U.S. government falls short on food aid promise

In an era when soaring numbers of Americans found themselves turning to food banks, data showed the U.S. government delivered far less food aid than it had pledged.

The Farmers to Families Food Box program was designed to take food from farmers which typically go to restaurants and deliver it to the millions suffering from the economic fallout of the pandemic.

But the program - championed by President Donald Trump's daughter - Ivanka Trump - has drawn criticism from food banks, analysts and some U.S. senators for awarding contracts to often inexperienced vendors that were unable to source the food and deliver it in a timely manner.

Data sent to Reuters shows the program fell short of its target to deliver $1.2 billion worth of food to food banks, churches, and other organizations by June 30.

According to calculations by Reuters only about $750 million worth of food was delivered during the first round of the program, which is around 63% of the $1.2 billion that was pledged.

The CEO of the Houston Food Bank said it’s getting only 60% of what he was told they would receive. He said, in one instance - a Texas-based vendor, which received a nearly $40 million contract, delivered just 17 of its 90 promised loads of food boxes.

U.S. Census Bureau data show the number of Americans facing food insecurity has doubled during the pandemic.

Food banks across the country were optimistic about the program as they scrambled to respond to an unprecedented level of need.