When the summer break arrives and students aren’t gorging on milk cartons, what happens to all the dairy farmers?
According to state officials, a new state initiative has solved the problem by matching low-income families with farmers and ranchers who are coping with surpluses during the slow season.
This software assembles those components. remarked Winston Simpsons, the Agriculture Commissioner. Without the Legislature, we couldn’t accomplish this.
A joint press conference was held Thursday by Simpson, Senate President Ben Albritton, and Senate President Pro Tempore Jason Brodeur to promote the state’s $38 million investment in the Farmers Feeding Florida initiative, which got underway on July 1.
Farmers Providing Food In order to help feed the hungry, Florida is expanding its food bank infrastructure, which will allow fresh produce, meat, and other products from the Sunshine State to wind up in food banks.
Approximately 2.7 million cartons, or 170,000 gallons, of milk were distributed to low-income households in the last month, according to Simpson. [Based on a per-capita consumption of 15 gallons annually, the USDA estimates that Florida consumed 22.5 million pounds of milk in 2023. A total of 0.76 percent of consumption was distributed.]
The program was referred to by Albritton as a hand up rather than a handout.
Folks, we’re setting a precedent here,” Albritton remarked. Our goal is to establish a precedent that food insecurity is real. It’s true. It’s real, and more significantly, we have options.
The Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chair, Brodeur, stated that the project had been planned for years.
According to him, the state has invested $28 million in direct assistance for the farmers, with the remaining $10 million going for transportation and new locations for program infrastructure.
According to Robin Safley, CEO of Feeding Florida, the project will enable her to grow her program, which currently involves nine food banks serving all 67 counties.
According to her, Feeding Florida, a fresh produce-focused organization, uses the state funds to pay for the producers’ pick and pack expenses.
According to her, that also enables us to receive the merchandise really quickly. Thus, we have joined the supply chain.
Politics in Florida, Gabrielle Russon
