Please click on this ling for full story: http://www.usda.gov/2005/07/0276.xml l George Chartier (202) 720-8998 Jerry Redding (202) 720-4623 JOHANNS ANNOUNCES PURCHASE OF UP TO 68 MILLION POUNDS OF PEACHES AND MIXED FRUIT WASHINGTON, July 22, 2005 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced USDA's plan to purchase up to 68 million pounds of canned clingstone peaches, canned mixed fruit and canned Fay Elberta freestone peaches to be donated to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs. "I am pleased to announce this purchase of fruit products which are in abundance this year," said Johanns. "This purchase helps producers and at the same time provides recipients of our federal food programs with quality, nutritious products." Today's announcement is in addition to 42.3 million pounds of canned clingstone peaches that USDA has already purchased in the current fiscal year (FY2005 began Oct. 1, 2004). USDA purchased 63 million pounds of canned clingstone peaches and nearly 1 million pounds of canned freestone peaches in fiscal year 2004. USDA has also purchased 23 million pounds of canned mixed fruit so far in this fiscal year; it purchased 46.7 million pounds in FY 2004 USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service purchases a variety of high quality food products each year for distribution by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for the national school lunch program, the school breakfast program, the summer food service program, the food distribution program on Indian reservations, the nutrition program for the elderly, the commodity supplemental food program and the emergency food assistance program. USDA also makes emergency purchases of commodities for distribution to victims of natural disasters. In fiscal year 2004, AMS purchased 1.5 billion pounds of food worth nearly $1 billion for federal food programs, including 216 million pounds of beef, pork, lamb and fish; 233 million pounds of eggs, chicken and other poultry products; and more than 1 billion pounds of fruits and vegetables. With today's announcement of USDA's intention to buy, FNS will survey potential recipients to determine how much product will be accepted for shipping. AMS will seek the lowest overall cost by publicly inviting bids to supply the desired quantity and by awarding contracts to responsible bidders. Government food experts work to ensure that all the food they purchase is healthful and nutritious. Food items are normally required to be low in fat, sugar and sodium. The commodities must meet specified grade requirements and be USDA-inspected or graded to ensure quality. AMS purchases only products of 100 percent domestic origin. More information about USDA programs is available at http://www.usda.gov. # USDA News oc.news@xxxxxxxx 202 720-4623 ---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to oc.news@xxxxxxxx and reference your email address.
