Food box delivery to bring U.S. agriculture secretary to Westmoreland Fairgrounds

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Food box delivery to bring U.S. agriculture secretary to Westmoreland Fairgrounds

Jeff Himler | Tuesday, May 26, 2020 6:49 p.m.

Kathleen Flynn | Bloomberg

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue addresses the 100th American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in New Orleans on Jan. 14, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will visit the Westmoreland Fairgrounds on Wednesday morning as pantry staples are delivered to area food banks in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Perdue will be on hand as part of the federal Farmers to Families Food Box Program. The program is purchasing up to $3 billion in fresh produce, meat and dairy products from suppliers that have been significantly impacted by the pandemic-related curtailment of operations at restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is partnering with distributors to package the food in family-sized boxes and deliver it to food banks and other local nonprofits that help those in need.

Schneider, Turner and Marburger Farm dairies are among area suppliers that are participating in the program.