USDA "mistakes" lead to Iowa food shortage
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Federal "mistakes," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack admitted, have led to food assistance shortages across the country, including for nearly 3,000 Des Moines metro seniors.
Why it matters: The federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides free food to hundreds of thousands of low-income seniors monthly.
- Its struggles are forcing recipients to turn to area food pantries, which have already experienced record-high demand in recent months.
Driving the news: As of Wednesday, a warehouse storing food for metro seniors was virtually empty due to weeks of delivery delays, Mike Maiers, who manages Polk County's supplemental food program, told supervisors that day.
- Some staples like cheese were no longer available, and the program's main distribution center was at risk of temporarily closing had others run out.
The latest: Polk County received a delivery a few hours after Maiers' report, which allowed the program to resume cheese distribution.
- Another delivery is scheduled for Friday and four are scheduled for Tuesday, Doug Stodgel, a program administrator for Polk County Community, Family and Youth Services, tells Axios.
Catch up quick: This year, USDA awarded the program's distribution contract to a single company rather than two, as had been the case in previous years.
- Shortly after the contract took effect in April, distribution faltered, which caused food shortages that hit tribal populations the hardest, Politico reports.
- Vilsack acknowledged flaws in the delivery system to Politico last week.
- He said USDA plans to temporarily bring back the second distributor and has called in FEMA to help, too.
Threat level: Even with those changes, delays to the food assistance program are expected to continue for months, per Politico.
- Other USDA programs that help supply the Food Bank of Iowa and Des Moines Public Schools have not been delayed, officials from those institutions tell Axios.
What's next: Polk County is asking state officials to help secure federal grant money to pay for up to $135,000 of locally produced foods to supplement the missing inventory, Maiers said.