There’s extra food heading to Michigan food banks this month, a direct result of the tariffs placed on American grown food by China.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in August it was purchasing $1.2 billion in food from farmers as a short-term relief strategy for those who would have otherwise sold their crops to China.

Now that extra food will be distributed nationwide through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and child nutrition programs.

The Washington Post reports that the USDA typically “distributes 700 million pounds of food through state officials to the nation’s largest food bank network, but that number is expected to more than double this year under the administration’s program.”

There are concerns surfacing nationwide from food banks and programs as they prepare for the influx of additional food.

CMF reached out to the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM) to learn more about the impact the additional food will have on food distribution and the communities the food banks serve.

Dr. Phillip Knight, executive director of FBCM told CMF that they expect to receive 6 million pounds of food in the first quarter of 2019. The food will then be distributed to FBCM’s seven food banks and programs around the state.

FBCM’s network will distribute 80 percent of the food that our state will receive.

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, which is in FBCM’s network, said they will be receiving 1.4 million pounds of food between now and March.

Gerald Brisson, president and CEO for the food bank said they are not considering this food a surplus.

“The increased bonus closes the gap we saw last year in overall USDA food donations, and it will be very helpful in addressing the significant food insecurity gap that persists in Southeast Michigan,” Brisson said. “While we will be getting more food in the near-term it should be emphasized that it’s not a surplus; it helps us to cover the deficit created when USDA donations were down last year so there is a definite need for this food.”

Another FBCM network member is Feeding America West Michigan, which services 40 counties in the state, including the UP.

“This will be a great help to our families in need in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula,” Ken Estelle president and CEO, Feeding America West Michigan told CMF. “Our challenge is that with the additional products come significant additional costs for storage, handling and transportation to our communities. Although the USDA has allocated some additional funding for this purpose, we are still expecting to need to raise other funds to help manage the distribution of these products.”

FBCM’s cost to move and distribute food is typically about 15 cents per pound of food. The additional government funding to help offset costs includes a $2,000 allowance for every truckload of food, which Knight said is equivalent to about a nickel per pound of food.

“I think it’s important to say, ‘Thank you.’ This is a lot of food and it does create some challenges for us but it’s a lot of food,” Knight said. “The bottom line is it affects the communities and affects the clients in a very positive way so the logistical challenges it brings, we’re going to sort through and figure out.”

Knight said due to the food surplus the FBCM won’t buy as much food from Michigan farmers and other food vendors as they typically would.

“It’s a blessing but it comes with some challenges and it comes with some unintended consequences as well,” Knight said.