The Farmers to Families Food Box program has played a valuable role in addressing the hunger crisis caused by the COVID pandemic, but it needs to be improved so farms of all sizes can take advantage of it and hungry Americans can obtain needed sustenance, witnesses told the House Agriculture Committee Thursday.

The Agriculture Department is moving forward with plans to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to millions of Americans as called for in an executive order being issued today.

The $900 billion COVID relief bill, passed in late December, is providing new funding for programs to help feed the millions of people whose jobs have been lost to the pandemic, but anti-hunger advocates say more help is needed and have already turned to Congress and the incoming Biden administration for help.

USDA will buy another $1.5 billion of food to continue the Farmers to Families Food Box program, the department has announced.

Congressional leaders reach agreement with the White House on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that will include a new round of aid to various agriculture sectors while also ensuring the deductibility of expenses used to get forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans.

The number of people facing hunger is on the rise around the world because of the global COVID-19 crisis, and humanitarian organizations and farm groups are pushing for the Trump administration to boost donations of rice, wheat and other commodities.