This blog is a summary of a list curated by Patti Truant Anderson, MPH, PhD Senior Program Officer, Food System Policy Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
In early March the federal government passed a bill to fund the government through September 2022. Below is a summary of where the money is going to support nutrition and agriculture programs. This information is a little complicated so we’ve tried to break it down by programs to help consumers and farmers. It is still less than Biden’s overall budget but there are a few big increases (Politico, paywall), and increased funds addressing equity issues. Together, these funding allocations show that there is increased awareness of the need to support a food safety net system focused on nutritious food, and the need to build more resilient local and regional agricultural systems.
For Consumers:
- WIC (Women, Infants and Children)– $6 billion in discretionary funding for WIC, including $834 million to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in the WIC Food Package. WIC will serve an estimated 6.2 million women, infants and children in fiscal year 2022.
- WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)– $5 million for a total of $26 million. This program is in addition to the WIC program. These are given as coupons that participants can use at farmers’ markets or buy directly from the farmer.
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)– $140.4 billion in required mandatory spending for SNAP, including $3 billion for the SNAP reserve fund, which will serve more than 42 million people this year. Some farmers’ markets in Maryland accept SNAP.
- Child Nutrition Programs- $26.9 billion in funding for child nutrition programs.
- The bill did NOT include an extension of USDA waivers for school meal programs (House Appropriations Factsheet).
For Farmers:
Grants and Programs:
- Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG)– $1 million for the program for a total of $13 million.
- Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)– $5 million for the program, for a total of $45 million.
- Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) programs– $10 million for the program, for a total of $445 million.
- Organic transition research program- $500,000 for the program, for a total of $7.5 million.
- Healthy Forests Reserve Program– $7 million
Infrastructure:
- Watershed flood prevention and watershed rehabilitation projects- $101 million
- Broadband expansion in rural areas- $550 million
Urban Farming:
- Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Program– $8.5 million, check our legislative priorities blog and our blog on other Urban Ag. bills that will fund urban farming in Maryland.
- Office of Urban Agriculture– $1.5 million for the program, bringing that funding total up to $8.5 million (NSAC).
Equity Programs:
- USDA’s Office for Civil Rights would receive $35.3 million. The bill includes $61 million for USDA to resolve heirs’ property issues. More than $1 billion in funding for research and educational activities, part of which would go to 1890 colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges.
- More than $1 billion in funding for research and educational activities, part of which would go to 1,890 colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges (Politico, paywall)