Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and White House Advisor Ivanka Trump visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with Pastor Paula White and White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Executive Director Scott Turner, for an event with faith leaders on the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) Farmers to Families Food Box Program.
The program works with local food suppliers that have been affected by economic turmoil during COVID-19 to purchase billions in local produce, meat and dairy products to put into family-sized packages to deliver to community organizations, food banks and other non-profits serving American families in need.
Joined @IvankaTrump in Pittsburgh today to distribute @USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Boxes with our partners at the Pittsburgh Pentecostal Temple Church of God. This is the best of America on display - Americans helping their fellow citizens during their time of need pic.twitter.com/6M2E3pMfc9
— Sec. Sonny Perdue (@SecretarySonny) June 16, 2020
Thank you Bishop Mann for hosting us at the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ in Pittsburgh, PA.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 16, 2020
Through amazing faith based organizations such as yours our #FarmerstoFamilies food box program has delivered over 20 M boxes of fruit, meat and dairy to families in need! pic.twitter.com/b4ZWkgFCQc
“The group visited the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), who are working to serve needs in local Opportunity Zones. While at COGIC, the group met with church and community leaders to learn about the services being provided in response to impact from the Coronavirus, ultimately working closely with those most vulnerable,” a White House official told Townhall. “They participated in a distribution of Farmers to Families Food Boxes to the local community and following the food distribution, Bishop Mann of Pentecostal Temple COGIC hosted a roundtable to discuss how their partnership with World Vision and CityServe has enabled the strengthening of distribution of food through the Farmers to Families Food Box program.”
Ivanka plays a crucial role in faith-based entities' involvement in the USDA's initiative, in order to ensure that the program reaches the most vulnerable. Her involvement helped foster the Faith-Based Community for Farmers to Families Coalition, which bolsters the USDA's effort to serve a larger network of Americans in need. Thus far, the faith-based coalition, with the help of Ivanka, has delivered 1.6 million boxes to partnered organizations within opportunity zones affected by COVID-19. The USDA's program targets opportunity zones in hopes of reaching underserved communities.
The USDA's program is set to serve Americans in need through June 30, with the possibility to extend.
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