A federal program started under former President Donald Trump to get food to people left unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end, but associations representing farmers and food marketers believe the decision to stop it is a mistake.

The Farmers to Families Food Box was launched last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to get food to people suddenly out of work because of the pandemic, the news site AgWeek reported. The government hired hundreds of companies to divert food that would have otherwise been used by restaurants, schools and cruise ships before the pandemic.

Several problems plagued the food box program, including late deliveries, spoiled food and companies that appeared to charge excessive rates for shipping, according to AgWeek. USDA recently announced it would not seek to renew the program after its current funding ends in May.

In a statement, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said he was surprised to learn of the decision. The pandemic has taken an economic toll on farmers and ranchers, and the program helped prop many farmers up when their products would have otherwise gone unsold.

"More than 150 million food boxes were produced and helped America's families suffering from the hardships caused by COVID-19," Duvall said. "The need is still there."

The United Fresh Produce Association criticized the decision while noting the implementation of the food box program "certainly included challenges." Still, the delivery of fresh produce "directly to those in need has great potential to truly make a difference in the health of millions of Americans," the group said in a statement.

"Ending the program abruptly rather than looking for ways to continue funding and to improve its execution is a terrible mistake as the COVID crisis has most seriously impacted those with diet-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes, with greater hospitalization rates and even death compared with healthier populations," the association said.

The Produce Marketing Association also urged USDA to reconsider its decision, listing several recommendations to address the program's problems. (PMA and United Fresh recently announced they would merge to form a new association in 2022.)

"Now is a great opportunity to transition what was created out of a crisis to a process that can move otherwise excess product to segments of the population that do not have access to nutrition," PMA said. "In addressing nutritional security needs of certain segments of the population, it is critical to capitalize on private-public partnerships."

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