WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Pat Roberts of Kansas and Tom Harkin of Iowa, led a bipartisan group of Senators to urge the United States Department of Agriculture to reinstate senior nutrition programs’ ability to receive bonus commodities. This will allow programs such as Meals on Wheels to better serve our nation’s seniors.

“Bonus commodities are extremely important to senior nutrition programs because they are essentially free of charge plus the price of shipping,” Senator Roberts said. “These bonus commodities allow groups that serve seniors to stretch their budget further, extending their reach to more in need, which is especially critical in this economy. We urge USDA to reinstate bonus commodities.”

“Foods that USDA is required to purchase under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, or farm bill, can help make meals in senior nutrition programs, like Meals on Wheels, more nutritious,” said Harkin. “For that reason, USDA should reexamine and ultimately change its decision to exclude these senior programs from receiving the fruits, vegetables, and nuts obtained under a farm bill provision. In addition, senior nutrition programs can make very good use of other commodities – such as the pork and dairy products USDA is acquiring off the market because of low prices. Our letter encourages USDA to deliver these ‘bonus’ commodities to help seniors as well as other federally-funded nutrition programs.”

The following letter, sent to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, was signed by Senators Sam Brownback of Kansas, along with colleagues Max Baucus (D-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Paul Kirk. Part of the letter reads:

“We write to express our concern with the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) policy and practice regarding distribution of commodities to support congregate and home-delivered nutrition services for seniors.

“Commodities supplied by USDA are a significant component of federal assistance for senior nutrition programs, including one commonly called Meals on Wheels, that is provided through the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP), which is administered by the Administration on Aging. In 2007, Congress passed the Older Americans Reauthorization Technical Corrections Act (P.L.110-19) in order to reinstate the option for states and other grantees to receive all or any part of their allotted NSIP funds in the form of commodities purchased and supplied directly by USDA. The technical correction bill modified a feature of the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (P.L.109-365) that had limited NSIP support to monetary amounts only, not commodities.

“In addition to the basic support of senior nutrition through NSIP, USDA has longstanding authority – and a history of using it – to provide supplementary commodities to states and other grantees for senior nutrition assistance. These ‘bonus commodities’ are provided to states and grantees free of charge; recipients simply pay the price of shipping. Bonus commodities, typically purchased from the market by the Department to help alleviate surpluses, allow states to provide additional assistance to eligible seniors who otherwise might not have access to nutritious meals."