Following several weeks of intense work, the Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council (FASCC) are pleased to report that the discussions with FEMA's Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force have resulted in its identification of distributors (with contact information provided) that have or soon will have significant quantities of PPE available, including non-medical-grade facemasks (including cloth masks). These distributors are prepared to receive requests from entities within the food and agriculture sector that have an immediate need for PPE that cannot be satisfied through their existing distributors.
Importantly, your company may already have agreements in place with one or more of these distributors. If so, we encourage you to reach out to your existing points of contact to explore options that may be available to meet their immediate and future needs, recognizing that doing so may necessitate having agreements with multiple distributors. We understand that the FEMA Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force is in frequent dialogue with these distributors and has urged prioritization of food and agriculture sector needs immediately behind the health care and medical sector whenever possible.
In a separate but related effort, we have worked on a prioritization document that is intended to provide a framework for both members of the food and agriculture sector and distributors that provide PPE, disinfectants and sanitation supplies. We are in the process of exploring ways to get that document issued through official channels and will keep you posted. We will continue to promote within the federal government prioritization of PPE, disinfectants and sanitation supplies for the food and agriculture sector, and explore options available through existing emergency-management processes, as well as the parallel efforts of the FEMA Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force.
