The Nation - News from Feb. 14, 1988

Government warehouses that once bulged with surplus cheese and other commodities are running out, forcing the Agriculture Department to cut off much of its aid to food banks and soup kitchens. Rice and honey inventories will be gone next month, and cheese and nonfat dry milk will be depleted in May, said Assistant Secretary John W. Bode, who oversees the department’s food and consumer services. “Flour, cornmeal and butter will continue as in recent months,” he said. An estimated 18 million people have been getting some free food each month through the program.