Government invests in stimulus pork

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Government invests in stimulus pork - literally.

Written by Brent Deitrich

Monday, 20 July 2009 18:12

Here's a nice ol' slice of big juicy, government pork waste ..

The USDA responds to the Drudge Report on the government spending millions of dollars on .. HAM.

Response to Drudge Item on Recovery Act Funding
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

"Through the Recovery Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $100 million available to the states for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which acquires food that is distributed to local organizations that assist the needy – including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.

The Recovery Act funds referenced in press reports allowed states to purchase ham, cheese and dairy products for these food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries that provide assistance to people who otherwise do not have access to food. This program will help reduce hunger of those hardest hit by the current economic recession.

The references to "2 pound frozen ham sliced" are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy "2 pounds of ham" are wrong. In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191m, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound. In terms of the dairy purchase referenced, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) purchased 837,936 pounds of mozzarella cheese and 4,039,200 pounds of processed cheese.

Uh yeah .. except that ham costs less than $1 a pound in the grocery store. Of course, this was probably Obama-branded ham .. hang on, I see a photoshop opportunity ..