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PAGE 14 FARMERS AND CONSUMERS MARKET BULLETIN – 404-656-3722 – agr.georgia.gov WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020
Food banks, farmers seek ways to work together to meet
changing needs in a COVID-19 world
By Jay Jones in fresh fruits and vegetables, $317 million in a
jay.jones@agr.georgia.gov variety of dairy products, $258 million in meat
products and $175 million in a combination box
Georgia food banks and farmers are facing of fresh produce, according to the USDA.
new challenges as they adapt to a different way “That is going to be a massive effort to buy up
of doing business stemming from the COVID-19 produce, protein and dairy from farmers who are
outbreak. Farmers have lost half their market sitting on a lot of excess product right now and
with restaurant and school closings while food route it through the food bank network around
banks have seen demand increase as more people the country,” said Kyle Waide, president and
seek help to feed their families. CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the
Eliza McCall, chief marketing officer of Sec- largest food bank in Georgia.
ond Harvest of South Georgia, said her organi- Waide said he believes the USDA and its part-
zation’s biggest challenge is getting food from ner distributors will use existing connections,
farms and then finding a way to store it longer. like working with Feeding America, the nation-
With limited freezer space at its Valdosta facili- al food bank association, or through statewide
ty, Second Harvest is responsible for distributing groups like the Georgia Food Bank Association.
food to families through partnering agencies in “I’m sure (they) would prefer to deliver to
26 South Georgia counties. McCall said they are eight food banks rather than 2,500 different lo-
willing to try anything, like starting a canning cations,” he said.
plant or using individually quick frozen process- The USDA’S food box program may also help
ing. farmers like Jason Tyrone of TyCor Farms in
“We are looking at all kinds of different ave- Providence Ministries, a nonprofit in Dalton, purchased several boxes of Georgia-grown produce Lake Park. Tyrone said they completed picking
nues that we might not have pursued before, but at a Georgia Grown To-Go event at Dalton State College on May 20. (Amy Carter/GDA) squash in May and will have cucumber, eggplant
this is an extraordinary time,” she said. “We’re and bell peppers coming in this month.
thinking way outside the box. I’m not even sure our concerns and try to explain it. There’s plenty of milk out Tyrone said it’s too early to tell how the mar-
the box exists anymore. We’re just looking for any and all there. The supply is there. We just have some distribution ket will be this summer. They have been watching reports
solutions that could help both our farmers and help those in issues.” of produce plowed under in Florida and market demands in
need in our community.” Milk is typically one of the most requested items from Georgia.
The aggravating problem in Georgia agriculture this food banks, but storage is limited. Newberry said the milk “The markets have been like a yo-yo, on and off, on and
spring is that there is generally plenty of food at the farms. industry has grants for food banks and other nonprofit groups off,” he said. “The way it’s been for a few days, there would
Farmers are finding that once they harvest their crops or to expand cold storage capacity. be a lot of demand for product, then it would hit a brick wall,
send milk, beef and poultry to processors, they are uncertain “We’ve seen an increase those grants, and then we’ve and nobody can move anything. We can’t hold it for long, and
if they can get their product to market due to the disruption tried to work it out where if they need milk to let us know, it ends up getting dumped,” he said.
in transportation and distribution lines. and we’ll try to set up a way to get it there to them,” New- “Usually in that situation, we would call Second Harvest
Georgia milk producers had to pour milk out in early berry said. and have them come load it up, but there is so much of that
April. They hope the situation improves in the summer as She also said the Dairy Farmers of America is working going on they have been overwhelmed, so they can only han-
the economy opens more. The problem is about distribution, with large grocery store chains to coordinate milk donations dle so much at one time.”
according to Farrah Newberry, executive director of the directly to food banks in the coming weeks. McCall said Second Harvest has strong relationships with
Georgia Milk Producers Association. Many food banks are looking at the Farmers to Families farmers across South Georgia in working to build donation
“That’s been a really hard situation to explain to pro- Food Box Program as a big help to have food available for opportunities, such as when the weather prevents a harvest
ducers when we have to pour it out,” she said. “We see (re- those who need it. The program is part of the federal Coro- from getting picked in time or when they can’t meet the mar-
tailers) limiting it in the stores, but that is a supply chain navirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act signed into ket price and get a tax credit for a donation.
issue.” law in April in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. “Also, some donate out of the goodness of their heart,”
Newberry said she had some success calling stores one The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will pur- she said.
by one to drop milk purchases restrictions while larger chain chase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat prod- However, McCall said a reliable food distribution system
stores are keeping limits in place until distribution returns to ucts for the program. Suppliers will pack and transport the helps food banks coordinate their storage and delivery to
a regular schedule. food to food banks, community and faith-based organiza- their partner agencies. McCall hopes the food box program
“What they’re saying is they want to provide the same tions and other nonprofits serving Americans in need from will help with distribution issues and buy time for them to
product for a person that comes in at 8 in the morning as the May 15 to June 30, according to the USDA. get more storage space for food that will get them through
one that comes in at 8 at night,” she said. “So, we express In all, the food box program will purchase $461 million the summer.
COVID-19 puts a damper on fuel complaints
GDA inspectors still working to ensure a quality supply
By Jay Jones explained that if the pump infractions are minor, the operators just so much winter gas left that we’re having to allow them
jay.jones@agr.georgia.gov are given a few days to correct. If a pump falls too far out of to burn it.”
range, the inspectors will lock the pump until the operator can Killingsworth added that the only issue he sees for mo-
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many things fix the problem. torists is with older vehicles running on carburetors. He said
are shut down, the gas pumps are still running, and the Geor- Routine inspections for such issues were paused after Gov. there are fewer of those cars on the road as most come with
gia Department of Agriculture’s Fuel and Measures Division Brian Kemp issued a shelter-in-place order to slow the spread fuel injection engines. “It will create some vapor lock issues
is adapting to ensure gas pumps are accurate and fuel is tested. of coronavirus earlier this spring; inspectors worked under so- and things like that for those older vehicles,” he said.
As its name suggests, the division tests fuels and measuring cial distancing guidelines and limited their work to respond to The American Auto Association expects demand for gaso-
tools used in commerce. complaints. Regular inspections resumed May 20, Lloyd said. line to pick up as more states lift shelter-in-place orders. Mon-
“Pretty much anything that’s sold across a meter or any- During that time, inspectors kept in touch with producers trae Waiters, a spokeswoman for the AAA’s Atlanta regional
thing sold with a scale is what we regulate,” said Cedric Lloyd, and retailers by phone to understand how the market was do- office, said motorists can expect gas prices to increase due to
field inspections supervisor for the division. ing. They learned that demand was low because few people demand in the next month. Also, the EPA waiver will end in
For retail gas, that involves checking to make sure the fuel were driving. For Fuel and Measures Division Director Doug June, and the more expensive summer blend gas arrives at the
is free from contaminants, and the pumps measure out what Killingsworth, fewer travelers meant fewer complaints. How- pumps.
you are paying for each time you pull up your car to fill the ever, it also caused another problem – an oversupply of win- “Prices have been creeping up very slowly, between 2-4
tank. ter-blend fuel at gas stations. cents. It’s been very, very slow,” she said. “We’re anticipating
Samples are taken and sent to the GDA’s Fuel Oil Labora- Spring is usually the transitional time for fuel storage ter- that trend to continue by the time summer hits. Then again,
tory in Tifton. The division does similar checks on the whole- minals to switch over to summer-blend fuel, which has a lower depending on where we are with the COVID-19 virus, we just
sale level for fuel delivery trucks and at storage terminals, evaporation rate. The lower evaporation rate is meant to re- have to watch from week to week to see just how much it will
Lloyd said. duce air pollution by preventing excessive evaporation when impact gas prices going back up.”
“If we get a quality complaint, we will go out and do an the air temperature rises. For the Memorial Day weekend, the national gas price av-
initial investigation of that complaint,” he said. “(The inspec- When demand fell, an excess of winter-blend was still cir- erage was $1.87 per gallon. The last time gas prices were un-
tors) will also go back and pull re-samples for stations that we culating, Killingsworth said. The U.S. Environmental Protec- der $2 leading into the holiday weekend was in 2003, when, on
have shut down because their product didn’t fall into the specs tion Agency enacted a waiver to allow the fuel to remain in average, motorists paid $1.50 per gallon.
for what the state of Georgia requires.” use through the spring. In Georgia, the average gas price for Memorial Day was
The biggest concern for inspectors is water and dirt seep- “Normally, it’s all burnt up. They go into a transition fuel $1.67, just two cents from the previous week. Gas prices in
age in stored fuel. The fuel lab takes samples and tests them from winter into spring, and that gives them a little time to Georgia are down by 97 cents from 2019 when the average
for purity, performance and octane rating. Inspectors will move out of that and into a summer gas blend,” Killingsworth was $2.64.
write citations on stations that are not in compliance. Lloyd said. “That’s the issue we’re going through right now. There is