Source: Laura Leslie, WRAL, 6/15/20

 A program designed to get surplus produce to needy families during the pandemic brought the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to the Triangle on Monday. The $3 billion Farmers to Families Program uses federal coronavirus relief money to purchase produce from farmers and package it in boxes that food banks and nonprofits can distribute to families. When the pandemic shut down restaurants, hotels and schools, farmers had a hard time finding buyers for all of the food they produce. Distributors had to lay people off, while grocery store shelves were bare.

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