Agricultural policy that bolsters community economic development serves as a cornerstone of NSAC’s advocacy. Within this framework, we support strong Rural Development programs that target small business development and job creation. Similarly, NSAC recognizes the economic opportunities inherent in food produced for local markets and thus urge Congress to address infrastructure and information barriers to […]
Nutrition & Food Access
House Agriculture Committee Passes Budget Reconciliation Bill, Announced Farm Bill Hearings
On Wednesday, April 18, the House Agriculture Committee passed a budget reconciliation bill on a partisan vote that proposes to cut $33.2 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over ten years. In its fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget resolution, the House Budget Committee directed the House Agriculture Committee to cut $33.2 billion over […]
Request for Applications for Farm to School Grants
On April 17, USDA announced new funding that aims to provide fresh, healthy food for children in schools across America, and to bolster and sustain local farmers and ranchers. The agency said today that $3.5 million in funding will be available to help local school districts organize and implement Farm to School programs. These critical […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Writes a Farm Bill
The Senate Agriculture Committee is on track to meet its timeline for marking up a farm bill later this month. Agriculture staffers in the Senate have been meeting throughout the two-week Congressional Easter recess to discuss issues and proposals. The Senate Agriculture Committee leadership is writing a draft of the farm bill – known as […]
Apply Now for 2012 Farmers’ Market Promotion Program
On April 6, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will publish the 2012 Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP) in the Federal Register. For 2012, $10 million dollars in competitive grant funds are available for projects that expand direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Grant funds may be used for the establishment […]
National Public Health Week: April 2-8, 2012
April 2 marks the beginning of National Public Health Week, organized annually by the American Public Health Association to bring attention to current issues in public health. The first day’s “tools and tips” from APHA focus on healthy eating and supporting local food efforts. With alarming trends in overweight and obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Budget Complicates Farm Bill, but Senate Committee Will Begin Anyway
On Thursday, March 29, the House approved the FY 13 Budget Resolution introduced by Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) by a 228-191 vote, with all Democrats and 10 Republicans voting no. The budget resolution will not be taken up by the Senate and hence will only control spending actions in the House. The resolution […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: New Budget Baseline
An important step in the process of reauthorizing legislation that will include changes in mandatory spending, such as the farm bill, is establishing what the legislation would cost in the future if no changes were made and existing law were simply extended indefinitely. This is known as the budget “baseline” and becomes the yardstick that […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Holds Hearing on Healthy Food Initiatives, Local Production, and Nutrition
In its “Path to the 2012 Farm Bill” series, NSAC gets into the details of the 2012 Farm Bill debate. On Wednesday, March 7, the Senate Agriculture Committee held the third of four hearings for the 2012 Farm Bill. Hearings are an important part in the farm bill process because they bring attention to critical […]
Federal Investments in Local Food Boost Economic Growth — USDA Releases Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Report and Compass
For Immediate Release February 29, 2012 Contact: Helen Dombalis, 202-547-5754 Washington, DC, February 29, 2012 – Today USDA released a comprehensive report on its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, launched in 2009 to enhance coordination among federal programs that in various ways help to build local and regional farm and food systems. “This […]
2011 Community Food Projects Awardees Named
On Wednesday, February 15, USDA announced the 2011 recipients of the Community Food Projects grants. Community Food Projects, a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) program, seeks to fight hunger and food security through community-driven food systems, specifically in low-income communities. The year’s 27 grants totaled $4.8 million. Projects funded include a teen-run […]
New Ally for Sustainable Agriculture in the Finance Department
Non-profit, community lenders get involved in healthy food supply chain by guest bloggers Nessa Richman, Brightseed Strategies and Patty Cantrell, Regional Food Solutions Loan funds, credit unions, community development corporations—these mission-driven organizations traditionally provide credit and financial services to poor and underserved urban and rural areas. Yet food and farming rarely registered on their radar […]
Obama’s FY 2013 USDA Budget Request
On Monday, February 13, President Obama submitted his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. For sustainable agriculture interests, the budget proposal is a mixed bag, with big cuts to working lands conservation programs, and both cuts and increases to discretionary spending accounts for sustainable agriculture programs. As far as the upcoming 2012 […]
U.S. Conference of Mayors Establishes Food Policy Task Force
At its January meeting in Washington, DC, the U.S. Conference of Mayors established a food policy task force to be headed up by Mayor Tom Menino of Boston and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore. The group will spend the next six months collecting information and drafting a report for consideration at the Conference of Mayors’ […]
Healthy Food Financing Initiative FY 2012 Appropriations Funding
As we reported in an earlier blog post, in mid-December Congress passed a “megabus” appropriations bill that included FY 2012 appropriations funding for numerous departments including Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Included in this package is $32 million in funding for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. HFFI aims to […]
Healthy Food Financing Initiative Re-Introduced in Congress
On Wednesday, November 30, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA-13) introduced identical bills (S.1926/H.R. 3525) in the Senate and House, respectively, to establish a Healthy Food and Financing Initiative (HFFI) within the USDA. Five Representatives and 10 Senators joined as original cosponsors. The initiative would authorize a $125 million program providing one-time […]
Food and Farm Bill Alive in 2012!
Dear Supporters, We previously reported to you that a 2011 Food and Farm Bill appeared imminent. Days before Thanksgiving the Congressional “Super Committee” failed to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in budget cuts. With that, the 2011 Farm Bill proposal intended for inclusion in the Super Committee’s deficit reduction bill is thus no more. The […]
The Farm Bill is Dead! Long Live the Farm Bill! – Part Two
In part one of this post, we discuss what might be next for the ongoing congressional budget debate and in turn for the new farm bill. In part two we turn to details about what was in the short-lived and now dead 2011 Farm Bill deal. What We Know About the Farm Bill that Did […]
Chicago Council Releases Farm Bill White Paper
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has released a white paper on the next farm bill that the co-chairmen of the council’s agriculture project presented to staff members of the House and Senate agriculture committees and the super committee on September 23. The Council’s proposal is estimated to save $7.5 billion per year, or $75 […]
Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act Introduced in Congress
On Tuesday, November 1 Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) and 35 original co-sponsors introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act (S. 1773, H.R. 3286), a comprehensive bill intended for inclusion in the 2012 Farm Bill. As the Senate and House Agriculture Committee leadership work to finalize their farm bill proposal […]
“Pick Three” Action Update
Hundreds of you have called and emailed your Senators and Representatives over the last two weeks – thank you for standing up for a fair and healthy farm and food system! To remind readers of current action items, we summarized and linked three alerts below. Urgent Action Needed on the Farm Bill The food and […]
Groundbreaking Opportunity: The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act
Is supporting your local farmer, visiting your farmers market, CSA, food coop, or other local food source important to you? What about having fresh, local food for your child’s school meals? Or as a farmer or rancher, do you want to figure out ways to add value to your food products to capitalize on sales […]
Local and Regional Food Bill Prepared for Inclusion in New Farm Bill
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition For Immediate Release October 27, 2011 Contact: Helen Dombalis, Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 Local and Regional Food Bill Prepared for Inclusion in New Farm Bill Washington, D.C. October 27, 2011 – Today Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine announced that next week they will introduce the Local […]
Today is Food Day! Join us in this call to action
Today, Monday 24th 2011, is Food Day. Please join the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in answering this call to action. Healthy, green, fair, and affordable food is important to all Americans. Today we come together with people across the country who are hosting Food Day events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, […]