Operation of the Direct Distribution Program , Making U.S. Surplus Foods Available to People at Home and Around the World. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE mm\K 6f > SHARING AMERICA'S ARUNDANCE "Never in history has a nation been more generous in making its food supply available to the needy than has the United States during the past 71 - years. Donations from our abundance are now going to more than 80 million people in our own land and in other countries around the world. In¬ cluded are school children, persons in institutions, needy families here at home, and needy people in nearly a hundred other countries. We are humbly grateful for this blessing of sharing our good fortune with others." Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson DISTRIBUTION AT HOME The Direct Distribution Program gives the U. S. Department of Agriculture and State and local governments an opportunity to make constructive use of our agricultural abundance at home. Certain foods acquired by the Department through various purchase programs are donated to the States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and to the Territories for use in nonprofit school lunch pro¬ grams and for needy persons in charitable institutions and family units. These foods also are made available to alleviate suffering in areas afflicted by natural disasters. Authority for donations of foods which the Department acquires is contained in the Agricultural Act of 1935> as amended, the Agricultural Act of 19^9> as amended, and from Section 6 of the National School Lunch Act of 19^6. Benefits Through School Lunch The National School Lunch Act authorizes the Department to use a portion of the funds appropriated each year under the Act for purchasing foods which will help schools participating in the National School Program to meet the nutritive re¬ quirements of children. Over the past two years, Congress has appropriated approximately $78 million of additional funds for the purchase of food for the National School Lunch Program. Foods purchased under this aspect of the Direct Distribution Program are shipped directly from suppliers to receiving points in each State and Territory. The State distribution agencies then arrange for delivery of the foods to schools taking part in the National School Lunch Program. The Direct Distribution Program also utilizes those foods the Department has acquired in the operation of price-support and surplus-removal programs, which cannot be sold by the Department without disrupting markets. In donating surplus foods for distribution to eligible recipients in this country, the Department finances necessary processing or packaging of the com¬ modities, and pays the cost of transporting them in carload lots to designated receiving points in the States and Territories. 2 I States Administer Program The program is administered by agencies of State governments, operating under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The State agencies order available commodities from the Department's inventories, and arrange for their local receipt, storage and ultimate distribution to eligible recipients. The State agencies make sure that eligible groups are supplied with foods only as requested, and in amounts that can be used effectively. In cooperation with the Department, the agencies help to gain the greatest good from donated foods by providing recipients with information on proper handling and storage and furnishing recipes suggesting ways to use the foods distributed. The foods donated under the Direct Distribution Program vary widely from time to time. Those foods purchased under the National School Lunch Program vary according to relative nutritive needs of the children, State preferences, and market conditions. Foods available from price-support and surplus-removal- operations vary according to market conditions affecting acquisitions under 3 those programs. The State distributing agencies are always fully advised by the Department on commodities that are currently available. During fiscal year 1959^ 'the Department donated 1.1 billion pounds of surplus food products to the States and Territories. This quantity of food was dis¬ tributed to 61,000 schools representing over l4 million school children, to about 1,000 institutions feeding approximately 1.4 million needy and indigent persons, to 5*7 million needy persons in family units and to 21,000 victims of natural disasters. Better Health for Many Through the Direct Distribution Program, the Nation's abundance plays an im¬ portant role in safeguarding the health and well-being of our school children and in helping to provide for the needy. The donated foods enable the schools with nonprofit lunch programs to meet the nutritive requirements of children, and assist charitable institutions, including hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aging and infirm in providing the less fortunate with an important supple¬ ment to their regular diet. Surplus foods assist needy persons in family units to supplement the foods they are able to purchase in regular trade channels, and help provide emergency feeding for victims of such natural disasters as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought and floods. This total operation is carried out jointly by the Department and State and local governments. It is a gratifying job for those who are directly involved, because its accomplishments express the charitable spirit and philosophy of the American people. The Direct Distribution Program is administered by the Food Distribution Division in USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. SURPLUS FOODS DONATED FOR DOMESTIC OUTLETS Fiscal Year 1953 through first half Fiscal Year i 960 Commodities Quantity in Millions of Pounds in of Value Millions Dollars Beans, Dry 266 $ 24 Butter 686 438 Beef Products 288 111 Cheese 569 230 Corn and Cornmeal 530 28 Cottonseed Oil 36 8 Canned Fruits 29 4 Fresh Fruits 45 3 Milk, Nonfat Dry 700 129 Pork Products 188 112 Poultry and Poultry Products 135 67 Rice 4oi 50 Shortening and Lard 177 36 Vegetables 73 2 Wheat and Wheat Flour 1,214 79 Other Commodities 25 5 Totals 5,362 $1,326 4 Surplus foods are made available to nearly 1-1/2 million people in charitable institutions NUMBER OF PERSONS RECEIVING SURPLUS COMMODITIES IN U.S. Fiscal Children Persons in Nbedy Year in School Institutions Persons Total 1953 9 , 300,000 1 , 300,000 100,000 10 , 700,000 1954 9 , 400,000 1,400,000 1,100,000 11 , 900,000 1955 10,200,000 1 , 300,000 3 , 290,000 14 , 790,000 1956 10 , 900,000 1,400,000 3 , 170,000 15,470,000 1957 11 , 900,000 1,400,000 3,485,000 16 , 785,000 1958 13 , 600,000 1,400,000 4,665,000 19,665,000 1959 14,100,000 1,400,000 5,741,000 21,241,000 i 960 14 , 300,000 1,400,000 4 , 309,000 20 , 009,000 (first half) The above table shows a steady increase in number of school children and needy persons receiving donated foods during the past r ]\ years. The in¬ creasing figures for schools reflect the steady growth of the school lunch program. The increase in number of needy persons receiving donated foods has been made possible through closer cooperation with States and local communities. Millions of people in this country have needed more of our surplus foods, but only in the past few years have States and counties made arrangements for distribution to larger numbers of them. 5 DISTRIBUTION OVERSEAS The Direct Distribution Program is the means through which surplus Government- owned food commodities are made availa¬ ble to our friends overseas. More than 60 million needy people in 111 foreign countries have received a share of our abundance since the program began. Among these were nearly 23 million school children, 2.\ million refugees and about two million maternal and child-health recipients. In addition to supplementing the food needs of those in economic distress through continuing distribution pro¬ grams abroad, on-the-spot supplies of surplus foods are used to help sustain thousands of victims suffering physical distress from natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons and floods, occurring in various parts of the world, Hungry children around the world benefit from the work of U.S. voluntary agencies, who arrange for distribution of donated foods in over one hundred fore ign countries. Donations under the program have been largely responsible for reducing sur¬ pluses of some commodities to the point where it became necessary to remove them from availability for foreign donation. Domestic needs are given first priority, and only those commodities in excess of domestic needs are offered for foreign donation. At the close of fiscal year 1959, only nonfat dry milk solids, wheat and flour, corn and corn meal were available for foreign donation. Subsequently, changing market conditions necessitated the temporary withdrawal of nonfat dry milk from availability for the latter part of fiscal year i 960 . Surplus foods are made available to the foreign distribution program through USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. Commodities which have been distributed at one time or another since the start of this program in fiscal year 1953 through the first half of fiscal i 960 include the following: SURPLUS FOODS DONATED BY U.S. FOR FOREIGN DISTRIBUTION Fiscal Years 1953 through First Half i 960 Commodities Quantity in Millions of Pounds Value in Millions of Dollars Beans, Dry Butter and 117 $ 11 Butter Oil 360 269 Cheese Corn and 608 2 6b Cornmeal 1,221 76 Cottonseed Oil 38 9 Commodities Quantity in Millions of Pounds Value in Millions of Dollars Milk, Nonfat Dry 2,509 $ 466 Rice 419 53 Shortening 35 8 Wheat and Wheat Flour 3,125 220 Totals ■ tt>32 $ 1,376 6 Commodities Processed and Packaged Congress has provided for reprocessing and packaging of commodities into suita¬ ble containers, authorized payment of inland transportation charges in the United States, and reimbursement to agencies for ocean transportation costs when commodities are shipped to approved countries. Some donated foods are converted overseas into products with which recipients are more familiar. For instance, in come Far East areas the donated flour is used in making noodles for distribution to the needy. In only a few countries do recipients customarily grind wheat or corn at home. Therefore, most dona¬ tions of these grains, which comprise the great bulk of United States farm sur¬ pluses, are delivered to agencies in the form of flour and corn meal, milled in the United States. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson and other United States officials observe children in a Japanese classroom eating U.S. donated foods. Agencies Distribute Foods Agencies participating in the foreign distribution program operate under agree¬ ments with the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These agreements specify, among other things, that commodities will not be sold or exchanged and will be distributed free to needy persons without regard to race, creed or color. Participating agencies consist primarily of church-affiliated groups and agen¬ cies such as the Cooperative for American Remittances to Everywhere (CARE), the 7 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN* 3 0112 071989963 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the International Red Cross. Agen¬ cies are required to be registered with the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid of the International Cooperation Administration, and to submit de¬ tailed plans of operation and estimates of their needs for each country in which they desire to distribute surplus foods. Plans of operation are then submitted by country representatives to the appro¬ priate U.S. Overseas Mission, Consulate or Embassy for consideration and approval, and subsequent endorsement by the agencies’ respective United States offices. After joint review by representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, International Cooperative Administration, State Department and Bureau of the Budget, the program plans and estimates of requirements are cleared through the Interagency Staff Committee on Agricultural Surplus Disposal. Final approval of the application for commodities submitted by the agency is made by a contract officer of the Commodity Credit Corporation. U.S. Supervision Within specified periods, the agencies exportation and certificate of foreign submit periodic country reports of the People of other countries express their gratitude for food donated from America’s abundance. are required to furnish certificate of receipt. In addition, agencies also receipt and distribution of donated commodities. Distribution in a foreign country is supervised by an American citizen representing the voluntary agencies and the United States Opera¬ tions Missions of the International Cooperation Administration, or in their absence, the appropriate Consulate or Embassy provides Government supervision and audit checks to see that objectives of the program are realized. Various media are used for informing recipients that the commodities are gifts of the people of the United States, and not to be sold or exchanged. In destination countries the agencies sponsor educational programs designed- to inform recipients as to the source of the commodities, the methods of preparation, as well as their nutritional values. The Department has received numerous letters from individual recipi¬ ents in various parts of the world ex¬ pressing thanks and appreciation for the surplus foods given to them. This appre¬ ciation has been much in evidence as representatives of the Department visited foreign countries and observed the many benefits from our donation programs. 8