Established Food Companies Lapping San Antonio’s CRE8AD8 in Food Box Program

Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express News Produce June 8, 2020

With less than a month left to fulfill its $39 million contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deliver 750,000 food boxes to needy people, San Antonio events planning company CRE8AD8 has handed out just 685.

A San Antonio Food Bank spokesperson said Tuesday that several thousand boxes from CRE8AD8 are scheduled to arrive at the nonprofit this week, but industry mainstays remain skeptical that the company owned by Gregorio Palomino can fulfill the contract by the June 30 deadline.

Of the nearly 200 contracts the USDA awarded for its Farmers to Families Food Box Program nearly a month ago, a handful went to companies with little to no experience in food distribution, including CRE8AD8, while the agency rejected bids from firms with years of experience in the industry.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Antonio Express News

Related Articles

Produce

USDA Announces Contracts for Round 4 of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program

USDA AMS Produce November 2, 2020

Following U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s authorization of up to an additional $500 million for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it has approved contracts for up to the authorized amount to support American producers and communities in need through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. To date, more than 110 million boxes have been distributed. …

Produce

United Fresh Statement on Government Accountability Office’s USDA Food Box Program Report

United Fresh Produce Association Produce September 10, 2021

The report indicates that the food box program was successful in reaching those in need, including 78% of counties in the United States and 89% of counties with more than 20% of the population living in poverty. There were areas of improvement cited, including USDA’s limited data collection on the number of jobs saved and disaggregated data on the types of recipient agencies that received food. …