Support Healthy, Affordable, Local and Regional Foods from Family Farms in Underserved Urban and Rural Areas
As some of you know, there is a lot of action happening on Capitol Hill right now related to the Farm Bill. House Chairman Peterson is releasing parts of his “mark” as the subcommittees meet to write their own parts of the Farm Bill. The first two subcommittees will release their ideas next week. A number of bills have been introduced in both the US House and Senate that promote access to healthy foods for all people in the United States and create new, profitable markets for small and mid-sized family farmers and ranchers.
The healthy foods sections of these bills work to increase the availability and affordability of healthy and fresh foods through existing nutrition programs, increasing fruits and vegetables in schools, promoting urban agriculture, removing barriers that have kept local farmers from selling products to schools, and supporting value-added agriculture and farmers markets.
Two bills that were introduced on May 17 are more focused on healthy, local foods: Local Food and Farm Support Act, H.R. 2364 introduced by Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, 3rd) and FOOD for a Healthy America Act, S. 1432 introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). Talking points for various issues in these bills are below.
Your voice is critical – here are a few simple things to do before June 4:
1. Call or visit your members’ district office during the week of Memorial Day, when legislators will be in their home state or district. Your legislators have a voice! Ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 2364 and endorse the healthy food provisions of S. 1432 and to tell the Agriculture Committee to include the healthy foods provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill.
2. Ask your Senators to sign on to the attached Feingold-Brown Dear Colleague letter, the deadline for sign-on is May 29th. There may be a House equivalent coming soon, so keep your eye out for that!
3. Obtain your organization’s endorsement to the sign-on letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees supporting these provisions (same as the language in the Feingold-Brown Dear Colleague). Sign-ons received before May 29th will be included in the Feingold-Brown letter to Senate Agriculture Committee leadership.
4. Write an op-ed or a letter to the editor for your local paper. Media on healthy food issues is also great to take to your legislators’ offices when you visit.
To obtain the direct number for your representative, call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. For more information, call Steph Larsen at 202-543-8602 or email at steph@foodsecurity.org.
Other provisions that you can call for in these two Bills with sections promoting healthy foods:
1. Urban Agriculture Promotion Program ($5 million in Blumenauer Bill).
2. Farmers Market Promotion Program ($25 million in Brown/Clinton)
3. Farm to Cafeteria Program ($20 million in Blumenauer and Brown/Clinton)
4. Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program ($300 million in Brown/Clinton)
5. Food Stamp Nutrition Education ($100 million in Brown/Clinton)
6. Value Added Grant Program ($60 million in Blumenauer)
7. Direct Farmer to Consumer Marketing Assistance Program ($25 million in Blumenauer)
8. WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (up to $75 million in both bills)
9. Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (up to $75 million in both bills)
10. School Preference Study (no cost – Blumenauer)
11. Food Stamp Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program (no cost – Blumenauer)
12. Evaluation of USDA Commodity Distribution (no cost – Blumenauer)
For more information contact:
Stephanie D. R. Larsen
Policy Organizer
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
