The Slow Food USA Blog

Farm Bill Update

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By: Richard McCarthy, Executive Director of Slow Food USA

You are never going to believe this. We may finally have a Farm Bill.

Slow Food USA has been tracking this piece of legislation since the beginning and here is where it is ending up….

The GOOD news: The bill contains important commitments that grow the alternative:

• $100 million for SNAP incentives;
• $20 million for the Farmers Market Promotion Program;
• Senior/Farmers Market Nutrition Program;
• SARE; value-added and risk management funds for farmers to navigate uncertainty
• Community Food Projects that place community at the center of our agricultural strategies

The BAD news: There is much that is bad, including the House version’s $21 billion ten-year cut to SNAP. It represents half of the overall $40 billion cut. This negatively affects 2.5 million hungry people in the U.S. who depend on SNAP to feed their families.

We care about the good, clean AND fair; and this is simply NOT FAIR.

There is still a narrow sliver of time to make your voice heard. Contact your House Representative today. »

The House has stalled progress in the past. Though imperfect, this Farm Bill is better than no Farm Bill. I would encourage House members to restore SNAP funding and to pass a Farm Bill.

We applaud those of you who have rolled up your sleeves to help shape national policy. It’s no picnic. At this critical juncture, consider and share with us on Facebook...

• Why has this Farm Bill taken so long? Is the consensus that once shepherded Farm Bills of the past now eroding?
• From where are good, clean and fair food policies born? In think tanks or through creative action at the local level?
• Where are existing policies preventing you from growing a new world within the shell of the old? And how will you respond?

Once this hurdle is crossed, let’s get back to our farms, boats, dinner tables, markets, gardens, and kitchens to create the conditions that make the Slow Food choice possible.