FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net
Tel. 347.563.6408
Comment: NSAC Welcomes Senate Amendment to Restore Funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
Washington, DC, September 13, 2023 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following comment, attributable to Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, in response to Senator Stabenow (D-MI) filing an amendment to restore $8.5 million in funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production to the Senate’s Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill, which is cosponsored by Senators Brown (D-OH), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Fetterman (D-PA), Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rosen (D-NV).
“NSAC applauds Senator Stabenow, Senator Heinrich and other champions as they work to restore funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). Earlier this summer, NSAC and 140 other organizations, farms, and food businesses delivered a letter to Congressional Appropriators requesting them to maintain funding for the office to help sustain its impacts across urban, suburban, and rural communities. Since OUAIP received its first appropriation in 2020, it has quickly responded to nationwide interest by investing more than $57 million through 184 grants and 82 cooperative agreements to increase the capacity of urban agriculture, innovative producers, and municipal composting initiatives in local communities across 43 states and Puerto Rico.”
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net