Digging Into the Farm Bill: What is the Farm Bill?

1. Digging Into the Farm Bill:What is the Farm Bill? presented by  The Community Engagement Committee  of   The NYC Food and Farm Bill Working Group Thanks to The Brooklyn Food Coalition, Farm Bill Hackathon 

2. Origin of the Farm Bill

6. What is the Food and Farm Bill today?

7. What is the Food & Farm Bill today?

8. KeyDefinitions Omnibus Commodity Subsidies a single document, covering many regulations, no single sponsor commodity crops are interchangeable, storable foods such as corn, soy, rice and certain beans a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector by the government

9. 2008 Farm Bill Titles 5 Year Budget Title I Commodity Programs $41.6 billion Title II Conservation $24.1 billion Title III Trade $1.9 billion Title IVNutrition$188.9 billion Title V Credit $1.4 billion Title VIRural Development$200 million Title VII Research $300 million Title VIIIForestry$40 million Title IX Bio Fuels and Ethanol $600 million Title XHorticulture and Organic Agriculture $400 million Title XI Livestock $1 million Title XIICrop Insurance and Disaster Assistance $21.9 billion Title XIII Commodity Futures no cost Title XIVMiscellaneous$6.4 billion Title XV Trade and Tax Provisions $3.8 billion

10. What about the farmers?

15. This is what we are farming today?

16. Why do we care?

17. 2000 1990 Obesity Trends Among U.S. Adults 2010 No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30% *BMI ≥30, or about 30 lbs. overweight for 5’4” person. Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC.

18. County-level Estimates of Diagnosed Diabetes among Adults aged ≥ 20 years: United States 2008 Percent www.cdc.gov/diabetes

19. Total US healthcare costs due to obesity are $123 billion per year  Half that cost is paid through Medicare and Medicaid In the Farm Bill $42 billion is projected for commodity subsidies; $22 billion on crop insurance Cost of diet-related illness in US vs. Food & Farm Bill spending on unhealthy foods

21. But farm bill spending doesn’t reflect these recommendations.

22. $33.1 billionspent on commodity crops from 2008 - 2010 corn soybeans cotton rice wheat

23. $4.3 billion spent on specialty crops from 2008 - 2010 fruits nuts vegetables

24. The Price of Fruits & Vegetables Continues to go UP!

26. Why else do we care?

27. For Americans below the Poverty Line: • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/Food Stamps • The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) • For Seniors: • Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) • Seniors Famers’ Markets • For Children and Low Income Families: • USDA Snack Program • Community Food Project Grants • For Urban Agriculture: • Urban Food Enterprise Development Center Nutrition Programs in the Food and Farm Bill

28. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SNAP is the new name for Food Stamps.

29. Nutrition programs are the biggest part of the Farm Bill. The biggest of these is SNAP at $68.9 billion in 2011. Nutrition Funding in the Farm Bill

30. Almost 46 million Americans • 17% of all adults in the U.S. • 60% of SNAP households are families with children • 30% of SNAP households include Senior Citizens • 1.8 Million New Yorkers receive SNAP Benefits Who receives SNAP benefits?

31. SNAP and the Recession And the need is growing!

32. SNAP brings federal dollars into our local businesses and communities, $3 billion dollars a year into NYC SNAP benefits you and your community

33. HOPE

34. Ways You Can Advocate! Personal Level • Eat local from small scale produce and livestock farms • Support sustainable farmers • Join a CSA and shop at farmer’s markets • Use food stamps at farmers market  • Know what you’re buying • Grow your own food • Educate yourself on the Farm Bill • Write or call elected officials • Use social media to get the word out • Vote!

35. Ways You Can Advocate! Community-Level • Conduct a community food assessment and share results in your neighborhood • Bring people together to discuss food and farm issues in your community and schools: Town halls, teach-ins, pot lucks, grub dinners, film screenings, health fairs, harvest festivals • Start or join a community garden, CSA or farmers market

36. Ways You Can Advocate! Systemic Level • Sign-on to the NYC Food & Farm Bill Principles to receive action alerts: foodbillnyc.wikispaces.com/Principles • Support a candidate; run for public office • Organize your community to call their representatives through Farm Bill phone banking events • Join a local or national food advocacy group

37. NYCFFBWG Principles 1 - A Health-Focused Food System 2 - An End to Hunger and Access to Healthy Food 3 - A Level “Plowing” Field 4 - Good Environmental Stewardship 5 - Vibrant Regional Farm and Food Economies foodbillnyc.wikispaces.com

38. The Food and Farm Bill affects us… We need to protect SNAP! We need to make healthy food available to all! We need to get involved!