Feeding the Poor: Excess in American food production diverted to help needy families

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The ongoing trade tensions between China and the US have affected many American farmers, who are seeing an excess in their stocks due to retaliatory tariffs from China. The US government has purchased some of their production to feed the poor, as many fear the trade tensions can have a long-lasting impact on America's agriculture sector. CGTN's Hendrik Sybrandy reports from Colorado.

Food Bank of the Rockies is a busy place. The non-profit organization's mission is ensuring that families in the states of Colorado and Wyoming have enough to eat. It hands out 145-thousand meals a day and more than 27 million kilos of food each year. The need is clearly there.

JANIE GIANOTSOS, MARKETING DIRECTOR FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES "So in Colorado right now, one in 10 people are struggling to put food on the table and the situation is even worse for children. It's one in six kids that live in food-insecure homes."

The organization relies on donations from retailers, wholesalers and the U.S. government.

JANIE GIANOTSOS, MARKETING DIRECTOR FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES "We try to make sure we never have empty shelves."

Suddenly more food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is part of the mix here.

HENDRIK SYBRANDY DENVER "Under the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program, food is regularly purchased from farmers and donated to relief agencies like food banks. Now, another $1.2 billion in tariff-affected commodities are being bought and distributed."

It's part of an overall $12 billion package of trade-related U.S. agricultural aid.

JANIE GIANOTSOS, MARKETING DIRECTOR FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES "It's a win-win. However, you feel about politics, by helping farmers and helping people in need, at least it's a good result here for us."

Dale McCall: "We're pleased that it did occur."

Dale McCall is president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. He says at a time of over-abundance of crops in America and with so many hungry people to feed, the aid package, which some have termed a bailout, is a good thing. But he considers it a stop-gap measure.

DALE McCALL, PRESIDENT ROCKY MOUNTAIN FARMERS UNION "We don't like the word bailout. And you know the public perception sometimes is, well, that problem's been taken care of and it really hasn't."

McCall says tariffs have hurt crop prices and farm exports. He believes a broader safety net for farmers and ranchers is the real answer. But he says agricultural relief may come just in time for some of them.

DALE McCALL, PRESIDENT ROCKY MOUNTAIN FARMERS UNION "It helps some individuals that because of that may be able to continue to farm next year."

MARC ARNUSCH COLORADO FARMER "And so if we had to pick the lesser of two evils, I suppose taking the payment was just that."

McCall worries that the current trade tensions could take several years to resolve.

DALE McCALL, PRESIDENT ROCKY MOUNTAIN FARMERS UNION "If it takes that long to work out all these trade deals and get some stability back in the markets for agricultural commodities, that's going to be devastating."

Pork, apples, pistachios and dairy make up a chunk of this $1.2 billion purchase.

Janie Gianotsos: "We're really glad that if they're being affected by these tariffs that there is a solution out there."

One solution that will put food on the table for some and perhaps keep some, who produced it, in business, at least for a while. Hendrik Sybrandy, CGTN, Denver.