Government cheese

"[2] The cheese was provided monthly, in unsliced block form, with generic product labeling and packaging.

During the same time in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan's administration cut the budget on the US federal food stamp program.

[1] On December 22, 1981, Reagan signed and authorized into law the finalized version of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, which called for five hundred and sixty million pounds (250,000 metric tons) of cheese stockpiled by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to be released, saying that it would ... "…be distributed free to the needy by nonprofit organizations."

A total of more than 560 million pounds [250,000 t] of cheese has already been consigned to warehouses, so more distributions may be necessary as we continue our drive to root out waste in government and make the best possible use of our nation's resources.

One representative from the United States Department of Agriculture remarked, "Probably the cheapest and most practical thing would be to dump it in the ocean.

"[5] The bill, while initially receiving significant support from the divided Congress, just barely passed the Democratic-controlled House by a count of 205 for and 203 against.

On August 23, 2016, the US Department of Agriculture stated that it planned to purchase approximately eleven million pounds (5,000 t) of cheese,[6] worth $20 million,[7] to give aid to food banks and food pantries from across the United States,[6] to reduce a $1.2 billion[7] cheese surplus that had been at its highest level in thirty years, and to stabilize farm prices.

USDA will continue to look for ways within its authorities to tackle food insecurity and provide for added stability in the marketplace.

[11] In particular, a 2022 article by Modern Farmer began circulating on social media, implying all of the USDA's 1.5 billion pounds of cheese were stored in a series of caves near Springfield, Missouri.

The government also sold cheese at discounted prices (or even gave it away free of charge) to foreign countries.

[15] The Food Security Act of 1985 (the 1985 farm bill) attempted to reduce milk production, but has been labeled as a "hodgepodge of misdirected political compromise.