Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, the only N.C. member of the House Ways and Means Committee, praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement yesterday that it intends to purchase up to $14.7 million worth of blueberries for federal nutrition programs.
“North Carolina is a leading southeastern state in cultivated blueberry production and provides blueberries for millions of children and families nationwide and around the world,” said Etheridge. “During these tough economic times it’s vitally important that the U.S. Department of Agriculture work to combat child hunger and ensure our state and our farmers remain leaders in cultivated blueberry sales and production.”
In June of 2009, a coalition of North Carolina blueberry farmers contacted Rep. Etheridge regarding the Agricultural Marketing Service’s planned moves to purchase significant stocks of wild blueberries. The decision would have had a negative economic impact on the more than 100-plus farmers in southeastern North Carolina who cultivate their blueberries. Rep. Etheridge reached out to the Secretary of Agriculture and urged him to review the decision and its economic impact on North Carolina and the Second Congressional District.
The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service purchases a variety of high-quality food products each year to support the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. USDA also makes emergency food purchases for distribution to victims of natural disasters.
In yesterday’s announcement, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, “President Obama has committed to ending childhood hunger by 2015, and USDA’s Federal nutrition programs will play an important role in achieving this goal by improving the health and nutrition of families across the country. These purchases are even more important during these challenging economic times, when USDA’s nutrition programs help ensure that millions of Americans have access to safe and healthy food.”