USDA Has Deployed 1,574 Disaster, Public Health Specialists to Assist with Federal Response

In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

The National Strategy provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century. It is organized around seven goals:

Restore trust with the American people.

Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.

Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.

Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.

Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.

Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.

Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

The plan calls on all parts of the federal government to contribute its resources—facilities, personnel, and expertise—to contain the pandemic. Chief among the efforts is a whole-of-government response to stand up new federally supported community vaccination centers across the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to the President’s call to action. In addition to personnel, USDA is offering its facilities, cold chain infrastructure, public health experts, disaster response specialists, and footprint in rural areas and Tribal communities across the country. Here are the some of the ways USDA is working alongside our federal partners to contain the pandemic and get our economy back on track.

Programmatic Announcements:

May 18: For the month of April 2021, FNS has approved fifty-three (53) States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $2,826,982,530. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic. For the month of May 2021, FNS has also approved forty-six (46) States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $3,271,109,572.

May 13-May 19: USDA approved Pandemic EBT to support children who are missing meals due to school closures in South Dakota and child care meals due to closures in Minnesota. For the 2020- 2021 School Year, USDA has approved $21.9 billion to provide Pandemic EBT benefits to 25.5 million children in 44 states and territories. USDA has also approved 4 P-EBT plans for the summer of 2021. These plans will distribute an estimated $961.7 million to 2.5 million children. The full list of states and plans can be found at the following page: State Guidance on Coronavirus Pandemic EBT (P-EBT).

May 12: USDA-NIFA, CDC and Cooperative Extension Team Up for Vaccine Education in Rural America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently provided $9.95 million in funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support an innovative approach to community education and partnerships to advance adult immunization. This is the two agencies’ first concentrated vaccine education effort in rural America.

May 6-12: USDA approved Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) to support children who are missing school meals due to closures in Oregon. In addition, USDA approved P-EBT to support children who are missing child care meals due to closures in Oregon, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and California.

May 5: USDA Invests $92.2 Million in Grants for Local, Regional Food Producers Affected by the Pandemic. USDA announced the availability of $92.2 million in competitive grant funding under the 2018 Farm Bill’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), as part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers Initiative. USDA launched this initiative in March to address shortfalls and disparities in how assistance was distributed in previous COVID-19 assistance packages, with a specific focus on strengthening outreach to underserved producers and communities and small and medium agricultural operations.

May 3: Instacart announced an expansion of their participation in SNAP online purchasing. Price Chopper plans to go live with 49 stores located throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Additionally, Food Maxx and Save Mart plan to expand to Nevada. The full list of states and retailers participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot is available on the FNS website.

Apr. 29-May 5: USDA approved P-EBT to support children who are missing school meals due to closures in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Nevada. USDA approved P-EBT to support children who are missing child care meals due to closures in Wisaconsin, CNMI, Nevada, and Michigan. USDA also approved its first P-EBT plan for the summer of 2021 in Indiana. The state’s summer plan will distribute an estimated $272.5 million to 727,000 children.

Apr. 29: USDA Enhances Administrative Funds to States to Improve SNAP: USDA is providing states with $1.135 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act to support and enhance their administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP).

Apr. 29: USDA released a 100 Days Update on our efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, promote racial justice and equity, address the mounting hunger and nutrition insecurity crisis, rebuild the rural economy, strengthen and build fairer markets for farmers and producers, and address the impacts of climate change through climate-smart practices.

April 28: USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released a story mapdetailing the experiences and accomplishments of APHIS employees deployed to the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Apr. 28: USDA to Incentivize Purchase of Fruits and Vegetables under WIC for 4 Months with American Rescue Plan Funding. Participants in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may soon see a temporary increase to their benefits for the purchase of fruits and vegetables. With $490 million provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, USDA has offered states, tribal nations and territories the option of boosting the cash-value voucher benefit by more than three times the current amount for up to four months to provide additional relief during this difficult time.

Apr. 26: USDA to Provide Critical Nutrition Assistance to 30M+ Kids Over the Summer. USDA announced a new effort funded by the American Rescue Plan to provide adequate nutrition to more than 30 million children over the summer by expanding Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits.

Apr. 26: Over the last week, Price Chopper went live with 72 stores in New York and New Pioneer Food Co-op went live with one store located in Iowa, as part of the the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot.

Apr. 23:USDA Expands Nutrition Assistance for Seniors Amid Pandemic with American Rescue Plan Funding. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service increased food assistance to low-income seniors – a population that has been especially hard-hit by the pandemic – by providing nearly $37 million in additional support to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. States and Tribal nations will receive the new funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to serve additional seniors, in addition to up to $2.6 million in administrative funds from a previous COVID relief bill

Apr. 23: FDD and WIC Memos on Income Exclusions under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). ARP included recovery rebates for individuals (e.g., $1400 stimulus checks) and child tax credits for qualifying households. Pursuant to 26 U.S.C § 6409, both types of income are excluded in determining eligibility for USDA Foods programs and WIC. On April 23, 2021, USDA published memoranda to inform administering agencies of these income exclusions.

Apr. 22-28: USDA approved P-EBT to support children who are missing school meals due to closures in Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, and Maryland. USDA also approved P-EBT to support children who are missing child care meals due to closures in Kansas, Maine, and Maryland. For the 2020-2021 School Year, USDA has approved $19.4 billion to provide P-EBT benefits to 22.7 million children in 40 states and territories. The full list of states and plans can be found at the following page: State Guidance on Coronavirus Pandemic EBT (P-EBT).