USDA plans to buy $50 million in surplus potatoes for food banks and other nutrition-assistance programs.

The purchase is part of a previously announced $470 million in purchases of various commodities. 

The potato industry welcomed the planned purchases, for COVID-19 relief.

The package is “very welcome news,” National Potato Council Board President Britt Reybould said in a news release. “Given the size of the crisis involving potatoes, this purchase is a partial down payment on the industry’s overall relief needs, and more will be needed.”

She said that in the short term, the announcement is “very positive in that it provides clarity on the immediate relief efforts and gives family farms hope for more to come.”

Mandated restaurant and foodservice shutdowns left an oversupply from the 2019 crop. NPC said the U.S. potato industry derives 60% of its $4 billion annual revenue from foodservice.

Council CEO Kam Quarles said growers and state potato groups have made substantial charitable donations of the crop but need financial help.

“We desperately need Congress and the administration’s partnership to defend America’s family farms in this crisis and believe today’s announcement is a positive first step on that long road,” he said.

Some $750 million to $1.5 billion in potatoes are stuck in the supply chain with no customer, Quarles told Capital Press. By acting as a customer for some of those unsold potatoes, USDA can help keep growers solvent while getting food to people in need.

“They need to act aggressively and efficiently,” he said of USDA.

“The potato industry is not looking for something for nothing,” said Shawn Boyle of Idaho Grower Shippers Association. “They would much rather be able to sell their product.” Producers “want to sell produce — and it will go to people who need it.”

Food banks now can move substantial amounts of product quickly, he said, “and if it can move for a good cause, everybody benefits.”

At Rigby Produce, a fresh-pack shipper in Rigby, Idaho, Business Manager Scott Mickelsen said the foodservice side is about 30% of what it was in revenue before stay-at-home orders took effect, though it is increasing slightly. The retail segment slowed substantially after being hot for three to four weeks.

“So it has been a little tough just trying to find channels for the potatoes right now,” Mickelsen said.

The industry has done well in moving larger, foodservice-bound potatoes into retail stores, which traditionally prefer smaller profiles, he said.

“But retailers can only handle so much, and if consumers are not buying, their hands are tied,” Mickelsen said. “The USDA buying program will certainly help.”

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service plans to start issuing solicitations in June and begin deliveries in July. Solicitations will be posted on the AMS Open Purchases Request website when available. The purchases will be in addition to those USDA announced previously.

USDA on April 17 announced a Farmers to Families food-box program to include about $100 million in monthly fruit and vegetable purchases; wholesalers can choose which to include. That spending is part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which calls for the agency to purchase and distribute up to $3 billion in agricultural products for those in need.

Jason Allen, CEO at Mart Produce in Rupert, Idaho, said Farmers to Families food-box spending targets wholesalers and distributors, while USDA’s separate plan to buy $50 million in surplus potatoes likely will have more direct impact on farmers.

Idaho’s congressional delegation issued issued a joint statement in support of USDA’s $50 million in planned surplus potato purchases and $120 million in surplus dairy purchases.