Whats On School Menus This Fall? Trade Mitigation

(Associated Press) CANDICE CHOI August 12 2019 NEW YORK School lunch menus already have Meatless Mondays and Taco Tuesdays. Now some may get Trade Mitigation Thursdays. This fall some U.S. school cafeterias are expecting shipments of free food one little known consequence of President Donald Trumps trade disputes. The products are coming from the Department of Agriculture which is giving away the $1.2 billion in foods its buying to help farmers hurt by trade negotiations. A Maryland district is awaiting a truckload of canned kidney beans one of several trade mitigation" items schools were offered. We make our own chili soup so we knew we had a use for that" said Barbara Harral a nutrition official for Montgomery County Public Schools. All told she said the district is getting $70000 worth of free products for the fall including apples and oranges. Harral who has been with the district for 22 years doesnt recall the USDA offering trade mitigation foods before. The USDA has long purchased and distributed agricultural products to help farmers who can face swings in supply and demand in any given year. But the agency is buying even more as a result of Trumps trade fight which prompted other countries to take retaliatory actions that curb imports of American farm products. Thats resulting in an unusual bounty for the groups that get government foods showing one way federal policies influence what people eat. According to the USDA most food purchased as part of trade-relief efforts is going to programs that help the needy. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for instance says its getting roughly twice as much government food as normal including rarely donated items like pistachios. Though they may struggle to handle the sudden deluge food banks say theyre generally happy for the bounty.