Americans have benefited from the billions of food boxes that have been distributed to those in need due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the Farmers to Families Food Box program started in the spring of 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has partnered with farmers, ranchers, specialty crop producers, food processors and distributors and nonprofit organizations to ensure all Americans have access to the fresh and wholesome food they need.

Farmers sell food previously destined for restaurants and bulk purchasers to distributors, preventing waste. Distributors partner with the USDA to package family-sized boxes with fresh produce, dairy and meat products and transport them to nonprofits across the country. Families pick up food boxes from local schools, food banks, faith-based organizations and other nonprofits.

Later this month, the program will be available in Jackson County for the first time.

From 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 27, Crothersville and Vernon Township residents can go to the student parking lot at the school, 109 N. Preston St., Crothersville, where volunteers will be stationed handing out food. People should remain in their vehicles and start along East Main Street, turn left at the bus barn and continue on the north side of the student parking lot.

Each household will need to bring a piece of mail with their Crothersville or Vernon Township address on it. There are no income requirements.

There will be 1,092 35-pound food boxes — including perishable and nonperishable food — available on a first-come, first-served basis. Do not line up until after 9:45 a.m.

“Anyone who pulls up before that time will be asked to leave and return later. We will be lining up in a residential area and want to keep traffic problems to a minimum,” said Danieta Foster, president of the Crothersville Town Council who helped the town receive approval for the program.

Those unable to come to the distribution but would like to receive a food box should message the Town of Crothersville Facebook page or call or text 812-390-8217 and leave a message with their name, address and phone number.

Anyone wishing to volunteer at the distribution event should use the same contact information. People will be needed to help with traffic control and carrying and delivering boxes.

Foster is glad Crothersville will benefit from this program. Last year when she first heard about the program being offered in Scott County, she missed the deadline to apply. So she later tried again and was successful.

This could become a monthly offering in Crothersville, Foster said.

“They want to see how it goes before they commit,” she said of the distributor. “It’s 1,092 boxes for Vernon Township. It’s a lot of boxes. They want to make sure we can handle that many. I think we can.”

The effort is part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program that was announced April 17, 2020. The USDA is exercising authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need.

Through the program, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is partnering with national, regional and local distributors whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses to purchase up to $6 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products from American producers of all sizes, according to the USDA.

The first round of purchases occurred from May 15 to June 30, 2020, and saw more than 35.5 million boxes delivered in the first 45 days.

In the second round July 1 to Sept. 18, the USDA purchased more than $1.781 billion of food through extended contracts of select vendors from the first round as well as new contracts focused on Opportunity Zones to direct food to reach underserved areas, places where either no boxes had yet been delivered or where boxes were being delivered but where there is additional need.

For the third round, former President Donald Trump announced Aug. 24 that up to an additional $1 billion was being made available for deliveries through Oct. 31. By the end of that round, the USDA purchased more than $3.566 billion worth of food.

In the fourth round, $463 million worth of food was delivered between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. That was funded by an additional $500 million made available through supplemental appropriations provided to the secretary in the CARES Act.

For the current fifth round, the USDA will purchase up to $1.5 billion worth of food for delivery through the end of April. The additional funding for the program was included in the COVID-19 relief package as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act that passed Dec. 21.

The USDA will again purchase combination boxes to ensure all involved recipient organizations have access to fresh produce, dairy products, fluid milk and meat products. Seafood products also will be included in this round.