Calif. to return foreign food

The Associated Press
11:44 a.m. September 5, 2009

FRESNO, Calif. — The state of California is returning macaroni from Mexico and carrots from China in response to a foreign food flap.

The California Department of Social Services began distributing emergency rations earlier this week in response to a Central Valley water shortage.

Local leaders began protesting after they noticed the state was giving away foreign-produced food. U.S. Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno fired off a letter accusing the department of not supporting local farms and farmworkers.

Lizelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, blamed a contractor for not following instructions to buy food from the United States.

Lopez says only about four percent of more than $3 million worth of food came from foreign countries.
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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com

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