Calif. to return foreign food amid backlash
The Associated Press, Fresno Bee, Sep. 05, 2009 [here]
FRESNO, Calif. — The state of California is returning macaroni from Mexico and carrots from China in response to a foreign food flap.
The California Department of Social Services began distributing emergency rations earlier this week in response to a Central Valley water shortage.
Local leaders began protesting after they noticed the state was giving away foreign-produced food. U.S. Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno fired off a letter accusing the department of not supporting local farms and farmworkers.
Lizelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, blamed a contractor for not following instructions to buy food from the United States.
Lopez says about four percent of more than $3 million worth of food came from foreign countries.
(earlier) Foreign food at Valley giveaway protested
The governor’s food giveaway to struggling families on Fresno County’s west side — widely known as America’s breadbasket — has included imported products such as Chinese carrots and Mexican macaroni, embarrassed officials admitted Friday.
A political flap erupted this week after officials discovered the imports, prompting a letter of protest from at least one member of Congress.
Local leaders say it’s bad enough that thousands of farm town residents are living off state-funded food donations, thanks to the water shortage and a foundering economy. But the foreign-produced food adds insult to injury, they say.