Improving Access to Healthy Food

2012 Senate Agriculture Farm Bill Summary

With wide bipartisan support, the Senate Agriculture Committee, led by Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS),  passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (the Farm Bill), which for the first time will officially establish a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) at the United States Department of Agriculture with up to $125 million available for the program. (See here for the press release.)  The addition of HFFI will significantly strengthen nationwide efforts to increase access to healthy foods -- particularly in low-income communities and communities of color.  It will also help to revitalize low-income communities by bringing in new, vibrant, healthy food retail and by creating and preserving quality jobs for local residents.  The incorporation of HFFI into the Farm Bill is a powerful step towards creating equitable and sustainable access to fresh and healthy foods across America.

The Farm Bill, the nation’s most powerful tool for food and farm policy is renewed every five years and has far-reaching policies, including those governing SNAP (food stamps), the nation’s largest program for hungry children and families, and different approaches to support the entire food system from production to distribution to retail.  The bill includes a change in certain SNAP provisions resulting in a $4.5 billion decrease in the program that will decrease some families’ monthly benefits.  Senator Gillibrand is expected to offer an amendment on this provision when the bill is debated on the Senate Floor. 

Below is a summary of some key provisions in the Farm Bill that support healthy food initiatives:

• Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. Expanding the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program to increase consumption and access to locally and regionally produced food, and include additional outlets for processing, aggregating, marketing, and distributing local foods.  Funding is doubled to $20 million in mandatory funds per year for five years.
• Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.  Maintains mandatory funding at $20 million per year to provide assistance to low-income seniors and ensure access to local food at farmers’ markets.  
• Specialty Crop Block Grants.  Increases funding to $70 million per year for five years from the current level of $55 million per year and allows for collaborative projects among multiple states.
• Community Food Projects Program.  Doubles mandatory funding for this program from $5 million per year to $10 million per year to support the development of comprehensive projects to fight food insecurity and increase the self-reliance of communities in providing food.
• Improves SNAP Redemption at Farmers' Markets, Mobile Markets, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  Authorizes pilot programs to test mobile technology and online ordering as well as ease SNAP redemption at CSAs.
• Hunger-Free Community Incentive Grants.  Creates a new local fruit and vegetable incentive grant program to increase purchases by SNAP customers at farmers’ markets and other healthy food retailers with mandatory funding totaling $100 million over five years.
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.  Maintains current funding levels at $150 million for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.  
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).  Maintains current funding levels of $187 million to serve low-income seniors.  However, the bill did not provide the $5 million needed to expand service to six new USDA-approved states.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).  WIC is funded at $7.041 billion. According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this level will fully fund current and projected caseload.  Funding for other WIC programs is as follows: $60 million for breastfeeding peer counselors, $14 million for infrastructure, $30 million for management information systems, and $16.5 million for WIC Farmers' Markets.  Note that WIC funding is not mandatory and therefore needs to be formally reviewed and approved each year through the budget process.
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Commodities:  An additional $50 million for mandatory TEFAP commodities, bringing the total increase to TEFAP in the Senate Farm Bill to $150 million.  Much of this funding is front loaded into the first five years of the bill in recognition of current elevated need.    
• The Emerson/Leland Hunger Fellowship Program is funded at $2 million.

Next Steps:
This Senate Ag bill is expected to next head to the Senate floor for consideration. Meanwhile, the House Agriculture Committee has started hearings around their version of the farm bill and is expected to move forward in the coming months. It is unclear if Congress will be able to complete the farm bill process before the end of September when certain provisions will expire.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have started deliberations around the FY13 funding process. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education (LHHS) will both consider their funding bills in the coming weeks.

In addition to the Senate Farm Bill, a bipartisan coalition introduced legislation in late 2011 to formally establish and invest $125 million in the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The Senate and House bills (S. 1926, H.R. 3525) will invest $125 million to reduce the number of low‐income Americans living in areas with inadequate access to healthy food – all while helping combat the childhood obesity crisis nationwide and potentially creating or preserving thousands of permanent and construction jobs. The Senate lead sponsor is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D‐NY), with co‐sponsors John Tester (D‐MT), Al Franken (DMN), Bob Casey (D‐PA), Tom Harkin (D‐IA), Bernie Sanders (I‐VT), Debbie Stabenow (D‐MI), Sherrod Brown (DOH), Chuck Schumer (D‐NY), Frank Lautenberg (D‐NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D‐OR).  The House lead sponsor is Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D‐PA‐13), with co‐sponsors Rep. Michael Burgess (R‐TX‐26) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D‐OR‐3).  See here for more information on the legislation.

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge also introduced a farm bill marker bill, the Let’s Grow Act of 2012, which would establish a Healthy Food Financing Initiative to improve access to healthy food.

To sign up for updates and help keep the momentum for HFFI going, CLICK HERE.

State and City HFFI Efforts

Efforts are underway in several states and cities to replicate the successful Pennsylvania FFFI program. Legislation has been passed and/or projects are underway in: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Detroit, D.C., New York City, and New Orleans. See here for more details about other states programs.

For information on California efforts, see the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative and the California FreshWorks Fund.