An environmental group is asking the Agriculture Department’s internal watchdog to probe how the agency is funding summer festivals on the National Mall.
At issue are two events — this summer’s Great American State Fair set to begin later this month and last year’s Great American Farmers Market supported through corporate contributions to the USDA-affiliated National Forest Foundation.
In a letter to Inspector General John Walk, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility cited the political undertones to this summer’s event, organized by the White House-connected partnership called Freedom 250. The environmental group asked Walk to delve into reports that USDA is using employees and department resources to support Freedom 250 programming.
The group also raised questions around the National Forest Foundation’s support for a USDA farmer’s market event last summer that promoted agriculture broadly, with some programming related to forestry.
