NCBA Encourages USDA "Bonus Buy" to Help Move Beef Through Supply Chain

Washington, DC (November 20, 2001) — The current market situation provides an excellent opportunity for USDA to make “bonus buys” of beef for the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Commodity Procurement program for school lunches, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

A letter urging USDA to undertake “bonus buys” of beef for the National School Lunch Program was sent to Secretary Anne Veneman on Nov. 15.

“The National School Lunch Program provides safe, nutritious meals to this nation’s school children,” said Sonia Voldseth, NCBA associate director of Food Policy. “A 'bonus buy' purchase would benefit school children as well as beef producers, and may help provide a jumpstart to the agriculture sector of the economy.”

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in more than 96,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to nearly 27 million children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.

“Beef supplies are higher now,” said Voldseth. “At current prices beef is a great buy for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and additional purchases of nutritious beef will reduce some of the supply and help school programs on limited budgets.”

The current beef market resulted partly from the downturn in travel after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. A downturn in the nation’s overall economy has also contributed to a decline in nearly every industry sector, including agriculture. The discovery of one case of BSE in Japan has driven down beef demand in that country. Japan accounts for nearly one-half of all U.S. beef exports and is the largest export market for U.S. beef.

The National School Lunch Act mandates that school meals "safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children”. Participating schools must serve lunches that are consistent with the applicable recommendations of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

NCBA is working on several additional fronts to move beef through the supply chain, including working with exporters to encourage an increase in beef exports to world markets and alerting retailers and foodservice operators about favorable beef prices.

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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.