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December 11, 2007 NY Coalition for Healthy School Food
The US Senate starts voting on the Farm Bill this afternoon!
The Farm Bill is really a FOOD Bill. If you eat, it affects you.
Please call both of our Senators NOW to urge that they vote YES for the Lugar/Lautenberg FRESH amendment. The Farm Ranch Equity Stewardship and Health Act would replace subsidies and offer a new income insurance "safety net" for all farmers, and gradually replace the complex, antiquated mix of farm subsidies to producers of a handful of commodity crops.
The amendment will increase funding for conservation, healthy-eating and anti-hunger programs, specialty crop production, renewable energy programs, and reduces the deficit by $4 billion!
As it stands, the Farm Bill does relatively little to encourage consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. If the FRESH Act is passed, Farm to School and Farmers' Market Promotion programs would receive more funding. Food Stamps recipients would be encouraged to use farmers' markets, and the government would initiate a pilot program giving discounts for the purchase of fruits and vegetables. The health of America’s schoolchildren would be prioritized. Under the FRESH Act, the government must support healthy diets when allocating food and food ingredients for school meals. The Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program would be expanded to more than 5,000 schools, and funding would increase by several times the current amount.
The FRESH Act would reduce subsidies overall, which means less support for processed foods and animal products and more money for nutrition programs. Currently, federal policies do relatively little to support fruit and vegetable farmers, who receive less than 0.5 percent of subsidies. More than 80 percent of food production subsidies support meat and dairy (along with eggs, the ONLY source of cholesterol and the primary source of saturated fat in the diet), sugar, oil, and animal feed.
Currently, more than 80 percent of Farm Bill food production subsidies support meat, sugar, oil, dairy products, and animal feed, and the Farm Bill does little to support fruit and vegetable farmers, who receive less than 0.5 percent of subsidies.
PLEASE CALL RIGHT NOW - urge that your senators vote YES for the Lugar/Lautenberg FRESH amendment – that’s all you need to say.
The future of our children depends on your efforts now. Thanks,
Amie Hamlin
Executive Director
NY Coalition for Healthy School Food
amie@healthyschoolfood.org
www.healthyschoolfood.org
