From the New York Times:
Photo Credit: AJ Mast for The New York Times
“Federal food safety inspectors said a proposal by the Agriculture Department to expand a pilot program that allows private companies to take over the inspections at poultry plants could pose a health risk by allowing contaminated meat to reach customers.”
The UFCW and Smithfield Foods are launching a joint Feed the Hungry Program today in New York City to bring much needed assistance to the growing number of people facing hunger and food insecurity in our communities. The project will help deliver more than one million servings of protein to the Food Bank of New York City.
Today’s kick-off event is the first in a multi-city tour across America that will reach from coast-to-coast. The UFCW and Smithfield plan to donate at least 20 million servings of food to a local food bank at each of the scheduled stops.
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that more than 36 million people in the United States, including 12.6 million children, live in households considered to be food insecure. That is more than 1 in 10 households who experience hunger or the risk of hunger.
The UFCW is committed to ensuring that families across the country have the relief and the opportunities they need to weather the current economic crises. All across the country UFCW members are on the frontlines of efforts to improve and strengthen their communities, and this partnership reflects their unwavering commitment to protect and advocate for families during tough times.
This partnership is about bringing together organizations, including our represented grocery stores, with the resources, the relationships and the know-how to ensure that vulnerable communities across the country have access to well-supplied food banks. Our goal is simple: Get good, nutritious food to as many families, in as many communities, as possible.
Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) expressed its support for the nomination of Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns to take the helm at the Secretary of Agriculture.
In a letter addressed to the bipartisan leadership of the United States Senate, UFCW International President Joe Hansen stated that Governor Johanns “has all of the necessary attributes and experience to lead our nation’s Agriculture Department”".
“His innovative and compassionate leadership so impressed our locals in his state that he was endorsed by our union for reelection in his last campaign. He earned this achievement with his efforts at outreach, inclusion, and understanding of workers—especially those in the agricultural industry,” Hansen added.
The UFCW, which represents workers in multiple areas of food production including meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and vegetables, has many interests at the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding food safety, meat and poultry inspection, international trade, contract agriculture and many others.
The UFCW stated its confidence that Governor Johanns will make decisions fairly balancing all perspectives. “That has been his history as Governor, and we look forward to working with him as Secretary of Agriculture,” declared Hansen.
“Governor Johanns has been a true leader for Nebraskans working in the meat packing and food processing industries. He showed his commitment to fairness and equality for all workers by issuing the state’s first Worker Bill of Rights. We were proud to work with him on that program and look forward to his leadership at the Department of Agriculture,” said Donna McDonald, President of the Omaha, Nebraska-based UFCW Local 271.
