MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • April 14, 2020
Governor Janet Mills today urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to coordinate a nationwide strategy to increase the amount of food available to emergency food programs and to address gaps in the food supply chain. The letter to the Secretary comes after Governor Mills held a conference call earlier this month with Maine hunger and relief organizations, which conveyed the difficulty in meeting the surge in demand for food resulting from COVID-19. "Our farm and food producers, and those up and down the supply chain, continue to serve the people of Maine by growing and selling food amidst the enormous challenges that we face today," wrote Mills. “However, a patchwork of state efforts is not enough, and we urge the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take a stronger leadership role in ensuring that people are getting the healthy and nutritious food that they deserve.”