DONALD Trump announced the government will be buying $3 billion worth of dairy, meat and produce for food lines and kitchens from next week amid the coronavirus crisis.
The president revealed the billion-dollar deal on Twitter on Saturday, as meat-packing plants contend with COVID-19 outbreaks in factories across the country.
“Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens,” Trump wrote.
“‘FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX’ Great news for all,” he added, tagging Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and the President of the American Farm Bureau, Zippy Duvall.
The federal intervention comes after the country prepared for a historic low with meat supplies and grocery stores prepare for shortages in poultry, pork, and beef.
The decision came after the US farm lobby put pressure on the Trump administration as growers and ranchers struggled to get their produce to market on account of the outbreak disruptions.
Farmers were overwhelmed with a glut of perishable products that they cannot sell and aren’t able to donate due to the coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic cut beef slaughter capacity 10 percent and pork slaughter capacity by 25 percent as it ravages processing plants, reports say.
The president confirmed plans to allocate $19 billion relief package to help out hard-hit farmers back in April.
The USDA said it would team up with regional and local distributors to buy up $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat in this effort.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Trump also mandated that all meat processing plants should remain open to protect the industry.
Meat processing plants have been pummeled by the deadly bug, which has claimed the lives of nearly 80,000 Americans to date.
Many workers have fallen ill and even died; another employee at Calumet Diversified Meats in Kenosha, Wisconsin was the second staffer to die from the disease, county officials said.
Trump’s decision to ramp up meat production in these factories prompted backlash from some union members who say it puts workers at risk.
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Around 1.3 million food workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, who claim that 20 factory workers have died from the deadly bug.
Various meat plants in South Dakota, Sioux Falls, Arkansas, and Minnesota are implementing tentative reopening, or limited production strategies, this week in an effort to keep meat supplies going.
Smithfield, based in Virginia, is offering testing to workers and there families from last Monday, according to a text alert obtained by the Associated Press.
