WASHINGTON — USDA plans to purchase up to $263 million in farm products for food banks and nutrition programs, and dairy dominated the package. The plan allocates an unprecedented $75 million for butter purchases, $32.5 million for cheddar and related cheese products, $10 million for Swiss cheese, $20.5 million for fresh fluid milk, and $10 million for UHT milk.

This brings the dairy total to about $148 million — roughly 56% of the total farm products purchase announced last Thursday, Feb. 19 by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

Funded through Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935, the purchases will supply USDA Foods that are provided to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for nutrition assistance programs, including food banks that operate The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

“Purchases like these are a vital component of the nation’s food safety net,” said Rollins, adding that they also help support farmers.

For dairy producers, the heavy emphasis on butter, cheese, and milk underscores federal reliance on dairy as a nutrient-dense cornerstone of food assistance.