Early in the morning of Friday, October 21, the Senate voted (83-16) to end debate on a fiscal year 2012 (FY12) appropriations package of bills including the FY12 Senate agriculture appropriations bill. No more than 30 more hours of debate will be allowed before the bill is voted upon once the Senate returns from its […]
Nutrition & Food Access
What? Food and Farm Bill Over in 9 days?
Only once every 5 years do you have the opportunity to truly transform our food and farm system through the federal farm bill. Last Monday the Agriculture Committee leadership proposed to rewrite the food and farm bill in 2 weeks – yes you heard that right, 2 weeks – this is usually a year plus […]
Agriculture Committee Leader Letter Sent to Super Committee
Over the weekend we reported the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees had not finalized their letter to the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the Super Committee) recommended cuts to farm bill programs. That letter became final today and has been sent to the Super […]
No Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Letter Yet
The October 14 deadline for the authorizing committees of Congress to send their deficit reduction recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (often referred to as the Super Committee) has passed without a letter from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Word from the House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over the farm […]
2011 Specialty Crop Block Grants Announced
On Wednesday, October 5, USDA Deputy Secretary Merrigan announced the 2011 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program awards, the sixth year of awards for this program. In total, 55 grants are being awarded for 740 initiatives totaling about $55 million. On a press call announcing the awards, Merrigan noted that “this year, similar to last year, […]
October is National Farm to School Month!
October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections that are happening around the country between schools and local food! NSAC is among the partners for the inaugural event. In November 2010, Congress approved a resolution introduced by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) to officially designate October as National Farm to School […]
2011 Healthy Food Financing Initiative Awards Announced
On Wednesday, September 14, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced the award of $25 million in grants through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to a variety of organizations serving “food deserts” throughout the United States. A total of 12 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in nine states will receive funding. These […]
2011 Healthy Food Enterprise Awards Announced
In mid-July the Healthy Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center announced its 2011 HUFED awards. The Center is administered by the Wallace Center at Winrock International, an NSAC member organization. A total of $630,000 will be awarded to 17 enterprises over the next two years for “innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to resolve barriers to healthy food […]
People’s Garden Grant Program
On Tuesday, July 26, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of USDA announced the availability of grants of up to $150,000 through its People’s Garden Grant Program. The program will fund projects to facilitate the creation of produce, recreational, and/or wildlife gardens in urban and rural areas, which will provide opportunities for food […]
House Holds Hearing on USDA Research Programs
On Thursday, July 28, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture held an audit hearing on federal research programs administered by USDA. This was the ninth hearing on farm bill programs the Committee has held this year. The Committee heard testimony from top administrators of four agencies that make […]
Farm Bill Nutrition Programs Hearing
On Thursday, July 21, the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture held an audit hearing to examine the Farm Bill’s Nutrition Programs, programs that accounts for over 75 percent of the Agriculture Committee’s budget. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers nutrition programs, which include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), […]
Financing Measure Could Boost Farm Production in Food Deserts
Guest Post We welcome farm and food consultants Bob Heuer and Patty Cantrell to our page today on a very timely issue. To take action, please see NSAC’s action alert on the proposed Farm Credit System rule and its potential impact on the availability of local foods. Public comments are due Monday. By Bob Heuer […]
USDA Announces New Farm To School Resources
On Tuesday, July 12, USDA announced several new resources for locally-sourced school food initiatives. At the 2011 School Nutrition Association national convention in Nashville, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan addressed 4,500 school nutrition professionals about the Obama administration’s efforts to improve the health and nutrition of school and institutional meals, most notably the […]
Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program Grants Support Sustainable Agriculture
On Tuesday, July 12, USDA announced the twenty-five recipients of its Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) grants. FSMIP will match $1.3 million worth of state grants to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products. FSMIP provides funds to state departments of agriculture or other similar state agencies to develop innovative approaches for […]
Oklahoma’s Sustainable Agriculture
Last month, NSAC Policy Associate Helen Dombalis traveled to Oklahoma where she explored the state’s many sustainable agriculture endeavors. Policy Advocacy and Research: GIPSA, Conservation, and Beyond – Yukon and Oklahoma City Helen was joined by sustainable agriculture advocate and farmer Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm and co-founder of the Oklahoma Composting Council. […]
House FY2012 Appropriations Bill Would Slash Conservation, Rural Development, and Research Programs
On Monday, May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies released a draft of its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The Subcommittee will debate, potentially amend, and almost certainly pass the bill on Tuesday during an afternoon markup. Before the bill can become law, […]
Merrigan Keynotes Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Foods Gathering
Introduced by Congressman Sam Farr (D-17th/CA) as “someone who really gets it,” USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan keynoted Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions conference on May 19. The event attracted food and agriculture writers who could have a real book editor salary from around the nation. The good news, Merrigan explained, is that “there’s […]
Healthy Farms, Healthy People Summit
by NSAC Policy Associate Helen Dombalis A diverse group of over 100 farm, food, and health stakeholders came together in Washington, DC Tuesday and Wednesday for Healthy Farms, Healthy People: A Farm & Food Policy Summit for a Strong America. The summit was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and convened […]
Food Desert Locator Tool Released
Following on previous efforts to make information available to the public using visual interfaces, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released the Food Desert Locator this week. This new tool provides population characteristics of areas considered food deserts according the definition by the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Working Group. The HFFI, a partnership between the […]
AGree?
On Tuesday, May 3, a new federal food, agriculture, and rural development policy initiative was launched by eight major foundations at a press event in DC. The new eight-year project will be aimed at “transforming US food and agriculture policy” with an equal focus on domestic and international impacts. It will be known as “AGree,” […]
The Atlantic Holds Annual Food Summit in Washington, DC
Earlier this week The Atlantic held its annual Food Summit in Washington, DC. USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan gave the keynote address. Merrigan started by acknowledging that it is an exciting time for people working in the food and farm sectors since Americans are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, how it is […]
House GOP Funding Proposal Would Cut NSAC Priority Programs
Post updated 2/15/11 Following a revolt by some of their rank and file on Thursday, House Republican leaders on Friday night released their draft bill to cut government funding for the remainder of the fiscal year that end September 3 by a significantly larger amount then they planned for earlier in the week. The bill […]
New ‘FoodCorps’ Program Recruiting “Next Generation of Food Leaders”
FoodCorps, a new national service program focused on addressing childhood obesity through building healthy school food infrastructure, will begin accepting applications for 2011-2012 service members early next week. FoodCorps is looking to recruit young adults for a yearlong term of public service beginning in mid-August 2011. The new program, an offshoot of Americorps, will work […]
AFRI Releases RFA for Childhood Obesity Prevention Projects
On Wednesday, January 26, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area. AFRI has yet to release FY 2011 RFAs for the remaining four Challenge Areas: climate change, food safety, global food security, and sustainable bioenergy. […]