Food banks are removing the signed letter Trump wanted to include in every food-aid box
Source: Washington Post
Business
Food banks are removing the signed letter Trump wanted to include in every food-aid box
The third round of Farmers to Families Food Boxes will include a one-page letter from Trump in English and Spanish.
By Laura Reiley and Kim Bellware
Oct. 1, 2020 at 1:47 p.m. EDT
Thirty-five days before the election, food assistance boxes, doled out at food banks around the country, are coming with a surprise: a signed letter from President Trump. Anti-hunger advocates and food bank workers are outraged, saying the move violates the Hatch Act and compromises relationships with the food-insecure Americans they serve.
A letter in English and Spanish, on White House letterhead, exhorts needy Americans to wash hands and maintain social distance, closing with: “We will support Americans’ recovery every step of the way. Together we will overcome this challenge, and our Nation will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before.” And then Trump’s distinctive signature.
San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is removing the letters at distribution sites and asking any of the neighborhood pantries in their network that receive these boxes to do the same, says Keely Hopkins, the food bank’s communications and social media manager.
Catherine Drennan, director of communications and public affairs at the Greater Boston Food Bank, confirmed that these Coronavirus Food Assistance Program emergency food boxes contain a letter signed by Trump. ... “It is our understanding that the [U.S. Agriculture Department] is requiring all CFAP-contracted vendors to include this letter in every CFAP food box,” she said. “We’ve made it clear to our partners: We are not placing this letter in the box. We do not endorse any presidential candidate and have no connection to the letter and the inclusion of the letter in these boxes.”
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Laura Reiley
Laura Reiley is the business of food reporter. She was previously a food critic at the Tampa Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun. She has authored four books, has cooked professionally and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. She is a two-time James Beard finalist and in 2017 was a Pulitzer finalist. Follow https://twitter.com/lreiley
Kim Bellware
Kim Bellware covers national and breaking news for The Washington Post. She previously worked for City Bureau, The Huffington Post and as a nationally-focused freelance reporter. Follow https://twitter.com/bellwak
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/01/food-bank-trump-campaign-literature/
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3 weeks from now when he passes from covid-19.
