USDA will permanently end its Farmers to Families Food Box Program at the end of May.

The program, which bought meat, dairy and produce from farmers and directed it to hungry families, was created by the Trump administration during the pandemic.

Over the past year, USDA has spent more than $4 billion on the program and delivered more than 156 million boxes through mid-April.

Supporters say the program helped farmers and hungry families. Critics say it was wasteful, inefficient and had pricing problems. Ultimately, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pulled the program.

Some farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, expressed disappointment that the program would be discontinued. In a statement, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said “the need is still there.”

But USDA staff say the program was never meant to be permanent.

“The food box program was designed and implemented as a temporary effort to respond to market disruption caused by a global pandemic,” Matt Herrick, USDA spokesman, told the Capital Press on April 21.

Herrick said the program had “significant challenges.” Distribution was not based on need; rural counties were underserved; costs fluctuated; food varied in quality and quantity; perishable items often went unrefrigerated; and small businesses couldn’t compete.

Herrick said the agency is “not going to replace the program.”

However, USDA plans to combat hunger through other means, including a new dairy donation program, a fresh produce box program, school meal programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

These programs will rely on existing infrastructure.

“We’re going to continue to provide healthy food, but we’re going to do it through the most efficient system that we have,” Vilsack told the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee April 21.

April 9, USDA announced it will use pandemic relief funds from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, to run a new produce-only food box program at least through Sept. 30.

Under the new program, boxes must contain 10 to 12 pounds of food including 3 to 5 pounds of vegetables, 3 to 5 pounds of fruit and at least two locally grown items, if possible.

USDA will begin soliciting produce in the near future. Produce suppliers interested in participating can email TEFAPFreshProduce@usda.gov.

On the dairy side, on April 20 USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service formally informed dairy producers and processors about plans for the dairy donation program.

Under the new program, whenever a processor donates dairy products to a nonprofit, it will be reimbursed.

USDA’s announcement didn’t seem to take the dairy industry by surprise.

In a statement April 21, Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, said the Farmers to Families Food Box Program was both “very helpful” and “had its challenges.”

“That’s why we are not surprised by the decision to move beyond the food box program, and in fact, expected it,” he said.

Mulhern said his organization supports USDA’s new plan.

Susannah Morgan, Oregon Food Bank CEO, said that while she’s grateful for Farmers to Families partnerships, she agrees with USDA that investments in programs such as SNAP “are a more effective avenue to connect hard-hit communities with nutritious food.”