It appears a posting on the Drudge Report didn't tell the complete story of how $1.191 million was spent by USDA to purchase ham and dairy products with funding from the Recovery Act. The posting simply listed — two pound Frozen Ham Sliced. In fact, the government purchased 760,000 pounds of ham in two pound packages. That's the clarification from Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, who said the government also purchased nearly 837,000 pounds of mozzarella cheese and more than 4 million pounds of processed cheese.
Funds provided through the Recovery Act allows states to purchase ham, cheese and dairy products for food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries that provide assistance to people who otherwise do not have access to food. Secretary Vilsack emphasized that this program will help reduce hunger of those hardest hit by the current economic recession. So far, USDA has made available to the states $100 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
The Secretary added that while the principal purpose of these expenditures is to provide food to those hardest hit by these tough times, the purchases also provide a modest economic boost by benefiting Americans working at food retailers, manufacturers and transportation companies as well as the farmers and ranchers who produce our food supply.
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