Federal Legislation 2021: Good News

Much encouraging news for urban farmers and for boosting food security is coming out of federal legislation.
The $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, containing the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020, was finally signed into law on December 27th, including both emergency COVID relief as well as regular FY 2021 appropriations which shapes how the 2018 Farm Bill provisions can be implemented.

SNAP 2021
The first piece of news regarding food policy included in this round of COVID relief is that the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) maximum benefit is boosted by 15 percent for six months.  Online access to SNAP is also being supported with $5 million in funding and new authorities for expansion. A majority of states are currently allowing for SNAP online sales, but the cost and issues related to the technology has kept online SNAP accessible primarily to larger national retailers. To address that, $1 million of these funds is authorized for facilitating online SNAP access for direct market producers and small businesses such as farmers markets. Visit USDA’s website for helpful SNAP information for farmers and producers.

AID FOR FARMERS
Direct aid is expected to be provided to farmers negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, with over $11 billion approved as support for “agricultural producers, growers, and processors” including farmers markets and direct marketing farmers. As expected, the bulk of the funds will go to large producers – row crop producers (paid by the acre), and cattle, dairy, and contract growers – but among other relief, $40 million is also specifically designated for new and beginning farmers to receive critical resources (See FOTO below).

PROTECTED 2018 FARM BILL PROGRAMS
The appropriations for agricultural spending support the important programs in the latest Farm Bill, and even increase funding for several programs, including:
   • LAMP (Local Agriculture Market Program) – significant investment is made for the development of supply chains to meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food, including provisions for small and mid-sized farm operations as well as farmers and ranchers who are beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veterans. Grants are available for value-added producers and for public-private partnerships such as food councils, farmer cooperatives, and state agencies. LAMP is a combination of two local food entrepreneurship programs – Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) and Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG).
   • FOTO (Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach) Program – stronger USDA assistance can now be given to programs supporting beginning, veteran, tribal, and other underserved farmers.  FOTO is a combination of two programs: BFRDP and 2501.
   • GusNIP – Formerly the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Program, funding was increased for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program which provides competitive grants to support projects that increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among SNAP participants such as through incentives at the point of purchase.
   • SCBG (Specialty Crop Block Grant) Program – grants that support state government efforts to enhance the competitiveness of crops such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, honey, and nursery crops.
   • Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production – this new USDA office which started in 2018 is given generous funding that will enable it to expand and continue to “encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices”.
   • Farm to School Grant Program – record high funding was set for these grants aimed at helping schools source local food and familiarizing children with farming and gardening, promoting healthy eating habits.
   • HFFI (Healthy Food Financing Initiative) – this partnership that provides resources for reaching underserved areas to healthy food retail and food enterprise projects was given the same level of funding as FY 2020 (which was up from previous years).
Click here for a Farmers’ Guide to the 2018 USDA Farm Bill Programs.

MORE IN THE PIPELINE
Two bills were introduced in the Senate last week, aimed at supporting farmers of color and redressing long-standing injustices and discrimination by the USDA: the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act and Justice For Black Farmers Act (a reintroduction from 2020). We will follow these in more detail in a future post. With expressed commitments from the Biden Administration to address past injustices, we may find that if these ambitious and landmark bills from Senator Booker and Senator Warnock can pass out of their committees, they may have a decent path to becoming enacted.