    insecurity and hunger in the U.S.
        Although some food assistance programs such as SNAP have a stricter
    eligibility criterion, including a citizenship requirement, they might
    have a better chance of delivering food more efficiently to those in
    need as they rely on supermarkets or retail food stores. Food supply
    chain operations can be maintained a lot more efficiently when the
    demand markets are retail stores since supermarkets have trained
    workers, better logistical operations in terms of distribution, better
    quality or safety standards, and more experience in conducting
    operations related to food supply chains.
        The importance of small farms and locally grown food will also
    continue to be important in our food system. The recent supply chain
    disruption caused by the [COVID]-19 pandemic showed us that relying
    solely on a centralized food supply chain could have dire consequences
    in terms of food shortages and price increases, resulting in an
    additional increase in the food insecurity levels of many households.
    More incentives for additional support for operational challenges could
    help small farms sell their products at various demand markets. Small
    farms usually experience logistical issues caused by the bottlenecks in
    their distribution and processing operations, which hinder their
    presence at supermarkets, retail outlets, and also farmers' markets.
    Operations research and operations management tools such as bottleneck
    analysis, capacity planning, or other devices, including optimization
    methods for minimizing a costly distribution, can help farmers to
    overcome the bottlenecks and logistical difficulties in their supply
    chains. Enhancing the availability of locally grown food with
    reasonable prices can create a more decentralized food supply chain,
    which could help the economy hedge against future food supply chain
    disruptions. Additionally, e-commerce is an excellent platform for
    farms selling their products; hence more opportunities can be provided
    for them to switch to e-commerce.
        Another crucial problem in our food system is the amount of food
    that is going to waste, while many households suffer from hunger and
    insecurity. USDA estimates the food waste in the United States as
    somewhere between 30-40 percent at the retail and consumer levels,
    approximately 133 billion pounds in volume and $161 billion worth of
    dollars. Some of the tools that could help reduce food waste could be
    Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, or
    smartphone Apps to help connect supply and demand points in food supply
    chains. By using networks of retail stores, large farms, packers,
    processors, or food banks can be used to match those who are food-
    insecure. Such technological advancements could help to utilize
    resources along food supply chains in an optimal amount, which could
    help alleviate food waste and food insecurity in America.
        Apart from the points above, outreach programs should be conducted
    to make food-insecure households informed about the benefits of food
    assistance programs such as SNAP.
        Again, I appreciate the Committee's attention to identifying
    policies that can help reduce food insecurity in this country. I am
    always available to further discuss these issues, especially as they
    relate to securing our supply chains and leveraging operations research
    tools.

                                  References

        Allianz Global Wealth Report, September 2020. https://
     www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/economic-
     research/publications/specials/en/2020/september/
     2020_09_23_AllianzWealthReport2020.pdf.
     Editor's note: items annotated with () are retained in Committee
     file.
        Besik, D., Nagurney, A., 2017. Quality in fresh produce supply
     chains with application to farmers' markets. Socio-Economic Planning
     Sciences, 60, 62-76.
        Cook, R. L., 2002. The U.S. fresh produce industry: An industry in
     transition. In: Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, third
     edition, Kader, A.A. (Editor). University of California Agriculture &
     Natural Resources, Publication 3311, Oakland, CA, USA, 5-30.
        Feeding America, March 2021. https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-
     in-america.
        Feeding America, The Impact of the Coronavirus on Food Insecurity in
     2020. https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/
     Brief_Local%20Impact_10.2020_0.pdf.
        Food Research and Action Center, September 2020. COVID-19
     Dramatically Deepening America's Hunger Crisis, Report Finds.
     Available at: https://frac.org/news/frac-covid-report.
        Gundersen, C., Kreider B., Pepper, J. , 2018. Reconstructing the
     Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to More Effectively Alleviate
     Food Insecurity in the United States, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation
     Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(2): 113-30.
        Nagurney, A., Besik, D., Dong, J., 2019. Tariffs and quotas in world
     trade: A unified variational inequality framework. European Journal of
     Operational Research, 275(1), 347-360.
        Nagurney, A., Besik, D., Li, D., 2019. Strict quotas or tariffs?
     Implications for product quality and consumer welfare in differentiated
     product supply chains. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and
     Transportation Review, 129, 136-161.
        Plunkett Research, 2011. U.S. food industry overview. https://
     www.plunkettresearch.com/industries/food-beverage-grocery-market-
     research/.
        Ratcliffe, C.E., McKernan, M., 2011. How much does SNAP reduce food
     insecurity? American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 93 No. 4.
        United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), September 09, 2020.
     https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-
     in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx.
        United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), September 09, 2020.
     https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-
     in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx#foodsecure.
        United States Department of Homeland Security, 2019. A report on
     Food and Agriculture Sector. Available at: https://www.dhs.gov/cisa/
     food-and-agriculture-sector.
        The Washington Post, May 2020. April saw the sharpest increase in
     grocery store prices in nearly 50 years. Available at: https://
     www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/12/april-saw-sharpest-increase-
     grocery-store-prices-nearly-50-years/.

                                    Letter 2
               on behalf of biotechnology innovation organization
    March 11, 2021

    Hon. David Scott,                    Hon. Glenn Thompson,
    Chairman,                            Ranking Minority Member,
    House Committee on Agriculture,      House Committee on Agriculture,
    Washington, D.C.;                    Washington, D.C.

        Dear Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the
    Committee:

        The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is pleased to
    submit a statement for the record to the United States House of
    Representatives Committee on Agriculture hearing entitled, ``A Look at
    Food Insecurity in America.''
    Introduction
        BIO \1\ represents 1,000 members in a biotech ecosystem with a
    central mission--to advance public policy that supports a wide range of
    companies and academic research centers that are working to apply
    biology and technology in the energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and
    health sectors to improve the lives of people and the health of the
    planet. BIO is committed to speaking up for the millions of families
    around the globe who depend upon our success. We will drive a
    revolution that aims to cure patients, protect our climate, and nourish
    humanity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.bio.org/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Existing Challenges of Food Insecurity
        The Committee's hearing examining food insecurity comes at a
    critical time. As we are all too aware, 1 year into dealing with the
    pandemic, COVID-19 has also exposed the vulnerabilities and
    inequalities in how communities are disproportionately impacted, our
    capacity to respond to crisis, our ability to maintain our supply
    chains, and to withstand an economic downturn.
        Unfortunately, the challenges of hunger and food insecurity predate
    COVID-19. According to Feeding America,\2\ before the coronavirus
    pandemic, more than 35 million people struggled with hunger in the
    United States, including more than ten million children. The
    coronavirus pandemic has left millions of families without stable
    employment. As result, more than 42 million people, including 13
    million children, may experience food insecurity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/facts.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        According to the United Nation's (UN) nearly 690 million people are
    hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population--up by ten million
    people in 1 year and by nearly 60 million in 5 years.\3\ As a result,
    the world is not on track to achieve the UN's goal of Zero Hunger by
    2030 and profound changes are needed to nourish not just the 690
    million hungry people today, but the two billion additional people the
    world will have by 2050.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/.
        \4\ Ibid.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Using Innovation to Tackle Hunger
        As part of BIO's BIOEquality Agenda,\5\ fostering enhanced
    nutritional opportunities is critical to promoting health equity. By
    broadening access to biotech advances that improve nutritional
    wellness, we can enhance overall community health.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.bio.org/bioequality-agenda.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Developing and deploying new innovations in crop and animal
    production will be critical to feeding a growing world. As highlighted
    by the United Nations, biotechnology can contribute to combating global
    hunger and malnutrition. Approximately 140 million children in low-
    income groups are deficient in Vitamin A. This situation has compounded
    into a public health challenge. The World Health Organization reports
    that an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 Vitamin A-deficient children
    become blind every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing
    their sight. Golden Rice, a crop produced using the tools of
    biotechnology, contains three new genes that helps it to produce
    provitamin A.\6\ * Because of these benefits, 150 Nobel Laureates and
    13,270 scientists and citizens wrote in support of crops and foods
    improved through biotechnology.\7\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ https://unchronicle.un.org/article/biotechnology-solution-
    hunger.

        * Editor's note: items annotated with () are retained in Committee
    file.
        \7\ https://www.supportprecisionagriculture.org/nobel-laureate-gmo-
    letter_rjr.html.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Gene editing can fast track genetic improvements in plants and
    animals to keep pace with a growing population \8\ and enable growers
    to produce higher yields with lower fertilizer, water, and nitrogen
    inputs.\9\ This technology can help us create more resilient crops able
    to withstand more variable weather events due to climate change by
    increasing plant tolerance to heat, floods, salinity, droughts and
    extreme cold.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/science/food-agriculture-
    genetics.html.
        \9\ https://innovature.com/article/dr-kasia-glowacka-plants-may-
    thrive-less-water..
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Gene editing can also boost the nutrient levels of fruits and
    vegetables. Increasing the vitamin and mineral contents of plants,
    particularly staple crops, such as, potatoes, corn, soybeans, and wheat
    can address hunger issues globally and, in the U.S., where large
    portions of the population do not meet their nutrient requirements.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\  https://innovature.com/article/dr-taylor-wallace-gene-
    editing-could-mean-healthier-foods-and-healthier-planet.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Incentivizing the utilization of biotech in specialty crops can
    also help address the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in food
    deserts in urban and rural communities. Consumers are already enjoying
    non-browning features in apples and potatoes. Extending the shelf life
    of produce can increase the availability of fruits and vegetables.
        Additionally, it will cut down on food waste. According to USDA, in
    2018 Americans threw away roughly 150,000 tons of food each day with
    fruits and vegetable accounting for 40 percent of that total.\11\
    Globally, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) \12\
    estimates that worldwide, the amount of food wasted is enough to feed
    two billion people--more than double the number of people struggling
    with hunger.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/
    journal.pone.0195405.
        \12\ https://www.wfpusa.org/articles/8-facts-to-know-about-food-
    waste-and-hunger/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Demand for protein, particularly in developing countries, will
    dramatically rise with a growing population and middle class. The OCED
    and FAO predicts meat consumption will grow 12 percent in the coming
    decade.\13\ While traditional breeding has led to increased production,
    precision breeding of animals to produce more meat or milk will be
    critical to sustainably meet this demand by making similar improvements
    in a fraction of the time.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/4395-global-meat-
    consumption-to-rise-73-percent-by-2050-fao.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As an example, the first bioengineered food animal approved to
    date, the AquAdvantage salmon, is a fish that can grow large and
    healthy with fewer resources, near population centers. Faster growth to
    harvest weight will increases access to affordable and nutritious
    protein.
        Using microbials and synthetic biology, we can boost nature's
    ability to grow more food on less land and create food ingredients.
    Through synthetic biology we can make vanillin that is molecularly
    identical to the bean.\14\ Separately, using synthetic biology to edit
    brewer's yeast to produce hemoglobin is key to the development of new
    alternative proteins.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/columns/debates/synthetic-
    biology-key-to-a-healthier-planet-or-threat-to-organic/.
        \15\ https://www.bio.org/blogs/synthetic-biology-sustain-
    agriculture-and-transform-food-system.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Conclusion
        Innovation can be a solution to food insecurity. However, we must
    incentivize and invest in the research and development of these
    technologies and practices and streamline and expedite regulatory
    pathways for breakthrough technology solutions.
        BIO is committed to working with the Committee and Congress to
    address food insecurity. We urge you to support policy that advances
    pioneering technology breakthroughs. With science we can ensure
    everyone has access to affordable healthy fare and achieve universal
    nutrition[.]
                                     ______

     Submitted Statement by Hon. David Scott, a Representative in Congress
      from Georgia; on Behalf of Barbara P. Glenn, Ph.D. Chief Executive
       Officer, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
        On Behalf of the National Association of State Departments of
    Agriculture (NASDA), we appreciate the opportunity to submit this
    statement outlining the priorities of state departments of agriculture
    on policies related to food insecurity in America. We request that this
    statement be included in the record of the upcoming, March 11th hearing
    of the Committee on Agriculture focusing on ``A Look at Food Insecurity
    in America''.
        NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of
    the state departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S.
    territories. State departments of agriculture are responsible for a
    wide range of programs including food safety, combating the spread of
    disease, and fostering the economic vitality of our rural communities.
        On March 8th, NASDA sent a letter to USDA supporting the
    continuation of the Farmers to Family Food Box Program as well as
    recommending ways to improve its effectiveness. NASDA proposed the
    following enhancements to USDA:

       Increase the variety of meat products by removing the
            current restriction that limits products to only pre-cooked
            meats.

       Provide vendors an additional 2 to 3 weeks between the
            awarding of the contract and the start of the performance
            period.

       Consider the adverse impact on smaller farms and
            distributors when contracts are awarded to vendors solely on
            having a lower price.

       Remove county restrictions within awarded states which
            create significant difficulty for both vendors and
            distributors.

       Give preference to vendors who previously participated in
            the program in the bidding review process based on contract
            performance.

       Provide vendors greater flexibility in curating food boxes
            to allow for the selection of items based on local preference
            and local availability.

       Increase the participation of socially disadvantaged and
            BIPOC farmers and vendors.

        These recommendations will encourage and increase participation of
    local farmers and vendors as well as ensure USDA can make a greater
    difference in the local communities who need it most.
        Additionally, NASDA recently published a Food Security Toolkit (see
    attached) to increase awareness and improve coordination around hunger
    solutions. The Food Security Toolkit concludes that when state
    departments of agriculture partner with other entities, state residents
    become more food-secure and farmers, ranchers and food producers within
    the state benefit from wider market-access. NASDA surveyed state
    departments of agriculture and found that successful state food
    security programs involve partnerships. The partnerships that reported
    the most success include engaging in Public-Private Partnerships, Food
    Policy Councils and Federal grant programs.
        Examples of programs and partnerships include:

       The Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Kentucky Hunger
            Initiative, for example, brings together farmers, charitable
            organizations, faith groups, community leaders, and government
            entities to begin a dialogue to help reduce hunger. The effort,
            which started as a task force in 2016, has since reformed the
            state's food donor immunity law and raised hundreds of
            thousands of dollars for hunger relief.

       Tennessee Department of Agriculture's partnership with
            Cul2vate, a faith-based farm worker training and hunger relief
            program, produces and donates thousands of pounds of produce
            each year for food-insecure people.

       New Mexico Department of Agriculture's SNAP-Ed Double Up
            Food Bucks program provides families and seniors with
            additional funds to purchase food from local farmers. This
            program benefits local economies while bringing fresh foods
            into homes.

       Oregon's Department of Agriculture partnered with the Oregon
            Farmers Market Association to create an online portal where
            people could place an order online and do curb side pick-up at
            farmers['] markets across Oregon. This online portal resulted
            in an additional $390,000 sales at 30 farmers markets across
            the state.

        Another area that has been a point of focus for NASDA members is
    food waste. NASDA members unanimously passed an action item recently at
    our annual Winter Policy Conference requesting the inter-agency
    agreement between USDA/EPA/FDA regarding food waste be extended to
    2030, consistent with the national goal commitment results. Even
    further, NASDA supports additional efforts to improve coordination and
    communication amongst Federal, state and municipals stakeholders to use
    resources more efficiently and effectively to address food waste.
        Last, the [COVID]-19 pandemic has underscored the essential work
    performed by meat and poultry processing plants of all sizes. Many
    smaller processing plants saw an increase in demand for services due to
    pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. These processing plants
    stepped up to reduce processing back logs and help support their local
    food supply. Limit in terms of facility size and processing capacity,
    these small plants need equipment upgrades and workforce enhancements
    in order to keep pace with increased demand. NASDA urges Congress to
    expand meat establishment modernization grants to any small meat
    establishment operating under state or Federal inspection. Regardless
    of the destination of the meat and poultry products made by an
    establishment, i.e., intra- or interstate, modernization of an
    establishment will add resiliency to the food supply chain, thereby
    protecting consumers from price shocks, avoiding distress to producers
    caused by unexpected herd culling, reduce local food insecurity, and
    bolster local economies.
        NASDA stands ready to assist this Committee in any way possible as
    it carves a path forward on this important policy issue.
        Please contact Zachary Gihorski ([Redacted]) if you have any
    questions or would like any additional information.
                                   attachment
    NASDA Food Security Toolkit
    A Resource for State Commissioners, Secretaries and Directors of
            Agriculture

    Forew[o]rd

        ``As the leaders of the state agriculture departments, NASDA
    members are constantly searching for innovative ways to advance
    agriculture in our states and reduce hunger across the nation. NASDA is
    well positioned to take on food insecurity due to NASDA members'
    position to influence policy, their closeness to America's farmers and
    ranchers, their ability to connect all facets of the food supply chain
    and duty to serve their states.
        ``For more than 100 years, NASDA members have understood that
    partnerships are an important tool for improving food security, but
    this project aims to take a closer look at exactly what partnerships
    are the most effective and identify resources and ideas to share
    amongst fellow commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture.
        ``The NASDA Food Security Toolkit highlights what our members are
    already doing to reduce hunger and offers examples for how we can learn
    from each other to ensure every American has access to fresh and
    nutritious food. It is unacceptable that one in nine Americans are
    considered to be food-insecure. Sharing best practices will help us
    achieve a more food secure nation.''

    Dr. Ryan Quarles,
    NASDA President & Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.
    Introduction
        U.S. farmers, ranchers and producers have reached production
    heights only dreamed of by earlier generations; however, today one in
    nine people struggle with hunger \1\ in the United States. While
    American farmers produce an abundance of nutritious food, the fact that
    people remain food-insecure demonstrates that more partnerships and
    connections must be built into our food systems to ensure everyone is
    well fed.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/food-
    insecurity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        This toolkit illustrates successful state department of
    agriculture-led food security partnerships that can be replicated or
    modified to work in other states looking to build on current programs
    or initiate new ones.
    Defining the Terms
        Through NASDA's data collection process and the final toolkit, the
    terms ``food security,'' ``food insecurity,'' and ``food desert'' are
    used. NASDA uses the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research
    Service's definition of these terms:
        Food Security: \2\ Food security means access by all people at all
    times to enough food for an active, healthy life.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-
    security-in-the-us/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Food Insecurity: \3\ Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain
    availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or
    uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable
    ways.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-
    security-in-the-us/measurement.aspx#insecurity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Food Desert: \4\ Areas with limited access to supermarkets,
    supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and
    affordable food.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-
    atlas/documentation/#definitions.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        This toolkit illustrates that when state departments of agriculture
    partner with other entities, state residents become more food-secure
    and farmers, ranchers and food producers benefit from wider market
    access. The toolkit analyzes state agriculture departments' existing
    food security programs and partnerships and offers states resources
    needed to create programs that eliminate food insecurity in the United
    States. It also highlights food security initiatives prior to COVID-19
    and initiatives that emerged because of the pandemic. Survey data was
    collected through 2020, and therefore, some programs described
    represent food security initiatives created in response to the
    pandemic. NASDA intends for this toolkit to increase dialogue amongst
    state agriculture department leaders on the most effective methods to
    form partnerships and create programs to eliminate food insecurity
    across the United States.
    Acknowledgements
        Inspired by NASDA members' unique ability to form partnerships
    across the food supply chain and influence food and agriculture policy,
    this project was led by NASDA President Dr. Ryan Quarles. NASDA would
    like to thank the NASDA Foundation for their contributions to the NASDA
    Food Insecurity Survey and the NASDA members and state department of
    agriculture staff who took time to participate in building this
    toolkit.
    Partnerships--Who State Departments of Agriculture Are Working With
        NASDA's survey of state departments of agriculture found that
    successful state food security programs involve partnerships. Of the
    forms that partnerships can take, state departments of agriculture
    reported success from engaging in Public-Private Partnerships, Food
    Policy Councils and Federal Grant Programs.
    Public-Private Partnerships
        Public-Private Partnerships allow state and private groups to
    multiply efforts and resources to reach people experiencing food
    insecurity. As defined by World Bank,\5\ Public-Private Partnerships
    are a contract between a private party and a government entity for
    providing a public asset or service. In this toolkit, state departments
    of agriculture serve as the government entity in the public-private
    partnerships, community food and other businesses serve as the private
    party, and the public asset provided as the result of the partnership
    is greater food security.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/publicprivatepartnerships/
    overview#::text=
    Public%2Dprivate%20partnerships%20(PPPs)%20can%20be%20a%20tool%20to,infr
    a
    structure%20services%20to%20more%20people.&text=The%20World%20Bank%20
    Group%20is,PPPs%20as%20one%20delivery%20option..
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Food Policy Councils
        Food Policy Councils \6\ are committees of community leaders who
    evaluate and address food system issues through policy-based solutions.
    Stakeholders vary in their background and knowledge of the food system,
    but most groups include leaders from agriculture, health, environment
    and economic development sectors. Food Policy Councils can provide an
    organized approach to assessing, developing and implementing a path to
    eliminate food insecurity in states and localities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/food-access/2/food-
    systems-models/food-policy-councils#::text="Food policy council" is
    one,established by non-governmental agencies.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Federal Grant Programs
        Federal grant programs make funding available for states to
    implement programs that accomplish shared goals between Federal
    agencies and state agencies. Throughout this toolkit, state departments
    of agriculture partner with Federal agencies such as the U.S.
    Department of Agriculture.

    Successful State-Led Programs Designed To Increase Food Security
        Every state faces its own unique circumstances around food
    insecurity. Below are programs that state departments of agriculture
    have enacted, that have proven to be successful and can be replicated
    or modified to work in other states.
    Public-Private Partnerships
              NASDA Finding: State departments of agriculture can benefit
            from public and private partnerships around food security and
            make a larger impact than they would operating alone. Tapping
            into supply chains, retailers, wholesalers and producers allows
            a larger reach for states to provide nutritious food to people
            who experience food insecurity. Through feedback from state
            departments of agriculture, NASDA found that developing
            policies within public-private partnerships is a vital
            component of their success.
    Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
        The Virginia Food Access Investment Fund Program \7\ uses the
    Equitable Food Oriented \8\ Distribution model to support food access
    and equity projects by investing in new or expanding food retailers
    that address food access issues in the Commonwealth. The program uses a
    rubric to determine project eligibility that could easily be used in
    other states.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/marketing-food-access-investment-
    fund.shtml.
        \8\ https://www.mandelapartners.org/efod.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hawaii Department of Agriculture
        Hawaii's Aloha + Challenge \9\ has a goal of doubling local food
    production in their state by the year 2030 to help combat hunger.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ https://alohachallenge.hawaii.gov/pages/local-food-production-
    and-consumption.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Idaho State Department of Agriculture
        Idaho's Community Donation Gardening Program \10\ donates produce
    to local food banks and assists with food aid programs to help find
    locally sourced food.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ https://www.extension.iastate.edu/ffed/community-donation-
    gardening-toolkit/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Arkansas Department of Agriculture
        The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance \11\ started a gleaning program
    more than 10 years ago that has been used as a model for other states.
    The alliance uses volunteers for gleaning events across the state and
    works closely with the Arkansas Department of Corrections for the use
    of inmate labor at some sites.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ https://www.arhungeralliance.org/programs/arkansas-gleaning-
    project/.
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    Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
        Florida's Food Recovery Program \12\ works with farmers to collect
    surplus produce through gleaning and provides schools with guidance on
    food waste audits, share tables, food donations and composting.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ https://www.fdacs.gov/Food-Nutrition/Nutrition-Programs/Food-
    Recovery-Program.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Kentucky Department of Agriculture
        Kentucky's Farms to Food Banks \13\ partnership has been successful
    since 2011 providing over 18.5 million \14\ pounds of produce to needy
    families. The program encourages farmers to glean produce that is still
    good to eat but cannot be sold. Kentucky farmers who participate in
    Farms to Food Banks receive a state tax credit.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ https://feedingky.org/farms-to-food-banks/.
        \14\ https://www.nkytribune.com/2019/08/ryan-quarles-farms-to-food-
    banks-reduces-hunger-in-kentucky-and-helps-farmers-too/.

              NASDA Finding: Thirty percent of state departments of
            agriculture hold public-private partnerships with food banks
            and other private community groups.
    Tennessee Department of Agriculture
        Tennessee has found success by partnering with Cul2vate,\15\ a
    faith-based farm worker training and hunger relief program. Located in
    Nashville, Tennessee, the nonprofit produces and donates thousands of
    pounds of produce each year to local hunger relief programs and serves
    as a demonstration farm.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ https://www.cul2vate.org/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    California Department of Food and Agriculture
        California partners with the California Association of Food Banks
    \16\ that delivers 160 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to
    food banks around the state. Farmers who donate surplus to the food
    banks are eligible for a 15 percent state tax credit. The program
    provides a small fee for the ``pick and packers.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \16\ https://www.cafoodbanks.org/farm-to-family-donor/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Connecticut Department of Agriculture
        Connecticut works with The Salvation Army to provide nonperishable
    food boxes at COVID-19 testing sites. Partners include the National
    Guard, Emergency Management Regional Coordinators, colleagues and
    universities and private businesses.
    Delaware Department of Agriculture
        Delaware's First Chance Delaware \17\ encourages public, private,
    nonprofit, philanthropic, business entities and community partnerships
    that work to end childhood hunger and expand access to nutritious food
    for low-income children.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ https://governor.delaware.gov/first-chance-delaware/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    New York Department of Agriculture and Markets
        Nourish New York \18\ is a response to the needs created by the
    pandemic and connects farms with the emergency food system. $35 million
    has been allocated to ten major food banks in New York to purchase
    directly from New York farms.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ https://agriculture.ny.gov/NourishNY.

              Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture Charlie Hatcher D.V.M.
            and Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee harvest produce for the
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Cul2vate program (June 2020).

              NASDA Finding: Livestock and wild game programs are a
            successful option for providing families with nutritious
            protein. Partnerships with youth organizations such as The
            National FFA Organization and 4-H can contribute significantly
            to these types of programs.
    West Virginia Department of Agriculture
        West Virginia established Hunters Helping the Hungry \19\ over 30
    years ago with the assistance of two area food banks that have provided
    1,026,593 pounds of venison to families in need.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ https://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/HHH.shtm.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
        Iowa has launched four programs that connect the food supply chain
    with food-insecure Iowans:

       Pass the Pork \20\ farmers donate pigs for processing and
            the meat is given to families in need.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ https://donorbox.org/passthepork.

       Beef Up Iowa \21\ beef is donated to Iowa State University
            meat processing lab mostly by 4-H and FFA members. The CARES
            Act funds cover the costs associated with these donations from
            youth organizations.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \21\ https://donorbox.org/beefupiowa.

       Turkey to Table \22\ Iowa producers, markets, food pantries
            and other private organizations partner together to provide
            turkey to needy families. CARES funds are available to help
            cover these costs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \22\ https://iowaagriculture.gov/news/cares-act-turkey-purchases-
    delivered-to-ne-iowa-food-bank#::text="The Turkey to Table program,the
    Iowa Food Bank Association..

       Pack the Pantry \23\ is a grant program supported by CARES
            funding that allows food pantries to apply for funds to
            purchase cooling units to be able to refrigerate more fresh
            foods for hungry families.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \23\ https://iowaagriculture.gov/news/pack-the-pantry.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
              Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Pass the Pork
            partner organization staff fill a truck destined for local food
            banks with pork donated and processed by Iowa farmers and
            producers.
    Food Policy Councils
              NASDA Findings:

           Two-thirds of NASDA members have developed policy
                through Food Policy
                  Councils to reduce food waste and increase food security
                in their states.

           30% of states have adopted programs that encourage
                producers to donate
                  surplus or blemished items to local food banks.

           7% of states have programs that give grocery stores and
                wholesale retailers'
                  certain liability protections from lawsuits when donating
                food.
    West Virginia Department of Agriculture
        West Virginia worked with partners to raise awareness about
    legislative opportunities to fight food insecurity. The success of
    these partnerships led to additional state funding.
    Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
        Oklahoma has created grants for grocery stores \24\ in food
    deserts.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \24\ https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2017/04/20/legislature-
    approves-measure-to-lure-healthier-grocery-options-to-fill-oklahoma-
    food-deserts/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
        Florida passed the Ms. Willie Ann Glenn Act \25\ that requires each
    school district to develop a plan to sponsor or operate a summer
    nutrition program.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \25\ http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/
    index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=
    &URL=0500-0599/0595/Sections/0595.407.html.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Nationwide Percentage of State Departments of Revenue that Provide Tax
            Incentives for Farmers Who Donate to Charitable Organizations

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Oregon Department of Agriculture
        The Oregon Hunger Response Fund,\26\ covers approximately five
    percent of regional food banks' expenses for capacity and
    infrastructure, such as warehousing, cold storage, transportation, and
    some programmatic costs. Some funds are distributed evenly, and some
    are distributed based on a formula that includes unemployment rate and
    those in poverty level. Some funds are set aside for Oregon Farm Bureau
    to procure food--such as ``pick and pack out'' and funds to repackage
    those foods for distribution.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \26\ https://oregon.public.law/rules/oar_461-192-0000.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Federal Grant Programs
              NASDA Finding: As co-regulators with the Federal Government,
            NASDA members work in close state-Federal partnerships on a
            range of programs. For food security programs, flexibility to
            use Federal resources to meet the needs food-insecure people
            has been a key to success.
    Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
        Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System \27\ program makes
    connections between production agriculture and the nonprofit sector
    responsible for distributing nutritious food to Pennsylvanians at risk
    of hunger. PASS allows Pennsylvania's agricultural industry to donate
    safe food products while being reimbursed for the costs involved in
    harvesting, processing, packaging and transporting these foods. Since
    the program's start in 2016, more than 18 million pounds of
    Pennsylvania-produced product have been distributed to those in need of
    food assistance.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \27\ https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Food/food_assistance/Pages/
    Pennsylvania-Agricultural-Surplus-Program.aspx.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    New Mexico Department of Agriculture
        New Mexico and Maryland participate in SNAP-Ed programs \28\ which
    provide additional funds to families and senior food assistance
    benefits so food from local farmers' markets can be purchased. This
    program benefits local economies while bringing fresh foods into homes.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \28\ https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/nutrition-education/nutrition-
    education-materials/farmers-markets.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Missouri Department of Agriculture
        Missouri participates in the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition
    Program \29\ funded by USDA. The program creates an additional resource
    for seniors, and the benefit doesn't affect any SNAP or medical
    assistance they may receive.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \29\ https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfmnp/senior-farmers-market-
    nutrition-program.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Nevada Department of Agriculture
        Nevada's Breakfast After the Bell \30\ requires all Nevada schools
    with 70 percent or greater free/reduced lunch eligibility to implement
    an option for students to have access to breakfast after the start of
    the school day. After the funding was completed for program
    implementation, Nevada saw a greater increase in USDA School Breakfast
    enrollment.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \30\ https://agri.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agri.nv.gov/Content/
    Resources/Data_and_Reports/Food_and_Nutrition/School_Nutrition/
    Remediated%20SB503_2020report_r1.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
        Wisconsin's Food Security Initiative \31\ (funded by the Federal
    Coronavirus Relief Fund) was incredibly successful. It provided $5
    million in funds to help the food insecurity network adapt to the
    increased demand during COVID-19 through infrastructure investments and
    $20 million for the purchase of food with an emphasis on Wisconsin
    products.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \31\ https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/News_Media/
    Covid19FoodSecurityInitiative.aspx.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
              Photos from local farmers['] markets participating in New
            Mexico's SNAP-Ed Double Up Food Bucks program.\32\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \32\ https://www.doubleupnm.org/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Resources
        NASDA recommends utilizing the following organizations and tools
    based on responses in the food security survey from NASDA members.

              Hunger Relief Organizations \33\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \33\ https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/hunger-relief-organizations.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              The Food and Nutrition Service Programs \34\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \34\ https://www.fns.usda.gov/programs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Food First & Community Food Security Coalition Report, ``Food
            Policy Councils: Lessons Learned'' \35\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \35\ https://foodfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DR21-Food-
    Policy-Councils-Lessons-Learned-.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hunger Food &
            Security Programs \36\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \36\ https://nifa.usda.gov/program/hunger-food-security-programs.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              The Food Industry Association: Tips From Grocery Store,
            Manufactures & Other Partners \37\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \37\ https://www.fmi.org/family-meals-movement/make-meals-happen/
    view/nfmm-news-page/2020/04/17/grocery-store-manufacturer-other-
    partners-our-friends-joined-in-with-their-best-resources-to-make-
    staying-at-home-a-little-easier.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Conclusion
        NASDA survey data concludes that when state departments of
    agriculture partner with other entities, state residents become more
    food-secure and farmers, ranchers and food producers within the state
    benefit from wider market-access.

        ``NASDA members understand that no one group, state or organization
    can take on the issue of food insecurity alone and succeed. Pursuing
    partnerships extends our reach, reveals new perspectives, multiplies
    our impact and inspires others to engage and take action.''

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Dr. Barb Glenn,
    NASDA CEO.

              NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which
            represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries
            and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty
            states and four U.S. territories. NASDA grows and enhances
            American agriculture through policy, partnerships and public
            engagement. Learn more about NASDA at www.nasda.org.
                                     ______

    Submitted Statement by Hon. Jimmy Panetta, a Representative in Congress
     from California; on Behalf of Robert Guenther, Senior Vice President,
                Public Policy, United Fresh Produce Association
    March 16, 2021

    Hon. David Scott,                    Hon. Glenn Thompson,
    Chairman,                            Ranking Minority Member,
    House Committee on Agriculture,      House Committee on Agriculture,
    Washington, D.C.;                    Washington, D.C.

        Dear Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Thompson:

        United Fresh members fully support the House Agriculture
    Committee's efforts to bring attention to the millions of Americans who
    are still struggling to make ends meet and who are relying on America's
    important safety net programs to put nutritious food on the table. That
    is why we would like to respond and submit this letter for the
    Congressional hearing record from your March 11, 2021 hearing titled
    ``A Look at Food Insecurity in America.'' In particular, United Fresh
    would like to share our views on an important program discussed during
    the hearing the Farm to Families Food Box Program.
        Over the last year, United Fresh members from across the country
    have participated in the Farmers to Families Food Box Program over the
    last year. Because of the success and strong support of this program we
    convened a 100-member working group of growers, distributors, and
    recipient nonprofit agencies during the past 3 months. The group will
    be issuing a report with recommendations shortly, but we would like to
    take this opportunity to highlight several key points:

      (1)  A family food box program is an effective way to absorb
                perishable, ``surplus'' fruits and vegetables and provide
                healthy food to high-need families.

      (2)  Pivoting from delivering to institutions and restaurants to
                packing boxes for distribution to households maintained and
                created jobs in the fresh food supply chain and protected
                these workers from joining the millions of unemployed and
                perhaps needing food boxes themselves.

      (3)  When AMS provided more contracts in each geographic area
                distributors were able to quickly make direct connections
                with nonprofit partners, reducing the amount of time it
                took to get healthy, fresh food to families.

      (4)  We know that diet-related health conditions are a prime risk
                factor for complications from [COVID]-19. This makes it
                more incumbent on policymakers to ensure that the emergency
                food we provide will build health. Boxes that only contain
                produce and that offer a variety of colors and some ready-
                to-eat fruits and vegetables concentrate the nutritional
                benefit to households.

        We look forward to the end of this health emergency but in the
    meantime, United Fresh's members are doing all they can to continue to
    provide markets to U.S. fresh produce growers and nutritious food to
    our neighbors.
                Sincerely,

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Robert Guenther,
    Senior Vice President, Public Policy.

    CC: House Agriculture Committee Members.
                                     ______

        Statement Submitted by Hon. Glenn Thompson, a Representative in
     Congress from Pennsylvania; on Behalf of Dave Donaldson, Co-Founder,
         Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, CityServe, International;
                Facilitator, Faith-Based Collaboration for F2F *
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        * Editor's note: F2F stands for Farmers to Families Food Box
    Program.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the full
    Committee, CityServe offers the following comments on U.S. nutrition
    programs and the role that faith-based organizations provide in the
    execution of Federal social programs.
    Background
        CityServe International is a [501(c)(3)] tax-exempt faith-based
    organization that provides logistical and structural guidance to
    churches that feel ill equipped to fully reach and meet the needs of
    their local communities. Local needs and community initiatives include
    addressing hunger as well as meeting the needs of the poor and
    disaffected, the addicted, and the exploited. Through capacity and
    partnership building, CityServe assists in empowering churches to make
    greater community engagement and impact across the world. CityServe's
    collaborative network includes faith-based nonprofits, corporations,
    retail stores, farmers and ranchers among other food supply
    partnerships.
        Since 2016, CityServe has built relationships with interconnections
    to service the multiple needs of communities across the globe. Through
    these relationships CityServe has mobilized churches and leveraged
    their influence and resources. From this a supply chain network of
    ``HUB's'' were established that channel these resources. These HUBs
    include warehouses for household goods, furniture, toys, and food to
    local churches serving their communities. Local churches are the
    primary Point of Distribution (POD). Each POD has committed to be
    actively involved with their neighborhoods and community through
    compassion and evangelism. In 2020, CityServe and its regional
    affiliates distributed over $400 million of in-kind gifts through PODs
    to needy families across America.
    Hunger Relief Programs
        Specific to nutrition assistance, CityServe recognizes that 41
    million Americans face hunger every day and that food insecurity
    affects all genders, ethnicities, ages and backgrounds. Through-out our
    network we have established over 2,000 distribution sites that have
    been trained in proper food management, distribution, and means testing
    while following CDC's [COVID]-19 social distancing guidelines.
        In addition, the food box program has been catalytic in discovering
    other needs of families that CityServe is able to tangibly meet by
    providing beds, diapers, school supplies, and home furnishings among
    other items. By cultivating the trust of under-resourced families,
    CityServe has successfully linked them to both public and private
    programs geared towards helping them move from dependency to
    sustainability.
        Aggressive incorporation of our nonprofit model within the current
    body of food assistance programs would allow us to reach an additional
    20 million people annually and help pull Americans out of poverty and
    deal with the conditions that contribute to food insecurity.
    Pandemic Response
        For more than 9 months CityServe and its 2,000+ affiliated
    organizations have worked to ensure the neediest among us have the
    opportunity to receive food due to no fault of their own. As we are
    well aware, [SARS]-CoV-2, also known as the novel coronavirus (COVID-
    19), continues to have significant and persistent economic disruptive
    effects on urban and rural communities across America. In response,
    USDA implemented the Farmers to Families Food Box Program (F2F) to
    purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need. The
    program, while not perfect in its first iteration, would come to be
    transformative in not just reaching those acutely affected by recent
    joblessness, but also the long-term unemployed who have given up on
    both employment opportunities and traditional government social support
    systems.
        In an effort to bolster the program, CityServe shifted its focus
    towards incremental improvements for F2F and even coined ``Last Mile''
    to describe its mission to assist the hardest to reach regions in the
    nation. USDA's subsequent changes to the program in Rounds Two and
    Three enabled CityServe, among many other nonprofit and faith-based
    organizations, to efficiently maximize the reach of the box program.
    USDA incorporated this last mile delivery concept, and now defines Last
    Mile organizations within the structure of the program. To date,
    CityServe and its affiliates have assisted in the delivery of 14
    million boxes to urban, rural, Tribal Nations and to the Rio Grande
    Valley. In addition, CityServe has formed enduring relationships with
    over 30,000 families and individuals who were given a food box but now
    have also found new purpose and commitments within their communities.
        The majority of last mile food box distribution work has been
    funded through direct donations and targeted fundraising. With the
    successful execution of last mile deliveries, however, some USDA
    contractors voluntarily contributed to CityServe in the early rounds of
    F2F. These monies offset the costs of the last mile deliveries such as
    personal protective equipment, refrigeration, storage and
    transportation costs. In later rounds, F2F last mile groups were merged
    into the USDA solicitation process. Once solicitations were awarded by
    USDA, CityServe and other last mile organizations could commit
    resources in advance of distributions, reaching even farther into
    America's food-insecure populations.
        Despite the good which the F2F program has performed, Round Five
    has presented new challenges for which CityServe requests the Committee
    assist USDA in addressing. In the design of Rounds Four and Five, many
    vendors structured their business to rely on last mile organizations
    and food banks to ensure the delivery of boxes across the nation to
    those truly in need. Based on this reliance, CityServe and its last
    mile partners have made significant investments for last mile
    deliveries based on financial assurances from USDA vendors who were
    awarded a contract. Unfortunately, many of these agreements have not
    been honored or they have been canceled because the contractors claim
    their margins are too thin. The goodwill and community expectation has
    pressured faith-based organizations to continue deliveries to locations
    serviced in previous rounds forcing nonprofits to assume the complete
    costs of last mile deliveries. The parameters of the programs for the
    latter rounds forced contractors to cut the delivery cost from their
    calculation in order to provide the government with a low-price bid.
    This activity was observed in Round Four but has dramatically increased
    in Round Five.
        The solution to this problem for future iterations of the program
    is to remove the low-price program mandate and restore the value
    proposition that was included in previous rounds. This coupled with a
    separate and verifiable administrative funding payment for last mile
    nonprofit organizations would cure the current programmatic
    malfunctions. For the program's current operation (F2F--Round Five),
    Congress should direct USDA to operationalize the authority given to it
    under Section 751 of the COVID Stimulus Package, included in the
    Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Specifically, Congress
    provided:

              ``Provided further, that from the amounts provided in this
            section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall use not less than
            $1,500,000,000 to purchase food and agricultural products,
            including seafood, to purchase and distribute agricultural
            products (including fresh produce, dairy, and meat products) to
            individuals in need, including through delivery to nonprofit
            organizations that can receive, store, and distribute food
            items . . .''

        CityServe recommends USDA provide $2 per box through this existing
    authority for all deliveries. This would continue to bolster the
    distribution of boxes to vulnerable seniors, shut-ins and at-risk
    children not receiving proper nutrition. This action could be performed
    at the conclusion of Round Five of F2F and would assist in covering PPE
    costs, the cost of trucks, coolers, forklifts, lift gates, etc., all of
    which is already being performed. The cost of the policy starting from
    January 19 through April 30 would be a maximum of approximately $60
    million or roughly four percent of Congress's designated minimum
    expenditure of $1.5 billion. We would note that the $60 million assumes
    every box in Round Five of F2F would receive $2 for safety,
    administration, and transportation costs to the last mile. We expect,
    however, that his number would be roughly half the maximum possible
    expenditure. In addition, in many USDA food distribution programs
    Federal dollars for this type of administration is provided.
    Post-Pandemic
        With the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, we fervently believe the
    pandemic will soon end. That said, while we are hopeful for a quick
    return of jobs to all sectors of our economy, we believe a lag
    economically could continue making the F2F program necessary for the
    next several months. When the pandemic concludes, a lesson learned from
    it is that the distribution of food and nutrition assistance generally
    can be performed in ways that were not previously contemplated and
    tested. F2F has proven that the Federal Government can utilize the
    efficiencies and seasonality of food in the free market to purchase and
    deliver high quality, fresh and highly nutritious food at reasonable
    prices and place that food directly in the hands of the food-insecure
    population. Such a program, if maintained, could cure food deserts,
    assist in curbing health issues that are prevalent among low income and
    food-insecure populations, and further the goal of ending hunger in
    America. CityServe highly encourages Congress to fund and specifically
    direct USDA to maintain the program.
    Conclusion
        As stated above, CityServe has assisted in the delivery of 14
    million USDA food boxes to the ``hardest-to-reach'' communities.
    Generally, however, CityServe's work represents a community of
    nonprofit organizations that have proven that their assistance is
    needed and that we will continue to be a critical member of the
    nutrition assistance community to respond to that need. The reach of
    our organization has found food-insecure populations in both urban and
    rural areas and among some in Tribal Nations. In addition, we submit
    that in recent comments Secretary Vilsack has stated that he likes the
    program and aspects of what it has been able to do. That said, it is
    clear that he will need the support of Congress to maintain the program
    and ensure last mile organizations continue to be involved. We further
    submit that Congress should encourage USDA to include the last mile
    concept in other programs where opportunities exist to address
    America's hunger issues.
        CityServe takes seriously the work of feeding the needy, but in
    addition it also works to investigate and solve the underlining
    conditions associated with Americans who are food-insecure. For this
    reason, we have developed a network and skill set to reach and maintain
    the connection with families and individuals who are often lost within
    Federal and state social programs. We will continue to perform this
    mission and request that the recommendations above be considered and
    incorporated in the Committee's ongoing work.
                                     ______

      Submitted Report by Hon. Rodney Davis, a Representative in Congress
                                 from Illinois

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    Farmers To Families Food Box Research Findings
    January 2021

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    Executive Summary
        In April 2020, when the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
    rolled out the Farmers to Families Food Box program (FFFB) in response
    to supply chain disruptions and spikes in food insecurity caused by
    COVID-19, the Wallace Center at Winrock International sprang into
    action to ensure participation by the local and regional food
    businesses and organizations we serve. Over the course of 5 months, we
    provided direct technical assistance to farmers, food hubs, and
    distributors whose locally focused markets had disappeared due to the
    pandemic. These farmers and local food businesses looked to the program
    to replace lost markets for the healthy foods they had growing in their
    fields and sitting in their coolers, to maintain their staff and
    operations, and to provide hunger relief in their communities.
        AMS estimates that approximately 55 of the organizations selected
    as contractors in the first two rounds of the FFFB program were working
    with and sourcing from local and regional farms. Collectively these
    contracts were an investment of over $84M in local farms, regional
    businesses, and communities. For context, that is over three times the
    total amount invested in local and regional food systems by USDA-AMS
    through the FMLFPP program in 2020. The Wallace Center conducted
    research with about half of these locally-sourcing contractors to
    understand the program's impact on their work, gather information that
    could inform the implementation of emergency nutrition and farmer-
    support efforts, and help shape future programs that leverage USDA
    direct procurements.
        The Wallace Center received responses to surveys from 21 of the 55
    local-sourcing contractors from rounds one and two and conducted
    formal, follow-up interviews with seven of these respondents. The
    research and data in this report reflects the program implementation
    and input from those 21 contractors, whose responses we chose to
    anonymize to ensure that they would be comfortable openly sharing their
    feedback with the Wallace Center, our research partners, and the USDA.

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        The research indicates that the local and regional contractors were
    overwhelmingly successful in implementing the program, which provided a
    critically important outlet for small to midsize producers whose
    markets disappeared in the spring of 2020. It shored up regional supply
    chains, and it provided fresh, healthy, culturally appropriate foods to
    emergency nutrition operations and the people they serve in urban and
    rural communities across the country.
        The program's early flexibility enabled organizations and
    businesses that had never been able to participate in USDA commodity
    programs demonstrate the strength and responsiveness of their
    enterprises and networks. For example, flexibility in the kinds of
    boxes contractors could provide and the contents of these boxes allowed
    contractors to concentrate on the products they know best, adapt to
    seasonality during the year, and provide culturally appropriate foods
    to different communities at a fair and competitive price. The
    willingness of AMS to provide small contracts enabled small companies
    to stay solvent and to source from small farms, serve a diverse set of
    small emergency food relief organizations, and reach rural and remote
    communities that large companies can't or won't serve. Assessing
    applicants on their ability to provide high quality, appropriate foods
    in household sizes rather than on low cost boxes meant AMS' support
    went to small and mid-sized specialty crop producers who could serve
    their communities effectively with no food waste.
        The FFFB contractor selection criteria shifted to a primary focus
    on low-price in rounds three and four of the program. These contractors
    could not compete while still providing farmers and workers a fair
    price and wages. The result: the producers these contractors purchased
    from lost a market channel that had provided prices commensurate with
    their pre-COVID customers. Further, the small emergency nutrition
    organizations they served in urban and rural communities--many of which
    operate outside of food bank networks--lost access to healthy,
    appropriate fresh food. Jobs that had been created to meet increasing
    community food needs were lost and some contractors had to lay off
    permanent staff when they did not receive contracts in rounds three and
    four.
        We recognize that AMS had to create the FFFB quickly and it is
    remarkable how well the process worked considering the immense
    pressures the agency was under. We understand the complexity of the
    task they were given and appreciate how responsive staff leadership has
    been and their willingness to engage with us directly about the
    feedback and questions we gathered from local contractors. While the
    program has been criticized and there have been missteps, it is evident
    that many aspects of this program worked very well and that the impact
    of the FFFB program had on the local contractors we worked with, the
    farmers that they source from, and the communities that they serve has
    been profound. Furthermore, this program provided a model not only for
    another round of COVID relief in 2021, but also for the local and
    regional food sector to participate in USDA commodity purchasing in the
    future. This program proved the concept that the dual goals of hunger
    relief and supporting small farmers don't have to be at odds and can in
    fact be systematically achieved in concert.

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    The Contractors
        After the original contracts were awarded, AMS identified 55
    contractors that were sourcing from local and regional farms and helped
    Wallace Center connect with them. Contracts awarded to these
    organizations ranged from $3,600 to over $27M. The Wallace Center
    surveyed 21 of these FFFB contractors and conducted in-depth interviews
    with seven of those surveyed. The organizations surveyed are based in
    15 states and received a total of $41 million in contracts in the first
    two rounds of this program, $28 million of which was paid to producers.
    Collectively, they delivered 1,760,596 boxes of fresh, healthy food to
    families in need. These contractors received contracts for rounds one
    and two. Some received Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) and applied for
    rounds three and four, but none received contracts in those final
    rounds.
        The contractors we surveyed are diverse but share a common focus:
    working with small and mid-sized producers using sustainable production
    methods, serving local and regional markets, supporting a diverse
    farming sector, and advancing healthy and resilient food systems. About
    half the contractors are businesses including farms and food hubs, half
    are nonprofit organizations, one is a school district, and one a
    consumer grocery coop. The business and nonprofit organizations vary in
    size, but all qualify as small businesses/operations.
      Fresh Approach
      Concord, CA
      Total Contract Value: $1.8m
              Fresh Approach, which is a nonprofit organization operating
            multiple food security and nutrition education programs in the
            Bay Area, took a value chain coordination approach to their
            contract, and created a web of food hubs, BIPOC farmers, and
            community-based organizations working together to build and
            distribute boxes. A decentralized program allowed the
            nonprofits that Fresh Approach partnered with to tailor their
            offerings to the communities they work in. Fresh Approach took
            a coordination role, aligning supply and demand and
            distributing funding to multiple small organizations, including
            farmers' market associations, farms, nonprofit farms, and urban
            farms, who could best navigate the assets and needs of their
            communities. Andy Ollove of Fresh Approach noted: ``We used the
            model of recruiting small organizations. We could get into
            invisible communities with really high touch. In some cases, we
            were getting food to people 1 mile from where it was grown. To
            do that most effectively, you think of it as a network rather
            than an individual nonprofit.''
      Growfood Carolina
      Charleston, SC
      Total Contract Value: $51,000
              GrowFood Carolina is a nonprofit food hub that primarily
            served restaurants in coastal South Carolina. Many of the small
            farmers that GrowFood served had very few market opportunities
            when COVID hit, as restaurants and farmers markets closed.
            GrowFood's FFFB contract allowed them to supply food banks,
            food pantries, and community-based nonprofits who they had
            previously been in touch with but had never had the impetus to
            engage in a meaningful partnership. They also worked with a
            local nutritionist to was create recipes and demonstrate them
            at pickup locations to show families how to use the food they
            were receiving. The need for this type of support was so great
            GrowFood worked to raise over $200,000 to continue their
            program when they weren't awarded a contract in round 3. They
            hope to continue serving their neighbors in this capacity in
            the long term.

        Existing relationships with local producers and farm groups helped
    the contractors quickly source products to meet their contractual
    commitments to USDA AMS, including when it meant scaling up operations
    substantially. Contractors were able to reconfigure existing local and
    regional distribution networks to deliver boxes efficiently. Experience
    with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) aggregation and distribution
    equipped the contractors with the knowledge necessary to right-size
    products for household use. Most contractors are deeply embedded in the
    communities in which they operate so they were able to fill boxes with
    culturally appropriate foods, deliver them to those most in need, and
    minimize waste.
        USDA AMS stood up the FFFB program quickly in order to address the
    urgent needs of farmers and communities in the early stages of the
    pandemic. The application process was new to all the contractors.
    Preparing a bid and complying with Federal contract reporting required
    a significant amount of time, expertise, and training. New logistics
    systems had to be designed that met the needs of the producers and
    worked with the contractors' capacity. Contractors also had to identify
    and organize a distribution system adapted to local needs and the
    resources of the agencies providing emergency feeding. In a matter of a
    few weeks, boxes and other materials had to be sourced, and staff had
    to be hired and trained to pack and deliver boxes.

      Eastern Market Corporation
      Detroit, MI
      Total Contract Value: $1.25m
              Eastern Market is a farmers' market and regional food hub
            based in Downtown Detroit. They used funding from USDA to
            provide food to 12 community-based nonprofits on the front line
            of food insecurity, housing insecurity, and serving seniors,
            sourcing from 15 farms in the region. They also directly
            delivered boxes to some community members and created pickup
            options at their market as well. Eastern Market also rolled out
            a non-subsidized direct to consumer box program which allowed
            them to increase their financial viability while maximizing the
            impact of their logistical expertise. The market demand from
            the Farmers to Families Food Box also allowed Eastern Market to
            achieve GAP certification and to support GAP certification for
            two small farmers.

        Even within these constraints, these contractors focused their
    sourcing locally (USDA's criteria of within 400 miles or the same
    state) from producers using sustainable, regenerative, and organic
    production practices and from Black, Indigenous and People of Color-
    owned farms. They bought from a total of 420 producers who were paid
    fair market prices. Many contractors reported working closely with
    farmers to identify a mutually agreed upon price, which was usually
    above wholesale rates. The contractors played a critical and complex
    role in making the FFFB program work for the communities they served
    and passed about 69% of what they received from USDA to the producers
    they bought from. They used the remainder of the funds to retain staff,
    keep the regional supply chain intact, and create 203 new jobs.
        Most contractors were paid between $25 and $38 per box. Materials
    and transportation were most commonly listed as the primary non-food
    costs. The range of prices can be attributed to the contractors' focus
    on setting a price with growers that met their needs, different labor
    costs across regions, the range of product included in the boxes
    (seasonality), and the true cost of last mile distribution,
    particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
        The locally-focused contractors were able to quickly and
    successfully implement this program due to their operational focus on
    local and regional supply chains and longstanding, trusting
    relationships across the value chain that are built on the shared
    values of local and regional cooperation. The contractors' models are
    inherently adaptable and built to be flexible to respond to changing
    market and supply demands. It is worth noting that many of the food
    hubs and nonprofits surveyed had been able to build the capacity of
    their operations and programs through investments of previous AMS-
    administered grant programs, such as the Local Foods Promotion Program.
      A&H Farm
      Manhattan, KS
      Total Contract Value: $1.3m
              A&H Farm is a fourth-generation diversified farm that also
            runs a CSA and multiple agritourism programs in rural Kansas.
            The FFFB contract was a lifeline for them when the local
            farmers market closed in March. They worked with other, small
            neighboring farms to provide produce to regional food banks,
            some as far as Denver and St Louis, and smaller food pantries
            that were too small to receive support from larger
            distributors. They also delivered directly to many individuals
            in their communities. Andrea DeJesus, who runs the farm with
            her husband, noted ``I am my farm. This program was life-
            changing, not just for us, but for our partners as well.''
      Zone 7
      Ringoes, NJ
      Total Contract Value: $146,000
              Zone 7 connected with their network of local produce growers
            in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York to source and pack
            boxes of delicious, nutritious produce items for distribution
            as a part of the USDA Farmers to Families program. By working
            closely with Rolling Harvest, their nonprofit partner which
            focuses on gleaning and linking local producers with food-
            insecure communities, Zone 7 was able to reach over 7,000
            individuals and families experiencing food insecurity in
            central New Jersey with the food boxes.

        Though the federally funded food box programs have ended for these
    contractors, the problems the FFFB program sought to alleviate have
    not. Though some restaurants have reopened, their demand is
    considerably lower. Similarly, some school systems and universities are
    feeding their students through prepared meals or other limited in-
    person options, though at a much lower capacity than prior to the
    pandemic. Many of the contractors the Wallace Center spoke with
    continue to provide food boxes and emergency food relief through
    programs funded by local governments, foundations, and nonprofit
    groups. Many contractors expressed their desire to keep feeding their
    communities and providing a fair market for their local producers.

        These 21 Contractors Represent:

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         1,760,596 boxes delivered

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         420 farms

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         203 jobs created

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         $28M paid to producers

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         443 partner organizations

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    In Their Own Words
        Nearly all the contractors noted that this program was a critical
    lifeline for the farmers they purchased from, with many saying that
    this program saved farmers, and contractors, from going under.

              ``Small and mid-size family producers told us that the
            existence of this program helped ensure the survival of their
            business in 2020. For many, their only sales were coming from
            the food box.''
              ``Every single farmer we worked with mentioned how we `saved
            them.' For example, a berry farmer we purchased from was able
            to buy back a piece of equipment he had been forced to sell,
            and we prevented 45,000 cases of summer squash from being
            thrown away.''
              ``It was life-changing. Not just for us, but our partners as
            well. Our farm went from not knowing if we would survive to
            making payments and getting some money in the bank.''
              ``First thing I looked at: They're closing the schools. We're
            dead. 35-40% of our yogurts at this time were 5 lb. tubs of
            yogurt going into schools [at the onset of the pandemic]. The
            USDA contract is an amazing investment--it's helped us
            establish a local dairy.''
              ``This program allowed us to meet the needs of thousands in
            our small, rural county when very little assistance was
            available.''
              ``The network that was built up has helped keep many
            producers viable. By sharing resources, we built strong
            partnerships that allowed us to scale to 3,500 boxes per week.
            Individually that would not have happened.''
              ``It is an absolute shame that I have producers dumping
            produce now because there is not enough demand for their
            products, while at the same time our partnering agencies are
            seeing record numbers of clients. The number of boxes we were
            providing daily dropped from an average of 700,000 in round two
            to 80,000 in our foundation-funded program.''

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    Food Distribution Partners
        The 21 Contractors we surveyed delivered boxes to a total of 443
    organizations as well as to individual homes. Many worked with their
    local food bank, either providing boxes to them for subsequent
    redistribution or by relieving the food bank's load by delivering
    directly to pantries, shelters, and other nonprofits they served. The
    contractors connected with a diverse network of public and private
    organizations in their communities beyond food banks and pantries, some
    of which were distributing food for the first time. For example,
    Riverside Unified School District served as the aggregator,
    distributor, and last-mile partner and fed its student community with
    healthy food boxes prepared by school food service staff from products
    sourced in its region.
        Much of the success of locally focused contractors was the result
    of a system of mission-aligned businesses coming together to solve
    supply chain and distribution challenges. Pre-existing relationships
    allowed these contractors to identify emergency relief partners quickly
    and serve both large and small food distributors in urban and rural
    communities. Even when they had not previously worked together,
    distribution and nonprofit partners already knew and respected each
    other and came to the partnership with aligned values and goals.
    GrowFood Carolina noted that, prior to the pandemic, they had been
    aware of the nonprofit who ended up being their last-mile distribution
    partner through the FFFB program but had not been able to find the
    right occasion to work together. This funding created that opportunity.
    Furthermore, the contractors' agility allowed some to provide home
    delivery in hard to reach rural communities and directly to vulnerable
    households. For example, Fresh Approach in California partnered with a
    neighborhood-level mutual aid effort that packed boxes at an urban farm
    and delivered them to families within a mile of the farm.
        Contractors were able to turn relationships they held across the
    value chain into avenues for food box delivery. For example, Common
    Market sold to regional hospitals and then started delivering boxes
    that hospital staff provided to patients who screened for food
    insecurity and to uninsured diabetic patients. Another contractor
    pivoted from selling to a university's cafeterias to supplying boxes
    for the school's student food pantry. Community networks connected the
    contractors to churches, neighborhood associations, public and private
    schools, community health clinics, urban gardens, and farms that were
    very well situated to handle last mile distribution. One contractor
    estimated that at least 26 of the organizations they provided healthy
    food boxes to are not connected to the larger emergency food
    distribution network and are no longer receiving FFFB boxes.
        In 2020 the established food bank system was stretched almost
    beyond the breaking point. The contractors Wallace Center spoke with
    emphasized that their efforts were a necessary supplement to the work
    being done by regional food banks. They also pointed out that their
    ability to provide pre-packed, household-sized boxes permitted small
    organizations without staff or volunteers or a secure cold chain to
    safely provide healthy, fresh food to their communities.
    In Their Own Words
              ``Most of our nonprofit partners were known to me by virtue
            of (an) existing network of farm markets in our rural area. The
            nonprofits we worked with were too small to receive a drop from
            any of the larger distributors.''
              ``Food hubs like ourselves were able to take pressure off the
            food bank and food pantries because we were able to work with
            other community-led nonprofit partners on the front lines of
            food insecurity in our city. Many of our recipients do not have
            reliable transportation or access to food banks and pantries,
            making our neighborhood partnerships critical for 2,000
            individuals and families every week. I am worried about the
            folks we served.''
              ``[We were] consistently asked to increase production and in
            many cases were able to do so. We ended up running 24/7 with
            three shifts to try and meet demand.''
              ``People requested more on a regular basis.''
              ``Almost all of the food pantries that we were delivering to
            were small. Our average delivery was 125 boxes and under Round
            3, they are not getting deliveries because they are being told
            that they will need a dock and pallet jack to unload and need
            to take an entire semi-load. Some are being told there isn't
            enough money in the contract to send small trucks and
            deliveries out to them.''
              ``We were able to customize boxes to be culturally
            appropriate for different communities in Chicago. For example,
            we worked with rabbis to source kosher foods and then
            distribute them to the right people.''
              ``Thank you so much for the fresh and beautiful food.
            Everyone is so appreciative because you guys gave us the best,
            and not spoil scrap. I feel so much better eating such quality
            foods.''
                                                             Box Recipient.
    The Farms
        The food box program in rounds 1 and 2 provided a crucial outlet
    for small and mid-sized producers whose markets dried up overnight with
    the outbreak of COVID-19. Many of the contractors' customers were
    public and private institutions (colleges, hospitals, schools) and
    restaurants, all of which scaled back drastically or ended purchases
    completely in the spring of 2020. The farmers they served faced plowing
    food under and both they and their distributors faced layoffs and
    bankruptcy.
        Surveyed contractors purchased from a diverse range of farms. Data
    from one contractor showed that 30% were less than 100 acres and 70%
    were less than 1,000 acres. Many of the farms were also small, local
    (within 400 miles), and owned by people of color. Most but not all of
    the contractors we surveyed concentrated on fresh produce boxes but
    some also provided dairy products.
        The FFFB program required GAP certified produce, which was a
    barrier for some farms that traditionally work with food hubs. Though
    this requirement, in some cases, limited the farms that locally-focused
    contractors could source from, it helped motivate GAP-ready farms who
    hadn't previously had an economic incentive to attain certification
    become GAP certified this year. Contractors reported that multiple
    farmers received certification as a result of the market opportunity
    that the contract afforded them. It similarly created an incentive for
    the hubs themselves to seek additional food safety certifications. Some
    growers were ready to continue their certification process but were
    unable to access the appropriate technical assistance quickly enough
    within the short timeline of the contract. It is clear that a
    guaranteed economic opportunity is a critical motivator for farms
    seeking food safety certification.
    In Their Own Words
              ``We grew quite a bit on our farm and supplemented that with
            product sourced primarily from other smaller, diversified farms
            within 20 to 30 miles of our farm.''
              ``We touched around 50 farms and several were able to obtain
            GAP Certification. Three were urban farms and most partners
            emphasized smaller farms, those owned by people of color, and
            reflected our values in doing so. All of the farms were
            relatively small.''
              ``Our vendor base consisted of small-scale family farms,
            including minority owned, organic, and beginning farmers. Most
            of our market was restaurants and there were limited
            alternatives because the farmers['] markets were closed in many
            cases.''
              ``[Under S]ecretary Ibach visited our farm and saw our
            produce boxes. He said we had some of the best he had seen, yet
            we were denied for the 3rd round. I felt the 3rd round was all
            about cheap food versus high quality local food.''
    Lessons Learned
        Congress, USDA AMS, and the contractors we worked with performed
    above and beyond what could have been expected in an unprecedented,
    chaotic situation with multiple needs and sometimes conflicting
    demands. AMS's initial FFFB contracts represented a massive investment
    in local food systems that had positive impacts on small to midsize
    farms, local economies, and food security in communities across the
    country. Food hubs, farm-based businesses, community nonprofits and
    others were able to provide high quality fresh food distribution at a
    fair price and meet the USDA AMS contractor criteria, without any
    reported instances of food waste. The format in the first two rounds
    worked well for the contractors we spoke with and they would like the
    program to continue and to be included in future rounds.

              The twin goals of hunger relief and farm and supply-chain
            support should not be in conflict. Investment in programs that
            develop and enhance resilient local supply chains can also
            effectively address community food insecurity and have the
            added benefit of contributing to stronger regional economies.
              Locally focused contractors are uniquely positioned to
            successfully implement a box program. The flexibility of
            shorter supply chains, the connection to their communities,
            expertise in last mile logistics, and ability to scale up
            quickly made these contractors particularly effective at
            meeting the requirements of the program. These contractors
            believe that their successful experience with the food box
            program demonstrates their potential to sell fresh, healthy,
            regionally-produced foods through AMS's established commodity
            procurement systems in the future.
              Values-alignment and relationships between contractors and
            nonprofit partners allowed for efficient service delivery. Many
            of the locally-focused contractors had existing relationships
            with the nonprofits they partnered with to deliver food to
            families in need. They also tended to have similar values which
            allowed them to work together quickly to meet the needs of the
            farmers and community members simultaneously.
              Market-based programs drive development of supply chains.
            Opening AMS's commodity procurement markets and directing money
            to these farms and supply chain organizations allowed them to
            achieve a scale that has not been available to them before. A
            clear market incentive also motivated farmers to seek GAP
            certification. Grant programs from USDA AMS have been critical
            to this sector for years but these contracts represent a
            significantly larger, direct investment in local food supply
            chains which allowed for much faster innovation, job creation,
            and supply chain development.
              AMS's various grant programs provided crucial seed funding to
            many of the locally-focused contractors. Those prior
            investments from USDA helped them launch and grow so they were
            able to meet the extraordinary needs the country faced this
            year. Prior investments in the individual distributors, and
            also the networks of businesses and organizations that
            participated in this program, was critical to their success.
    Recommendations
        Based on our research and consultation with contractors, we have a
    series of recommendations that will ideally support USDA in designing
    and implementing future programs like the Farmers to Families Food Box
    Program. Contractors that were sourcing from local and regional
    producers, such as food hubs and local distributors, were uniquely
    positioned to excel in this program due to their strong relationships
    on both ends of the value chain, and their ability to nimbly pivot
    their sourcing, operations, and distribution models to accommodate this
    program. Recognizing that there were many things that were outside of
    AMS's control, we encourage consideration of the following
    recommendations in future rounds and for AMS fresh commodity
    contracting in general:

              Keep what works: Many contractors are fighting for the
            continuation of this program because of its overall
            effectiveness. One of the key factors that made this program so
            innovative was that the contracts went to intermediaries. This
            allowed food hubs and other supply chain entities to align the
            needs of farmers and their distribution partners and think
            creatively about building supply chains that worked for
            producers and consumers. Furthermore, the flexibility and focus
            on applicants' ability to meet the goals of the program in the
            first two rounds, rather than strictly the lowest price, was
            critical in creating opportunity for locally-focused
            contractors. This allowed for contractors to increase sourcing
            from small and BIPOC owned farms, and to pay them fairly.
            Contractors also applauded the ease of the invoicing system,
            the speed of payments, and USDA's communication with them in
            the early rounds. The BOA system also has potential to be a
            useful tool in future versions of this program given its
            longer-term contracts and its adaptability.
              Eliminate price as the determining factor in awarding bids:
            The success of local contractors in the first two rounds of
            this program demonstrated that the twin goals of hunger relief
            and small- and mid-sized farm and local supply-chain support
            should not be in conflict. However, focusing exclusively on low
            price in subsequent rounds undercuts support for key segments
            of the U.S. farm and food system during this emergency.
            Further, focusing on scale has completely deprived access to
            food for many of the organizations providing emergency food to
            the highest need communities through small, last-mile
            distributors that are not connected to larger scale food banks
            or food pantries.
              Contract decisions should support producers and supply chain
            organizations of all sizes, including support for small and
            very small businesses. We suggest a scoring criteria matrix
            that reflects the following priorities:

                      Contractors that identify as or source from:

                             Black, Indigenous and People of Color
                            owned businesses,

                             Veteran owned businesses,

                             Women owned businesses, [and]

                             Small and very small businesses.

                      Demonstrated relationships with producers in the
                    region.
                      Past track record of performance with the program.
                      Demonstrated relationships with community
                    organizations.
                      Commitment to fair prices for producers documented
                    through pricing criteria.
                      Commitment to high quality food products.
                      Ability to tailor boxes to food needs of community
                    (i.e., cultural appropriateness).
                      Ability to include appropriate, household size/
                    quantity of products.
                      Ability to serve rural and other hard-to-reach
                    communities.
                      Ability to distribute to small organizations.
                      Ability to distribute food in the region in which it
                    was produced.
                      Technical capacity based on connections to last mile
                    distribution partners.
                      Demonstrated commitment to minimizing food waste.

              Allow for category-only boxes: Many local contractors
            excelled in providing category-specific boxes, such as produce-
            only boxes, in the first two rounds. The preference for
            combination boxes in the third round made re-application
            unfeasible for many of these contractors, who were unable to
            reorient their operations to accommodate sourcing and separate
            cold chains for dairy, meat, and produce.
              Permit multiple contracts in the same jurisdiction and
            multiple contract sizes: Sourcing from multiple contractors of
            different sizes that are partnering with different distribution
            partners within a region will help the program reach more
            beneficiaries.
              Extend the contract period of performance: Two month
            contracts with contractors do not provide an adequate time
            horizon for producers to plan production and harvest. Providing
            longer contracts will provide stability for producers,
            workforce, and uninterrupted food delivery. We recommend
            contracts cover at least a 6 month period and ideally up to a
            year.
              Eliminate pre-cooked requirement for meat: The ``pre-cooked''
            requirement for meat products included in the box limits
            sourcing options from local ranchers and meat-producers that do
            not provide pre-cooked SKUs. Allowing for different meat
            product options, including healthy and safe dried meats like
            jerky, will give contractors and producers the amount of
            flexibility that will lead to innovation in providing high-
            quality, locally-produced meat to box recipients.
              Provide clear and consistent communications and right-sized
            technical assistance to applicants and contractors: Many
            potential contractors who are well positioned to excel in this
            program may have no familiarity with USDA contracting systems
            or processes. Providing clear guidance to contractors
            throughout the bid process and implementation is critical for
            their success. It is evident that a lot of effort went into
            FAQs, webinars, and the WBSCM developed in the first rounds of
            this program. We encourage AMS to make use of and build upon
            those systems for providing information and technical
            assistance. USDA webinars and all written guidance should be
            aware of language barriers that may exclude certain eligible
            contractors. New potential contractors could also benefit from
            support through a system like NRCS's Technical Service
            Providers (TSP) to supplement AMS' staff capacity. USDA may
            also consider how to engage technical assistance providers
            beyond AMS such as Extension and State Departments of
            Agriculture to maximize access to this program.
              Continue using the BOA: AMS's willingness to use the BOA
            system is a positive innovation that could be applied in future
            instances to increase consistency and access to a broad range
            of commodity procurement programs. The BOA solicitation process
            should have resulted in contracts in rounds three and four for
            locally-sourcing contractors who were awarded in earlier
            rounds. However, this was not the case because the BOA was
            rolled out in concert with a shift toward prioritizing lower
            price contracts. In future iterations, the BOA process can
            provide additional stability for approved contractors because
            of its flexibility, longer timeline, and adaptability. BOAs
            allow Commodity Procurement to tailor the product specification
            to the needs of the recipients. The BOA approval process allows
            approved suppliers to access more opportunities seamlessly,
            which could increase the amount of locally-produced food
            purchased by USDA Commodity Procurement.
              Coordinate with technical service providers and state
            agencies to provide food safety and GAP certification technical
            assistance and auditing services to contractors working to
            bring GAP-ready small- and mid-sized producers into their
            supply chains. The program's food safety requirement that all
            contracted suppliers demonstrate GAP certification creates a
            strong incentive for farmers who have been considering
            certification to accelerate their process and receive a USDA
            GAP audit. GAP certification not only allows farmers to
            participate in this program but has the potential to unlock
            other wholesale markets that require GAP Certification.

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Conclusion
        Based on our research, it is clear that USDA has a unique
    opportunity to simultaneously support small- and mid-sized farms,
    invest in local food supply chains, and address hunger. The FFFB
    program, conceived as a way to both support farm income and meet
    emergency food needs, was successful in those aims in the first two
    rounds for the businesses and organizations the Wallace Center
    interviewed. The program provided a `proof of concept' that AMS
    Commodity Procurement can successfully transact with businesses in the
    local and regional food sector. The Farmers to Families Food Box
    Program demonstrated many tools and characteristics that can make
    similar programs resoundingly successful.
        There is significant untapped potential for positive impact within
    the local food sector, and with support and partnership from USDA,
    programs like the Farmers to Families Food Box can help activate it. We
    are extremely grateful for the partnership and guidance that the Agency
    has provided the Wallace Center as we've supported and analyzed this
    program and look forward to continuing to explore the possibilities.
    About the Wallace Center
        The Wallace Center at Winrock International is a national nonprofit
    that brings together diverse people and ideas to co-create solutions
    that build healthy farms, equitable economies, and resilient food
    systems. Wallace has been a leader in the development of healthy
    regional food and farming systems for over 35 years, working to scale
    up the supply and positive environmental, social, and economic benefits
    of regional, sustainably produced food. We seek to affect systems
    change to bring benefits to the environment, to communities, and to the
    farmers and food businesses that are the building blocks of a healthy
    and equitable food system. For more information, reach out to Co-
    Director Susan Lightfoot Schempf, susan.schempf@winrock.org.
    Acknowledgements
        We'd like to offer our gratitude to USDA staff, in the Commodity
    Procurement and Transportation and Marketing divisions of AMS in
    particular, for both their extraordinary effort in creating and
    implementing this program, and their continual support of Wallace
    Center as we worked with the contractors and compiled this report. We
    are so grateful for your partnership. Secondly, this research and
    technical assistance would have been impossible without the commitment
    and brilliance of our external partners, Evan Smith of Alden Services
    and Kate Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Canepa. Finally, and most
    importantly, we are eternally grateful for and so deeply inspired by
    the contractors who shared their stories, ideas, time, and dedication
    to making the food system work better for all of us. You all are heroes
    and we hope we did you justice!
    Surveyed Contractors

    Willing Hands Norwich, VT            Fresh Approach Oakland, CA
    Zone 7, LLC Ringoes, NJ              Malama Kaua`i Lihue, HI
    Aggrigator, Inc. Watsonville, CA     Lake County Community Development
                                          Corp Ronan, MT
    North Alabama Agriplex Cullman, AL   Cecarellis Harrison Hill Farm, LLC.
                                          Northford, CT
    GrowFood Carolina Charleston SC      Mycoterra Farm South Deerfield, MA
    A & H Farm Manhattan, KS             Willimantic Food Coop Willimantic,
                                          CT
    Eastern Market Partnership Detroit,  The Berry Man, Inc. Santa Barbara,
     MI                                   CA
    Juniper Hill Farms LLC Lawrence, KS  Inland Northwest Farmers Market
                                          Association Spokane, WA
    North Coast Opportunities/MendoLake  Fossil Creek Farms, LLC. Fort
     Food Hub Ukiah, CA                   Collins, CO
    ALL Holding Company, LLC.            The Common Market Philadelphia, PA
     Souderton, PA
    Riverside Unified School District    Gourmet Gorilla Chicago, IL
     Food Hub Riverside, CA

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
                                     ______

    Letter Submitted by Hon. Tracey Mann, a Representative in Congress from
     Kansas; on Behalf of Barry Feaker, Executive Director, Topeka Rescue
                               Mission Ministries
    March 11, 2020

        Hon. David Scott,
        Chairman,
        House Committee on Agriculture,
        Washington, D.C.;

        Hon. Glenn Thompson,
        Ranking Minority Member,
        House Committee on Agriculture,
        Washington, D.C.

        Dear Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Thompson:

        Thank you for holding a hearing on food insecurity in America. The
    times we are living in are far from normal, leaving millions of
    Americans struggling, with the demand for food assistance outpacing
    existing systems that address hunger. As a nonprofit organization on
    the frontlines of this tremendous challenge, we are encouraged to see
    Congressional leaders prioritizing this pressing issue.
        In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Topeka Rescue Mission
    rapidly developed Operation Food Secure--a powerful network of 90+
    civic and faith-based groups distributing Farmers to Families Food
    Boxes ``the last mile'' into neighborhoods and rural communities across
    eight Kansas counties. This week, our program reaches an important
    milestone: delivering our 100,000th food box to a family in need.
        There are countless stories of ways that these food boxes have been
    leveraged to strengthen neighborhoods and communities. Placing these
    resources in the hands of capable and empowered nonprofits has the
    potential to address root causes of food insecurity.
        For instance, one of our sites is a church in a small town of
    1,300. The volunteer leaders received a call from an elementary school
    guidance counselor about a single mom who was new in town and needed
    food for her children. Members from the church delivered a food box to
    the mom and through the interaction learned that her car was having
    mechanical issues and not running properly. The church members teamed
    up together to take her car into the shop and get it fixed for her.
        Another site is a Neighborhood Improvement Association in a low-
    income neighborhood. The volunteers noticed that a man who regularly
    comes to get a food box was missing. They asked around and found out he
    had a stroke. Their team checked in with him and began delivering the
    food boxes to his home and meeting other physical needs as he recovers.
    He said, ``I'm so thankful, this food has been so helpful to offset the
    incurring medical bills from my stoke.''
        Another site in a Topeka food desert delivers to a senior citizen
    in their neighborhood. The gentleman thanked our volunteers for the
    food and said they could take him off their list. His finances have
    stabilized and over the last couple of deliveries he has been sharing
    the food with coworkers in need. This is a great story of a senior who
    needed the food for a time, shared what he didn't need, and then asked
    to be taken off the list so someone else could receive the food.
        We are grateful that Farmers to Families fits perfectly at the
    nexus of so many vital issues: supporting American farmers and the food
    supply chain, preventing food waste and loss, reducing barriers to
    nutritious foods for vulnerable populations, and leveraging the
    potential of local communities to step up and meet the needs of their
    neighbors. Our team urges you to continue the Farmers to Families Food
    Box Program as a nimble and innovative way to address food insecurity
    in concert with existing Federal nutrition programs.
                Sincerely,

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    Barry Feaker,
    Executive Director, Topeka Rescue Mission Ministries.

                       Operation Food Secure Site Partners

        The following list represents the social service organizations,
     churches, Tribes, and other community groups who have hosted Farmers to
     Families Food Box distributions under Operation Food Secure.
    Douglas County                       Ebenezer Baptist Church
                                         El Encuentro Iglesia
    Anchor Church                        El Shaddai Templo De Alabanza
    Boys and Girls Club Lawrence         First Baptist Church of Silver Lake
                                         First Presbyterian Church
    Jackson County                       Gametime Living Facility
    Mayetta United Methodist Church      Grace Episcopal Cathedral
    Nueva Vida/Evangel United Methodist  Grace Point Church
     Church
                                         Habitat for Humanity
    Jefferson County                     Hospitality Incubator Program
                                         JayHawk Area Agency on Aging
    Jefferson Assembly of God            Kansas Avenue United Methodist
                                          Church
    Valley Falls Fire Department         Kansas Children's Service League
                                         Let's Help
    Morris County                        Light of the World Church
                                         Likins Foster Neighborhood
                                          Improvement Association
    Morris County Care & Share           LULAC Senior Center
    Alta Vista Christian Church          Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist
                                          Church
    Community Christian Church           New Beginnings Baptist Church
    Council Grove Christian Church       New Life Baptist Church
    Council Grove Senior Citizen Center  New Mount Zion Baptist Church
    Dunlap Council Grove United          Northland Christian Church
     Methodist Church
    Flint Hills Apostle Church           Oakland United Methodist Church
    Wilsey Christian Church              Old Town Neighborhood Improvement
                                          Association
                                         Omni Circle Group
    Osage County                         Pioneer Motive Power Place
                                          Apartments
                                         Prince of Peace
    Cross Road Community Church          Remember to Remember
    ECAT (Ecumenical Christian Action    Rossville Christian Church
     Team) Osage City
    Grace Community Church Overbrook     Salvation Army
    Heritage Country Church              Seaman Community Church
    Lyndon United Methodist Church       Second Baptist Church
    Valley View Apartments               Shiloh Baptist Church
                                         Silver Lake United Methodist Church
    Riley County                         St. John's African Methodist
                                          Episcopal Church
                                         St. John's Lutheran Church
    Remnant Church                       Sunshine Connection
    Rock Hills Church                    Tables of Blessing Community Food
                                          Drive
                                         The Woods Church
    Shawnee County                       Topeka Black Lives Matter
                                         Topeka City Union Mission
    Asbury Mount Olive United Methodist  Topeka Family Friends Juneteenth
     Church
    Boys and Girls Club of Topeka        Topeka First Assembly Oakland
    Bread of Life                        Topeka Housing Authority
    Burgess Court Mobile Home            Topeka North Outreach
     Communities
    Central Park Christian Church        Trinity Lutheran Church
    Christian Neighbor Center            Trinity Presbyterian Church
    Church of God Fellowship             True Vine Missionary Baptist Church
    Citizen Potawatomi Nation            Valeo Behavioral Health
    College Hill Neighborhood            Valley Park Neighborhood
     Improvement Association              Improvement Association
    Communities in Schools: Ross
     Elementary School, State Street     Wabaunsee County
     Elementary School
    Community Action
    Cowboy Church                        Cheryl Christiansen--St. Mary's,
                                          Kansas
    East Topeka Senior Center            Maple Hill Church

                                     ______

                              Submitted Questions
    Response from Kyle Waide, President and Chief Executive Officer,
            Atlanta Community Food Bank
    Question Submitted by Hon. Jimmy Panetta, a Representative in Congress
            from California
        Question. Mr. Waide, many active duty military families were
    already experiencing food insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, and
    we know that the number of these families has only increased since
    March of 2020. Food banks operate on or near every military
    installation, and one out of every three children attending a
    Department of Defense-run school is eligible for free or reduced price
    meals. Given the high rate of food insecurity among our military
    families, do you believe that the Federal Government should develop and
    support targeted solutions to help end food insecurity among those
    currently serving and alleviate the burden this inaction places on food
    banks?
        Answer. Feeding America is advocating for the inclusion of a
    Military Family Basic Needs Allowance in the FY 22 National Defense
    Authorization Act to provide a monthly allowance for service members
    whose income is less than 130% of poverty level. The Military Family
    Basic Needs Allowance would need to be reauthorized yearly, as the NDAA
    establishes annual policy and spending policies. Based on data about
    service member's pay and family sizes, the Congressional Budget Office
    has estimated that approximately 10,200 service members would receive
    an average allowance of $400 per month.
    Questions Submitted by Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, a Delegate
            in Congress from Northern Mariana Islands
        Question 1. We know that food access can be more difficult in rural
    and remote areas like the Northern Mariana Islands. What can you tell
    us about how rural and remote food banks like Karidat, Empty Vessel,
    Grace Christian, or the Salvation Army on Saipan are meeting the needs
    of their communities?
        Answer. Food access to rural communities continues to be a struggle
    throughout the country and territories. We've seen innovation through
    mobile markets that travel throughout rural communities or partnering
    with local schools to distribute food to children. Another innovation
    is food banks will partner with food retail partners, such as grocery
    stores or restaurants, to get excess food to those in need across a
    community.

        Question 2. Mr. Waide, your testimony touches on your efforts to
    ensure that you are serving people equitably. Can you expand on what
    you are doing to reach racial and ethnic minority groups and veterans
    who face food insecurity at much higher rates?
        Answer. We know that there are certain characteristics that make a
    household more likely to experience food insecurity. Households that
    include members of a minority ethnicity, children, a veteran of a
    recent war or a household member with a disability are all more likely
    to experience food insecurity. Latino households are two times more
    likely to be food-insecure than white households. Black households are
    2.2 times more likely to be food-insecure. As we try to respond to
    these realities in our service area we take two primary strategies. We
    utilize data on the demographics and characteristics of the communities
    we serve to help us determine if we are doing a good enough job in
    distributing our resources--food, dollars and attention--equitably
    across those communities. If we see gaps in areas where there is
    elevated need driven by these social characteristics we take steps to
    bring more resources to bear in those communities. Second we work very
    hard to develop strong collaborative partner relationships with
    organizations that are trusted and known in communities of elevated
    need. Intentionally establishing these organizations as partners with
    the food bank allows us to bring the core resource of food to an
    organization that is already working directly with individuals and
    communities that are experiencing higher rates of food insecurity. One
    example of this in our pandemic response has been the partnerships we
    have established to respond to the elevated need within the Latino
    community. Early in our response we began a partnership with Telemundo
    Atlanta and Plaza Fiesta, a Latino owned central shopping center, to
    establish regular food distributions that were promoted, staffed and
    supported by trusted Latino led organizations. This has allowed us to
    fill a key gap in our ability to meet need in that community.

        Question 3. Mr. Waide, your testimony talks about how vitally
    important SNAP is as the nation's first line of defense against hunger.
    The Northern Mariana Islands does not participate in SNAP and receives
    a block grant instead. What would the cost to charities and nonprofits
    be to fill in the gaps if SNAP benefits were reduced or capped?
        Answer. For every meal one of the 200 Feeding America food bank
    provides, SNAP provides nine. Block granting of the program would mean
    that they would have a fixed annual funding that would render the
    programs unable to automatically respond to increased need, as they do
    today. As need increases, states would have to cut eligibility or
    benefits or establish waiting lists to stay within capped funding. The
    charitable sector simply would not be able to fill in the gap that
    capping SNAP benefits would create.
    Response from Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
    Questions Submitted by Hon. Troy Balderson, a Representative in
            Congress from Ohio
        Question 1. An issue I've been paying especially close attention
    to, as I believe we all have, is the ability of producers to deliver
    their goods to consumers throughout this pandemic. In your testimony,
    you mentioned the long food lines many of us saw that were a result of
    the supply chain disruption. Was there a measurable change between the
    ability to provide for the food-insecure before the establishment of
    the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, and after?
        Answer. There was absolutely positive measurable change in farmers'
    ability to deliver goods to food banks due to the Farmers to Families
    Food Box Program. Giving back and supporting local communities has long
    been a priority for farmers and ranchers, and the pandemic only
    strengthened that desire to help our neighbors. However, due to
    donation requirements for stability and shelf life, it was difficult
    for farmers to find outlets to get their products straight from the
    farm to the local food bank. But once COVID-19 hit, and the overall
    food supply chain broke down, the need to move farm-fresh food through
    local food banks to match supply with demand became imperative, and it
    was the Farmers to Families Food Box Program that helped connect those
    dots

        Question 2. As we approach the 1 year anniversary of the first
    COVID relief package passing, what are the most significant obstacles
    American farmers, processors, and distributors continue to face when
    trying to provide the most for those in need?
        Answer. Access to labor was an issue prior to the pandemic and has
    continued to be a top issue for farmers and ranchers. We continue to
    advocate for reforms to the guest worker program to ensure it is
    economical, user-friendly, and available to all agricultural
    industries, not just seasonal and temporary work. We also advocate for
    our existing workforce to have an opportunity to achieve legal status.
        The pandemic emphasized the areas in which the H-2A program is in
    dire need of reform. Early on, consulates throughout the globe were
    closed or operating at minimal capacity, putting the timely arrival of
    H-2A workers in jeopardy and potentially delaying the planting and
    harvesting of American crops. Thanks to the efforts of Farm Bureau and
    other agriculture groups, these workers were deemed essential and
    granted waivers. Yet, even before the pandemic, it was not unusual for
    farmers to face weeks, even months, of delays in paperwork processing
    to get the workers they need.
        Additionally, at a time when farmers saw their revenues plummet due
    to sudden shifts in the supply chain, farmers using the H-2A program
    saw their labor costs increase on average 6% compared to the previous
    year due to the H-2A program requirement to pay H-2A employees the
    adverse effect wage rate. American agriculture desperately needs H-2A
    wage reform if these farms are going to remain viable and continue to
    play a role in protecting our national food supply.
        Finally, as COVID-19 vaccine availability increases, farmworkers
    who lack proper documentation continue to face challenges accessing
    vaccines in states where IDs are required for inoculation. Situations
    like this further emphasize the need to provide stability for our
    longstanding employees, while continuing their work in agriculture,
    alongside reforms to the H-2A guestworker program.
    Response from Eric Hodel, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial
            Officer, Midwest Food Bank
    Question Submitted by Hon. Troy Balderson, a Representative in Congress
            from Ohio
        Question. Your methods for distributing food to those in need is
    less reliant on government control than many others. The Farmers to
    Families Food Box Program does the same thing--unleashing the power and
    innovation of the private-sector. In your experiences, has greater
    government control of food distribution been a positive or has it
    produced more issues than solutions?
        Answer. Our experience at Midwest Food Bank is to leverage
    entrepreneurial spirit with heart to serve those in need and to work
    efficiently and effectively to source food and distribute it to our
    agencies. The Farmers to Families Food Box Program had just enough
    structure to ensure food was going to agencies and pantries but did not
    require significant reporting which would have added administrative
    burden and cost. Yes, we support government support and access to help
    fight food insecurity but recommend not burdening the process with
    heavy regulations or control.
    Response from Ron Edenfield, President and Chief Executive Officer,
            Wayfield Foods, Inc.
    Questions Submitted by Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, a Delegate
            in Congress from Northern Mariana Islands
        Question 1. Mr. Edenfield, you testified on the importance of SNAP
    as an economic stimulator. How does SNAP stimulate local economies?
        Answer. SNAP is a unique government program. Participants are given
    benefits that they can redeem in their local grocery store for food
    purchases. The grocery store is often a cornerstone in communities,
    serving as both a major employer and economic generator for other
    businesses. By having participants redeem their benefits in a store,
    those funds function like any other tender from in-store, going to pay
    employees wages and benefits. Additionally, with SNAP benefits targeted
    directly toward food, families are not faced with the decision on
    whether to buy groceries or pay rent. Instead, they can use their SNAP
    benefits to help pay for the grocery bills while allocating funds to
    also pay for rent and other necessities that drive a local economy. Our
    partners in the hunger community often share that for every $1 spent on
    SNAP benefits, the local community sees $1.80 in economic impact. A
    2018 study commissioned by the National Grocers Association provides
    data on the economic impact of the independent grocery industry and
    underscores the importance of SNAP. Together with warehouse stores,
    chain supermarkets and department stores, food retailers currently
    provide almost four million jobs specifically dedicated to selling food
    products available via SNAP. These retailers together sell almost $459
    billion worth of food products, including $57 billion to SNAP
    recipients, helping to ensure that families have the food they need.
    These sales alone create over 529,000 jobs in the United States.

        Question 2. The Northern Mariana Islands currently does not
    participate in the SNAP program. Instead, the Marianas receives the
    Nutritional Assistance program which is a capped block grant. Can you
    explain why Block Grants lead to less access to needed food benefits?
        Answer. SNAP enjoys true ubiquity amongst the states and therefore
    significant administrative cost containment due to the economies of
    scale. The same laws, regulations, technology and licensing
    requirements apply across the fifty states and Washington, D.C. Due to
    this, grocers' participation is much more streamlined and our payment
    service providers can implement the program and its requirements into
    our systems rather seamlessly.
        Grocers and their SNAP customers both rely on this ubiquity and
    standardization as do the states and the Federal Government. Because
    the program is so streamlined, over 95% of SNAP funding goes directly
    to benefits. In short, the government cost to administer is incredibly
    low when you consider the size and scope of the program. As we work in
    other Federal feeding programs such as WIC, we often point to the
    ubiquity of SNAP as a gold standard for efficiencies. Because WIC is
    administered uniquely in each state, the licensing and compliance
    process for grocers is much more complicated and costly. Therefore, not
    all grocers participate in WIC, and that lack or participation can
    certainly create access issues for participants. I appreciate how the
    challenges of the capped block grant do not allow the Northern Mariana
    Islands to enjoy the efficiencies of scale and ability for SNAP to
    respond quickly to increased need in the community. The grocery
    industry operates on the slimmest of margins and if compliance costs
    are too high, it can certainly impact its ability to participate in the
    program and provide that service to a local community.
        Thank you for your time and concern about this issue. It was my
    pleasure to answer and provide more explanation about the SNAP program.

                                      [all]