For years now, farmers in India have been resorting to suicide, after accumulating huge financial debts caused by purchasing GMO seeds and becoming dependent on expensive industrial chemicals. Now, due to the lock down imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic, that number has multiplied, and there doesn’t seem to be any solution in sight.

Check out this article in yesterday’s NY Times.

The Farmers to Families Food Box program has not only failed to deliver on its promises, but it is being used as a way to campaign and distribute flyers, dressed up as letters from the president—to hungry Americans across the country.

Back in May, I wrote about the new, Farmers to Families Food Box Program, with the optimistic hope that this program could support farmers, while at the same time, meeting the needs of the growing food insecurity problem. Like most of the programs coming out of this current administration, it did not meet the goals it set out to reach, and caused havoc with some of the hidden costs that were supposed to be free.

This is Great News! The USDA extends free meals for all students through 2020!

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the USDA stepped up their Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and provided meals to any child in need of food, starting early with the close of schools and continuing during the summer months. The SFSP is a federally-funded, state-administered program that provides reimbursements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for any free meal served to a child age 18 and under. The program was set to expire at the end of August, but the USDA has now decided to extend the program due to the increase in food insecurity caused by the pandemic.

Usually, in order to qualify for a free meal under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP), a family needs to be registered with the school district, and meet the required poverty level. The announcement of the extension of the summer program will now allow all children access to a free “grab and go” breakfast and lunch through the end of 2020. (However, the small print says “or until the money runs out.” Let’s hope it doesn’t run out!)

And let’s keep working to improve the quality of the breakfast and lunch program so that the food is actually healthy!

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