LAUREL, Md. — On Friday Maryland Governor Larry Hogan joined President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue for a tour of Coastal Sunbelt Produce in Laurel.
The visit highlighted USDA’S $19 Billion Coronavirus Farmer Assistance Program that was passed through the federal CARES Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The initiative is called the Families Food Box Program. It aims to financially support food distributors and suppliers most impacted by the forced closures of restaurants, hotels, and other food service businesses, while also helping out families in need of food.
Coastal Sunbelt Produce was awarded a $4,540,000 federal contract to source and deliver American grown fruit and vegetable boxes to the Capitol Area, Maryland, and Baltimore City Food Banks as well as the Brighter Bites organization. Parker Farms will be the supplier, and deliveries will get underway on May 15.
Founded in 1992, Coastal Sunbelt Produce has over 1000 employees and operates out of a 330,000 square foot facility which uses 185 refrigerated trucks to deliver throughout the entire mid-Atlantic region, including to some of the area's largest chain restaurants.
