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FACT SHEET: Update on USDA Activities to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic

445 Disaster, Public Health Specialists Currently Deployed to Assist with Federal Response

WASHINGTON, Mar. 17, 2021 — In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan is driven by science, data, and public health to improve the effectiveness of our nation’s fight against COVID-19 and to restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

The National Strategy provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century. It is organized around seven goals:

  1. Restore trust with the American people.
  2. Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.
  3. Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.
  4. Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.
  5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.
  6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.
  7. Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

The plan calls on all parts of the federal government to contribute its resources—facilities, personnel, and expertise—to contain the pandemic. Chief among the efforts is a whole-of-government response to stand up new federally supported community vaccination centers across the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to the President’s call to action. In addition to personnel, USDA is offering its facilities, cold chain infrastructure, public health experts, disaster response specialists, and footprint in rural areas and Tribal communities across the country. Here are the some of the ways USDA is working alongside our federal partners to contain the pandemic and get our economy back on track.

Programmatic Announcements

  • Mar. 14-17: A P-EBT school plan was approved for Hawaii. In total, for the 2020-2021 school year, USDA has provided $11.2 billion in P-EBT benefits to 12.7 million children in 26 states and territories. For a full list of approved states, please see the Food and Nutrition Service website.
  • Mar. 12: The Office of Food Safety, in cooperation with the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) released several COVID-19 resources: The Food Safety COVID Tip Card Series, Food Safety During Alternate Meal Services fact sheet, and Keeping School Meals Safe at Home infographic. These resources are available on the ICN website and on the Food and Nutrition Service website.
  • Mar. 12: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is approving a modification of Minnesota’s COVID-19 adjustment, which allows SNAP Outreach partners serve as authorized representatives in order to complete applications over the phone for clients who need assistance. Minnesota has requested to update the list of community partners approved under the adjustment. FNS is approving the modification for March 1-June 30, 2021.
  • Mar. 11: As of this week, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has approved 49 States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $2,520,231,274 for the month of March 2021. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
  • Mar. 10: Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Congressional Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.
  • Mar. 9: USDA Extends Free Meals to Children through Summer 2021 Due to Pandemic. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service announced the nationwide extension of several waivers that allow all children to continue to receive nutritious meals this summer when schools are out of session, through Sept. 30, 2021.
  • Mar. 8-13: P-EBT school plans were approved for Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
  • Mar. 4: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved 33 States/Territories for Federal Emergency Allotments totaling $1,695,651,929 for the month of March 2021. State agencies and Territories submit their Emergency Allotments Extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
  • Mar. 1-7: P-EBT school plans were approved for Florida and Virginia. In addition, P-EBT child care plans were approved for Massachusetts and Indiana.
  • Mar. 1: A Texas A&M AgriLife-led research project funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is investigating the SARS-CoV-2 impact on meat processing by assessing the risks in a systematic farm-to-plate model. The goal is to maximize safety and minimize viral exposure to meat production workforce employees, and to everyone who buys and consumes meat. This research is part of NIFA’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Research investments to help find critical solutions to issues facing our nation during the pandemic. More information about how USDA is ensuring meat processing safety during the pandemic is available on NIFA’s website.
  • Feb. 25: Food Lion plans to extend SNAP online purchasing to eight additional states—Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia—beginning Feb. 25. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has been working to expand access to online purchasing for SNAP participants. The full list of states and retailers participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot is available on the FNS website.
  • Feb. 24: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved five states for SNAP emergency allotments totaling $430,994,867 for the month of March 2021. State and territorial agencies submit their emergency allotment extension requests to FNS throughout the month for acknowledgement and approval, as long as they continue to meet their emergency declarations due to the pandemic.
  • Feb. 23: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service released $400 million in additional funding to states to support The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including $73.3 million in administrative funds and $326.7 million to purchase food through the Agricultural Marketing Service.
  • Feb. 23: Education Department Amplifies Expansion of SNAP Benefits to Help Students Pursuing Postsecondary Education During Pandemic. In accordance with President Biden’s January 22nd Executive Order on extending economic relief during the pandemic, USDA worked with the Department of Education to increase awareness of newly expanded SNAP eligibility guidelines for students.
  • Feb. 22-28: P-EBT school plans were approved for Washington, Connecticut, Arizona, and Kentucky. In addition, a P-EBT child care plan was approved for Arizona.
  • Feb. 18: COVID-19 Update: USDA, FDA Underscore Current Epidemiologic and Scientific Information Indicating No Transmission of COVID-19 Through Food or Food Packaging.
  • Feb. 17: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service approved 47 states and territories for emergency allotments in SNAP, totaling $2,033,734,872 for the month of February 2021. FNS also approved one state for emergency allotments totaling $55,595,754 for the month of March 2021.

Personnel Deployments

445 Personnel Currently Deployed (Mar. 17, 2021)

  • Since the start of the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has deployed 311 personnel. Currently, 220 APHIS personnel remain active, consisting of:
    • 34 employees to support FEMA with planning and logistics;
    • 92 employees to Nevada, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Delaware to administer vaccinations;
    • 8 Safety Officers at a variety of rapid points of distribution including mobile teams and pop-up clinics;
    • 1 employee supporting FEMA Region VI with field operations;
    • 11 employees to Dallas;
    • 9 employees to Chicago;
    • 22 employees to Rhode Island and Wisconsin to prepare the vaccine for those administering vaccines; and
    • 19 intake registrars and 24 floor managers in Oregon.
  • The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) have dispatched 32 veterinarians to assist with vaccination efforts in Nevada, Maryland, and Oklahoma.
  • The USDA Forest Service has deployed 186 Incident Management Team personnel and they are currently assigned to the National COVID Vaccine Campaign. Their work includes staffing vaccination centers, providing logistical support, and planning at regional/state levels with FEMA and states.
  • One (1) member of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), one (1) member of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), one (1) member of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and four (4) U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers detailed to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are assisting with logistical support for the vaccination campaign.

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