EC EXTENDS PARTS OF FREE FOOD FOR POOR SCHEME A scheme to distribute surplus food free to the poor in the European Community (EC), which was due to expire next Tuesday, will be partially extended for a further month, an EC Commission spokesman said. He added the executive Commission has not yet decided whether the scheme should become a permanent feature of the EC's struggle to find a use for its massive stocks of farm produce. Almost 60,000 tonnes of cereals, sugar, beef, butter and other food have been authorised for distribution under an operation sanctioned by EC farm ministers on January 20 in which charities act as executive Commission agents. The original idea was to help the needy survive this year's unusually cold European winter. The spokesman said the Commission was extending the scheme fully in Greece, which has recently been hit by unseasonal snowstorms, for the month of April. Other EC countries would be authorised to use stocks of food for which they have already applied under the scheme up to April 30. The spokesman said this would enable distribution of flour, semolina, sugar and olive oil at a relatively high rate next month. He said the Commission, which has powers to continue most aspects of the scheme without consulting ministers further, will be considering soon whether it should be made permanent. Cost, which has already reached around 65 mln European currency units, would be a major consideration. End-January stocks included 1.28 mln tonnes of butter, 520,000 tonnes of beef and over 10 mln tonnes of cereals.