Legislation Includes $4 Billion To Buy Dairy, Other Food Products, Restaurant Funding

Washington—President Biden on Thursday signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, after the measure was approved by both the House and Senate in the past week.

Among other provisions, the legislation provides $4 billion to the US secretary of agriculture, $3.6 billion of which is to support the food supply chain. This money can be used to purchase and distribute agricultural commodities, including dairy products, to individuals in need, including through delivery to nonprofit organizations and through restaurants and other food-related entities that may receive, store, process, and distribute food items.

The money can also be used to make grants and loans for small or midsized food processors or distributors, farmers markets, producers, or other organizations to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including for measures to protect workers against COVID–19; and to make loans and grants and provide other assistance to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.

A total of $2.5 million is provided for the USDA Office of the Inspector to audit, investigate, and conduct other oversight activities of projects and activities carried out with funds made available to the USDA related to the pandemic.

In the nutrition area, the legislation extends from June 30 to Sept. 30, 2021, the requirement that the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits be calculated using 115 percent of the June 2020 value of the thrifty food plan.

Also, the bill provides $1.15 billion to the secretary of agriculture, $1.135 billion of which will be for grants for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to each state agency for the costs of state administrative expenses associated with SNAP.

The nutrition title of the legislation also provides $37 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, to remain available until Sept. 30, 2022; funding to improve and modernize the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program; and $1 billion to provide grants for nutrition assistance to Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) “applauds Congress for passing a COVID-19 relief bill that will help tackle the hunger and nutrition issues in our country and support the resiliency of our food supply chain,” said Michael Dykes, IDFA’s president and CEO.

“While COVID-19 cases have slowed in recent weeks, millions of Americans continue to face hunger and nutrition insecurity amidst the economic fallout of the pandemic,” Dykes continued. “This legislation will ensure our nation’s most vulnerable have access to a variety of fresh, wholesome, nutritious dairy products.”

“The American Rescue Plan boosts SNAP benefits for food insecure families; it expands resources to mothers and young children to purchase healthy, fresh foods; and delivers badly needed nutrition aid to US territories,” said US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “It also increases food available for distribution through food banks, nonprofits, or restaurants to help feed families in need and at the same time supports farmers by purchhasing their products.

“America’s farmers, ranchers and producers will reap the benefits of the American Rescue Plan as more resources flow through the economy, as more businesses open up, spurring greater demand for American food and agricultural products,” Vilsack added.

Relief For Restaurants

Also included in the legislation is a $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which “will provide new relief opportunities for some of the nation’s hardest-hit restaurants and communities,” according to Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association.

According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), the $28.6 billion restaurant and bar grant program will, among other things: give restaurants and bars the means to make payroll, pay down debt, and cover other eligible costs; allow restaurants and bars more flexibility to decide how and when to reopen whenever it’s safe in their own community; encourage small businesses to begin hiring back the 2 million restaurant and bar workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic; and be run by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), which will prioritize awarding grants to businesses owned by women or veterans or are socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.

The restaurant and bar grant program “will make the difference between shuttered storefronts and open doors,” said Erika Polmar, executive director of the IRC, which was formed by chefs and independent restaurant owners across the US who built a grassroots movement to secure vital protections for the country’s 500,000 independent restaurants and the more than 11 million restaurant workers impacted by the pandemic.

Earlier this month, the National Restaurant Association highlighted in a letter to House and Senate leaders how the results of a recent survey it conducted demonstrated a continued vulnerability for the restaurant industry and warrant prompt passage of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in the American Rescue Plan Act.

“While many other industries have moved into a recovery phase, the restaurant industry ended last year in a double-dip recession and with 2.5 million fewer jobs,” the letter noted. “At this point, we forecast the industry has lost $255 billion in revenue.”

In addition, according to the survey findings highlighted in the National Restaurant Association’s letter:

• Consumer spending in restaurants remained well below pre-pandemic levels in January. Overall, 77 percent of restaurant operators said their total dollar sales volume in January was lower than it was in January 2020.

• From November 2020 to January 2021, nearly 450,000 restaurant jobs were lost, representing about 10 percent of the total jobs recovered during the first six months after the shutdowns last spring. Some 80 percent of restaurant operators said their current staffing level is lower than it would normally be in the absence of COVID-19.

• Looking further down the road, most restaurant operators do not expect a return to normal business conditions anytime soon. Some 32 percent of operators think it will be seven to 12 months before business conditions return to normal for their restaurant, while 29 percent think it will be more than a year. An additional 10 percent of operators say business conditions will never return to normal for their restaurant.

• Fourteen percent of restaurant operators say they will “probably” or “definitely” be closed within three months if there are no additional relief packages from the federal government.

In its first pandemic letter to congressional leaders a year ago, the association called for an array of approaches to sustain the industry and its workforce. Congress listened, creating “critical programs” like the Paycheck Protection Program, expanding Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and enhancing the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

“While many other industries have moved into a recovery phase, the restaurant industry ended last year in a double-dip recession and with 2.5 million fewer jobs. At this point, we forecast the industry has lost $255 billion in revenue.”

—National Restaurant Association

“These programs have helped restaurants limp through almost 12 months of shutdowns, reopenings, and capacity limitations,” the letter continued. “But no other industry has lost more jobs and more revenue than the restaurant industry, and we have been consistent in urging a restaurant-specific recovery plan from Congress.”

Prompt passage and implementation of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund “will provide new relief opportunities for some of the nation’s hardest-hit restaurants and communities,” the letter added. Demand for relief will “far outpace” the program’s funding, “but this is an incredible step forward and we look forward to working with you to see this program launch successfully to rescue countless industry jobs nationwide.”