By Nathalie Voit
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, the Committee on Agriculture hosted a hybrid hearing titled: “The Immediate Challenges to our Nation’s Food Supply Chain.” Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
served as chairman of the event. In his opening statement, Rep. Scott emphasized the importance of keeping the nation’s food supply chain safe and secure.
According to Rep. Scott, the country’s food supply is currently secure. The purpose of the hearing was to ensure the nation’s food supply chain stays secure so that access to food remains abundant for the American people.
The pandemic-related supply chain issues are causing “economic hardships, delays, limited product choices, increased cost of production, and most notably,” price increases for much of the American public, Rep. Scott said.
One major logistical challenge is the dire shortage of truck drivers needed to move the nation’s food supply.
According to Rep. Scott, the truck driver shortage is the most immediate challenge facing the nation’s food supply chain. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that 90% of truck drivers leave their jobs within one year. The truck driving industry faces a significant recruitment and retention problem that lawmakers must address to ensure supply chain stability.
“We need, right now, 15,000 more commercial truck drivers,” Rep. Scott said. “If there is an Achille’s heel in our challenge, it rests with the huge vacancy in commercial truck drivers.”
Rep. Scott thanked the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who has already acted on the problem by issuing emergency funding to ensure the agriculture department can assist with the issue.
The floor then turned to Ranking Member Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) for his remarks, who stated that he believed the country is in a crisis.
“This is impacting every American family,” Rep. Thompson said.
Rep. Thompson referred to an article he read recently in “The Oil City Derrick,” detailing a local school district’s struggle to obtain 100 cases of food, the usual amount they receive from their food distributors. Because of the crisis, the district has only been receiving 50. The shortage has forced food service workers to be creative in distributing the school lunches to the kids.
“This is a ruinous crisis for our farmers and ranchers who buy retail, sell wholesale, and pay shipping each way,” Rep. Thompson said. “Increased input costs are hampering producers’ abilities to provide an affordable food and fiber supply. To add insult to injury, transportation and shipping delays have had serious consequences on our ability to export products and avoid being [outrivaled] by export competitors.”
Rep. Thompson ended his statement by communicating his desire to see the Biden administration invited to the hearing to testify on the issues since he sees them as largely culpable, or at the very least exacerbating, the current crisis.
The meeting then shifted back to the chairman, who invited other members to deliver their opening statements so that the expert witnesses could begin their testimony.
Among the distinguished panel of witnesses was Jon Schwalls, the executive officer of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., a produce growing packing and shipping facility in Norman Park, GA. Schwalls testified on behalf of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association.
The next witness was Ed Cinco, the director of purchasing for Schwebel’s Baking Company, based in Youngstown, OH. Cinco testified on behalf of the American Bakers Association.
The third witness was Greg Ferrara, president and chief executive officer of the National Grocers Association (NGA) in Washington D.C. Ferrara testified on behalf of NGA, which represents America’s 21,000 retail and wholesale grocers.
The fourth witness was Mike Durkin, president and chief executive officer of Leprino Foods Company based in Denver, CO. Durkin testified on behalf of the International Dairy Foods Association.
The fifth witness was Jon Samson, Vice President of Conferences and Executive Director of Agricultural & Food Transporters Conference, American Trucking Association, based in Arlington, VA.
The sixth and final witness was Rod Wells, chief supply chain officer of GROWMARK, Inc., based in Bloomington, IL. Wells testified on behalf of the Agricultural Retailers Association.
A full video of the hearing can be found here.
