Long Island’s food banks have benefitted from the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
Millions of pounds of food are ending up in food banks because of the bailout the Trump administration gave to farmers after China placed tariffs on U.S. products. They can’t sell the food, so they donate it.
Long Island Cares CEO Paule Pachter says they have received an additional 2.5 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables, and new additions like pork and other meats, on top of the 3.5 million pounds of food they already take in annually.
The new stock has already been distributed to the nearly 400 sites where the food bank delivers.
“The response from our member agencies that are benefiting from the commodity program has been very positive. You know, we’re getting full truckloads which are about 11 palettes of fresh produce coming in on a weekly basis.”
Pachter predicts that the yield could potentially grow once the administration sends out the second bailout later in October that will carry over into next year.