2012 FARM BILL UPDATE
Photo taken from inside combine on Jim & Teresa Peltier's Farm
2012 Farm Bill and the 111th Congress
Some organizations are calling for these top three priorities in the Farm Bill:
- Strengthening local food infrastructure;
- Linking SNAP to local and healthy food
- Food access/eliminating food deserts.
Other possible areas of focus are: supporting urban/community-based agriculture, supporting community food projects, and supporting beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers.
Every five years, Congress renews the “Farm Bill,” a comprehensive piece of legislation that includes farm and agricultural policies and that also includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The last Farm Bill was passed in 2008. It made several improvements to help the tens of millions of people in this country who are struggling against hunger and trying to stretch limited budgets to buy health
However, on October 18, 2011 — Farm bill legislation (S1658/ H.R. 3111) that Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Representative Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) introduced a Farm bill legislation (S. 1658 and HR 3111) that would cut spending on the nutrition title of the Farm Bill by $14 billion over ten years. It would eliminate SNAP eligibility for one million hungry people,(SNAP- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-formerly known as Food Stamps), would deprive 200,000 children of school meals, increase penalties and administrative burdens on states, and cut out SNAP Employment and Training services. This bill was sent to the Deficit “Super committee”.
With millions of people struggling against food hardship and joblessness in the midst of ongoing high unemployment and underemployment, the nation’s safety net needs to be strengthened, not undercut. We need to oppose S. 1658 in the Senate and H.R. 3111 in the House. More on this in the next few weeks.