412 Food Rescue Serves ALL
A response to inquiries regarding the letter from President Trump included in the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program
Since March, 412 Food Rescue and many other food rescue organizations have escalated food distribution to respond to the unprecedented rise in need caused by the pandemic. Our goal is to provide as much food support to people in our communities as we can. One crucial way we have done so is by coordinating distribution and deliveries of boxes from the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program, created as an acute response to hunger that is needed at this time.
Recently, the USDA boxes have included a letter on White House letterhead from President Trump.
With just weeks before the November 3 Presidential election, we are receiving many inquiries from our community with questions about whether it’s ethical or legal to deliver a much-needed box of fresh food to a person in need that includes a letter of this nature.
501(c)(3) nonprofits around the country like ours that are involved in distributing these USDA food boxes are careful about any appearance of a violation of the rules regarding tax-exempt status. As the IRS states, “all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
We want to be clear. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we do not lobby for or against or endorse political candidates.
Our goal is to serve ALL who need support, regardless of political affiliation.
Moving forward, we will be including voter resource information with each box we distribute.
Hunger is not political. We believe that everyone has a right to healthy food and we, along with our volunteers, food donors and nonprofit partners, are working especially hard during this crisis to do all we can to continue to respond to the food insecurity our country is facing.
Leah Lizarondo
Co-Founder and CEO
412 Food Rescue
