Farm Bill? Why should I care?

Are you a farmer? Probably very few of you are as there are fewer and fewer of us every day. So for most of you reading this you may not feel any real connection or hold any real interest in the 2023 Farm Bill. After all, if you aren’t a farmer why would you? But you are reading this article and because of that you must have some interest in hunger and food insecurity, right?

That means you do in fact have a definite connection and interest in the Farm Bill.

Okay, so you may be a bit confused at this point, after all, isn’t the Farm Bill about farming and agriculture programs? I recently returned from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Advocacy Fly-In because yes, I’m part of a farm family. As part of our advocacy efforts I met with Senator Brown and Senator Vance’s team along with Congressman Troy Balderson, Congressman Max Miller, and Congressman Mike Carey of the Ohio delegation.

In addition I also heard from the Congressional leadership of the Agriculture Committees, Senators Stabenow (D - MI) and Boozman (R - AR) and Congressmen Thompson (R - PA) and Scott (D - GA), regarding progress on the bill. Again, you are probably asking “what does this have to do with hunger and food insecurity?”

The Farm Bill and SNAP

That’s right, 81.1% of the farm bill funding is for SNAP (sometimes called Food Stamps) and nutrition programs! And as Farm Bureau members from across the country met with their delegations we were asked to make two points about the bill:

            1) we need the bill to be passed this year, and

            2) we need the nutrition programs to remain a part of the bill.
 

"Food security is a national security issue"

As AFBF’s president Zippy Duval has repeatedly stated “food security is a national security issue”. We need to make sure that nutrition programs such as SNAP, WIC (Women, Infants and Children), CSFP (a senior food box program), and TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) that helps the pantry source food stay intact and funded. And that is why the 2023 Farm Bill matters to all of us.

We are seeing huge rollbacks in SNAP benefits, hitting at a particularly challenging time with kids home from school for the summer and food prices climbing. Our neighbors need all the help they can get and the farm bill is part of the solution. Maintaining funding for these programs along with support for the agriculture community who feeds us all is critical to our security. If you have the opportunity to reach out to your representatives feel free to share your thoughts on the importance of the farm bill…your neighbors are counting on it! Food pantries are counting on it, and yes, farm families like mine are as well. After all, we feed America!

Thanking you for your support!