NEW YORK (WKBW) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase surplus Concord grape juice for federal nutrition programs after hundreds of grape growers in Western New York and Pennsylvania lost contracts earlier this year, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Tuesday.
The purchase, funded through Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, is intended to provide relief to growers after Refresco, a major grape processor, canceled contracts with about 126 farmers in the Lake Erie grape-growing region after many had already invested in preparing their vineyards for the season.
Schumer and Gillibrand had urged USDA officials to make the purchase during a visit last week with grape growers in Chautauqua County, New York, one of the nation’s largest Concord grape-producing regions outside California…