Active Citizens, Healthy Foods U.S. Food and Farm Policy

1. Active Citizens, Healthy Foods U.S. Food and Farm Policy The 2007 Farm Bill and Beyond Seattle/King County AFPC August 18, 2006

2. Why care about food and farm policy? • 11% of the US population are food insecure-they don’t know where their next meal is will come from • Over 65% of the U.S. population is obese or overweight (Center for Disease Control) • 16% of children are overweight or obese, with the rates increasing each year (Center for Disease Control) • 11 million acres of farmland was lost between 1992-1997(Farmland Information Center: National Statistics Sheet)

3. More reasons to care about food and farm policy… • It affects the quality and cost of our food, the livelihood of our farmers and the cleanliness of our air and water • Citizen pressure on government creates policies that are more reflective of citizens’ needs and values • If we say nothing, then nothing will change for the better!

4. You should also care about food and farm policy if any of the following is true: • You care about where your food comes from and how it is grown • You want your school to be able to buy food from local farmers • You think every person should be able to get healthy and affordable food • You believe in Fair Trade • You believe in farm worker and immigrant rights • You want to protect the land, air and water • You are concerned about the supply of food in times of high energy costs and national vulnerability

5. At the national level, CFSC and its partners attempt to influence the direction of farm and food policy through: • Annual appropriations (the budget) • Administrative action with federal agencies • Child Nutrition Reauthorization • The Farm Bill • Federal - State policy linkages

6. Conventional policy cycle funding allocated (appropriate) monitoring & evaluation policy mandate (authorize) program design (rulemaking) implementation at local levels Local community and field impacts A.Getz-Escudero

7. What is the Farm Bill? • A broad package of proposals (“titles”) for new programs and changes to existing ones • Reauthorized about every five years • some programs also have to go through a yearly “appropriations” process to get funding • Last Farm Bill passed in 2002

8. The Farm Bill is not just about farming… • There are 12 titles of the farm bill that address a range of issues including: • Local Food System Development • Protection of air and water • Sustainable Agriculture • Access to healthy foods • Public Health • International trade • Rural Development • Farm worker rights • Nutrition Assistance

9. Some examples from the 2002 Farm Bill • USDA Community Food Projects: Resources for innovative solutions to community food and nutrition problems • USDA Value Added Producer Grants: Resources for processing innovation • Farmers Market Coupon Programs: for low income families and seniors to purchase food at farmers markets.

10. Programs in past Farm Bills • Food Stamp Program Changes: Restored partial benefits to legal immigrants • USDA Office of Civil Rights and Office of Outreach: Outreach and accountability to ensure fair access to services, funds and programs for farmers of color, limited resource and other socially disadvantaged farmers

11. Programs [cont] • Conservation Security Program: Rewards farmers for farming practices that protect water, soil and air quality • Regional planning and technical assistance grants: Funds innovative linkages and partnerships that enhance food security and farm support such as FPCs

12. Programs Not in the Farm Bill • Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act • Farm to School • Child Nutrition Programs (School Breakfast, Lunch Summer Food) • WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children)

13. Potential influences on the upcoming Farm Bill: • World Trade Organization negotiation may restrict U.S. farm subsidies • Taxpayer concern about high crop subsidy payments • Federal Budget pressures caused by Iraq, Katrina and tax cuts • Soaring energy costs affecting food prices • Diet-related health problems, e.g. obesity • Homeland security, food security and preparedness issues (post Hurricane Katrina)

14. New Markets Healthy Food and Communities Stewardship Family Farms Farm and Food Policy Project (FFPP) • Collaboration of hundreds of diverse organizations united by a vision of a sustainable food and agricultural system

15. multiple issue groups sharing vision and finding common ground

16. Issue advocacy overlaps & scales National policy organizations Regional & State Networks Urban & Rural Grassroots movements environment agriculture public health anti-hunger/nutrition

17. Healthy Food and Communities Workgroup • Five Goals • End Hunger and Increase Healthy Food Access • Create a Food and Agricultural System that Enhances Health • Increase Local and Regional Food Security • Orient Research and Development Programs to Promote Innovative Solutions to Problems • Protect the Health and Economic Opportunities of Vulnerable People

18. End Hunger and Increase Healthy Food Access • Food Stamp Program • Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program • Retail access to healthy foods • Public education for hunger prevention • Encourage increased consumption of healthful food products by low-income people

19. Create a Food and Agricultural System that Enhances Health • Only healthy foods in schools • Local/regional food in cafeterias • Improved labeling standards • Limit non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock

20. Increase Local and Regional Food Security • Increased institutional purchase of local and regional products • Expand Community Food Projects Grants • Establish “community food reserves for food security” in all regions • Increase urban agriculture opportunities

21. Orient Research and Development Programs to Promote Innovative Solutions • Community-based participatory research • Better monitoring and evaluation of USDA programs • Research on health impacts of food and farming systems

22. Protect the Health and Economic Opportunities of Vulnerable People • Reduce promotion of unhealthy food to children • Ensure safe working conditions and decent wages for all food system workers • Halt the disproportionate loss of farmland by people of color • Expand farm programs that serve young, women, people of color, and new farmers

23. Other FFPP Workgroups • Family Farm Revitalization • Goal: improve viability of small and mid-sized family farms and ranches and provide new opportunities in sustainable agriculture • Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program • Farm and Ranch Stewardship • Goal: reward farmers and ranchers for environment-friendly practices • Technical assistance • Strengthening and expansion of cooperatives and partnerships

24. Other FFPP workgroups [cont] • New Agricultural Markets • Goal: enhance market opportunities for small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers • Value-Added Producer Grant Program • Support for transition to organic or other sustainable practices

25. Health: A driving force for the next Farm Bill Healthy Food Healthy Farms Healthy Communities

26. Ways to get involved… • Additional Information Resources: • www.ssawg.org/cfs-handbook.html • www.foodsecurity.org/Fed_Policy_Advocacy_Handbook.pdf • www.dchunger.org/pdf/healthfoodcomm.pdf • www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/ • www.thefoodproject.org/ • Policy Infrastructure • www.westernsawg.org(regional) • www.wrahc.org(regional) • www.frac.org (national) • www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/nana.html(national) • www.foodsecurity.org(national) • www.sustainableagriculture.net(national) • www.farmandfoodproject.org(national)

27. FEDERAL POLICY ADVOCACY HANDBOOK Barrett Ebright, Congressional Hunger Fellow In collaboration with Sarah Borron, CFSC Policy

28. May stretch into 2008 or beyond? Farm Bill benchmarks & milestones ahead February 2007 Mark up begins (earliest estimate) October Initial trial bills and adoption of initiatives September Launch of initiatives. July-August Field Outreach June Draft blueprint of initiatives

29. Ways to get involved…[cont] • Write letters and op-eds to your local newspapers • Make sure your organization is involved with the Farm Bill and FFPP discussions - participate in policy work groups and committees • Educate and motivate others to become involved and voice their thoughts • Be ready to respond to legislative alerts and contact your representatives in Congress • Invite representatives or their staff to visit field or community food projects you are involved in • For more information, contact Steph Larsen: 202-543-8602 or steph@foodsecurity.org

30. Remember… what you eat you are, but how you vote and engage policy determines what you eat!