The Farm Bill IS a food bill

The Senate Ag Committee has proposed the ‘Ag Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012’ as the primary legislation for agriculture policy and food policy in the United States for the next 5 years. This bill, although seen as an agricultural bill, is primarily dedicated to its Nutrition title with over 60% of its funds going to nutrition programs.

With all programs in jeopardy of being cut, the Nutrition title would lose $4 billion over a 10 year period with the Senate proposed bill, while the House is still working on a version which may put higher cuts under the Nutrition title.

With all programs in jeopardy of being cut, the Nutrition title would lose $4 billion over a 10 year period with the Senate proposed bill, while the House is still working on a version which may put higher cuts under the Nutrition title.

The majority of the $4 billion cut would come from losing the ‘Heat & Eat’ program, used by 14 states, including PA, which coordinates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Without this program, families on already tight budgets would have to choose between energy needs and food supply.

Laura Tobin Goddard, Interim Executive Director of the PA Hunger Action Center, is working to end hunger and food insecurity in PA. She comments that the Center is “adamantly opposed to getting rid of that program [Heat & Eat], those families need all that they can get,” and that “a lot of seniors benefit from ‘Heat & Eat’.”

The revisions to the Nutrition title of the Farm Bill are seeking to tighten loopholes to prevent fraudulent use of SNAP benefits and other abuses in food assistance programs. Winners of the lottery would be required to give up any benefits previously received. There is also a new limit on eligibility for college students based on Perkins program criteria.  Participating retailers would also be required to offer more staple foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and it would prohibit retailers with sales higher than 45% of liquor and tobacco from participating.

The new proposal would change the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) from serving pregnant, breastfeeding and new mothers and senior citizen populations to only providing assistance to senior citizens. Women currently in the program would continue until passing the age of eligibility, while new women would transfer to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

In PA, Hunger Free PA  partners with the PA Department of Agriculture to administer CSFP. Laura Tobin Goddard explains “all in all, this program change will lower food insecurity. WIC-eligible mothers and children will have WIC, and the growing number of seniors on waiting lists throughout the state will finally be able to participate in CSFP.”

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) would see a small increase in funding allowing it to increase assistance to food banks. A variety of programs would see their funding retained such as nutrition education, Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and the Department of Defense Fresh Program along with others.

As a participating state of the ‘Heat & Eat’ program Pennsylvania low income families may have to choose between benefits if this ‘Ag Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012’ is passed. In Adams County there is a 9.9% rate of poverty with 15.9% of children living in poverty.

Ms. Goddard of the PA Hunger Action Center recalls the first time she saw snippets from the 1968 CBS documentary “Hunger In America”, images from which still haunt her. “As a nation, we seem to have forgotten the widespread hunger and malnutrition in parts of the United States—that some children actually starved to death. It’s just not the place we want to go back to. SNAP is America’s biggest safety net; anything that erodes benefits is not good for anybody.” SNAP use has always seen an increase during economically tough times, and Ms. Goddard urges that “now is not the time” to cut benefits for already needy families.

While SNAP benefits can help these families, it is still simply a supplemental program. If a family wants to receive benefits from the SNAP program a family of three must earn less than $29,648 annually, yet in Adams County to cover living expenses a family of three must earn at least $39,432 according to the Adams County Food Policy Council. That’s nearly a $10,000 difference in what is considered a livable wage.

Currently the SNAP program will allow a maximum allotment or benefit to families or individuals based on the expectation that households spend about 30 percent of their income on food. An individual must make less than $1,452 gross monthly to receive a maximum of $200 allotment in PA. In the United States in 2011 the average monthly allotment per person was $133.85 and $284 per household, based on a poverty income of $10,400 annually.

The Economic Research Service of the USDA found a decline of “4.4 percent in the prevalence of poverty due to SNAP benefits, while the average decline in the depth and severity of poverty was 10.3 and 13.2 percent, respectively. SNAP benefits had a particularly strong effect on child poverty, reducing its depth by an average of 15.5 percent and its severity by an average of 21.3 percent from 2000 to 2009.”

Almost all supermarkets and convenience stores accept SNAP benefits through EBT cards, which are recharged monthly with an individual’s allotments. Since 2011 the Adams County Farmers Market Association has been accepting SNAP benefits at three local farmer’s markets at the Outlets and the Rec Park in Gettysburg. This service not only allows low income residents to support local farmers, but also allows them to participate in the Double Your Dollars program. This program is sponsored by the Adams County Community Foundation and will match $10 of SNAP benefits with an additional $10 in market tokens.

Yet it is not only families considered living in ‘poverty’ who are struggling. The Adams County Food Policy Council has established the Fair Share Project, in collaboration with the Adams County Community Foundation, to aid families in the food gap of 160-250% or higher of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines. These families do not qualify for SNAP benefits and do not earn an adequate amount to cover essential living expenses. This year the program will support 40 eligible families with $40 of food vouchers per month to be used at local markets.

Both of these programs aim to aid food insecure families, support local agriculture and educate families about healthy eating.

Congress hopes to pass the Farm Bill before the upcoming Presidential Election to offset having to extend the 2008 Farm Bill and pushing its renewal into next year.

Any interests and comments for the 2012 Farm Bill may be made to respective Senate and House committees. 

Robert Casey Jr. serves for Pennsylvania on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, contact him in Harrisburg toll free at 866-461-9159. 

The House Ag committee has two PA representatives, Glenn Thompson (202) 225-5121 and Tim Holden (202) 225-5546, who can be reached at their offices.