Farm Bill

Overview

The Academy is advocating for the 118th U.S. Congress to pass a Farm Bill that maintains the integrity of nutrition assistance programs, ensures vital funding for nutrition education and nutrition research, and improves marketplace, demand and equitable access to nourishing foods.

The Farm Bill ensures we have a safe and affordable food supply that enhances the health of the nation. The last Farm Bill (Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) is up for reauthorization this year; in preparation, the Academy's Farm Bill Work Group has developed the following recommendations.

Summary

• Recommendations from the Academy: Priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill (PDF)
• 2023 Farm Bill Priorities: Leave Behind (PDF)

Key Points

Recommendation: Support nutrition security and health equity; improve access to healthful and culturally appropriate foods and resources to prepare them.

Goal: Strengthen and expand federal nutrition programs and interventions that improve nutrition security and promote health equity.

The Academy supports:

Nutrition Education for the Public

• Funding for a training and technical assistance resource center to provide training and evidence-based support for
  federal nutrition education programs.
• Expanding SNAP-Ed funds from $450M to at least $900M annually to ensure equity and access to this program and allowing flexibilities for SNAP-Ed agencies to tailor nutrition education for local needs.
• Doubling the investment in the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and eliminating the mandatory state match.
• Providing sufficient funds for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).
• Exploring ways to increase community and stakeholder involvement in nutrition education interventions.

Federal Nutrition Programs

• Increasing access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by modernizing benefit delivery, eliminating online grocery delivery fees, raising older adult participation, and bringing parity to U.S. territories.
• Ensuring SNAP benefit adequacy and encouraging technology innovations so that people can afford healthful foods that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Updating SNAP retailer standards and expanding types of retailers to increase access and availability to healthful foods
• Lowering barriers to SNAP participation among military members/families, college students, immigrants, and people with disabilities.
• Authorizing The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) mandatory funds of at least $500M annually due to sustained high need at food banks nationwide.
• Increasing funds for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and for programs that reach children in schools including the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable and the Farm to School Programs.
• Reauthorizing and increasing funds for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and bringing in the two remaining states of Alabama and Wyoming.
• Enabling Tribal governments to administer all federal nutrition programs and expand Native-grown procurement options within these programs.
• Making it possible for eligible people to access the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and SNAP in the same month.

Recommendation: Create a diverse workforce and ensure sound science and program evaluation for future evidence-based decision making that is grounded in promoting health equity.

Goal: Adequate funding in workforce development programs and a strong science portfolio that informs development and enhancement of nutrition program content and high-quality, systematic monitoring and evaluation provide guidance for structuring and strengthening consumer education implementation and delivery systems.

The Academy supports:

• Directing federal funding for nutrition monitoring that helps understand how to better reach those most vulnerable.
• Increasing funds for the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative, specifically to train a diverse agriculture and nutrition workforce and to research the intersection of human nutrition, agriculture and climate change.
• Increasing funds for Human Nutrition Research Centers and strengthening linkages to nutrition programming and nutrition education research through the Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research.
• Maintaining funds for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
• Increasing funds for the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative.
• Funding evaluation and program expertise to examine health outcomes related to nutrition status. 

Recommendation: Support initiatives that foster a healthful and sustainable food system.

Goal: Support producers and retailers of all sizes, with an emphasis on those from underrepresented groups to meet current and future demand for healthful and diverse foods.

The Academy supports:

• Funding and supporting initiatives that expand availability of regionally grown food; incentivizing healthful food; evaluating program effectiveness; improving diet quality, food security and fiscal responsibility.
• Providing solutions and funding targeted to reach people who live in areas with low access to healthful food including reauthorizing the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
• Funding and supporting efforts to ensure the next generation of farmers—including those from historically marginalized communities—have access to land, skills and incentives to grow healthful foods to promote health equity.
• Funding and supporting conservation, subsidy, and insurance programs that safeguard soil, water, air, habitat, and biodiversity and promote sustainability, carbon emission reduction, and nutrition quality.
• Increasing funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grants to support food safety and increasing dietary diversity to help people achieve the guidelines.
• Supporting supply chain innovation for food retail outlets to promote regional agriculture and food security.

Get involved and connect with fellow Academy members to advocate for top policy priorities impacting our profession. The Nutrition Security Affinity Group meets the first Wednesday of every month for a forum-based event where staff, policy leaders and members discuss Academy advocacy priorities and strategies, share their experience and determine how they can become involved in advocating.