Farm to School & Community Food Security
There is ample evidence that our food policies are deficient in ensuring every American has access to healthy, affordable food. At the same time that rates of overweight and obesity are rising, especially in youth, there are 35 million people living within the U.S. that are food insecure-or do not know if they will be able to afford to feed everyone in their household.
Despite the challenges, there are policy innovations that can help to address the diet-related health epidemic facing our country, while also supporting sustainable agriculture and farming livelihoods. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) supports the work of the Community Food Security Coalition who successfully won mandatory funding for the Community Food Project Grants program (CFP) in the 2008 Farm Bill. The CFP program addresses food insecurity by providing grants for the development of community-based food projects in low-income communities.
In 2009 and 2010, NSAC is working with the Farm to School Network, the Community Food Security Coalition and others to win mandatory funding for the Farm to Cafeteria program in the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization. Farm to Cafeteria would help schools procure healthy fruits, vegetables, meats, and other agricultural products from farmers and ranchers in their region to use for school lunches.
Actions Taken: