“Local” Foods Initiatives summary of policies in the 2008 Farm Bill

• Federal Local Food Access Legislation
• USDA Farm Bill Implementation
• Appropriations – Fiscal Year 2009
• Congressional Letters
• Organizational Letters to Congress
• Analysis and Reports
• Events and Congressional Briefings
• Events and Congressional Briefings Archive 2001-2005
• 2008 Farm Bill Archive

Federal Local Food Access Legislation

Overview

“Local” Foods Initiatives summary of policies in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Policies and Legislation

• Community Food Projects - Legislation
• Food Desert Study (USDA) – October 9, 2008, Workshop Information | Support Letters | Appropriations
• Locally Produced Foods Priority in the USDA Rural Business and Industries Loan Guarantee Program
• Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development Center Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program - Legislation
• WIC Farmers’ Market Promotion Program - Legislation

Bills

• Local Food and Farm Support Act H.R.2364 introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) | Summary (May 17, 2007)
• Food Outreach and Opportunity Development (FOOD) for a Healthy America Act S.1432 introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) | Summary (May 17, 2007)

USDA Farm Bill Implementation

• Food Desert Workshop and Study sign-on letter to USDA (September 22, 2008)
• Food Desert Study design priorities sign-on letter to USDA (July 24, 2008)
• Local” Foods Initiatives in the 2008 Farm Bill
• USDA agency assignments for implementation

Appropriations – Fiscal Year 2009

• Northeast-Midwest Coalition Request Letters – House | Senate
• Food Desert Study Request Letters – House | Senate
• Food Desert Study Organizational Sign-on Letter

Congressional Letters

• Farm Bill Conference Recommendations for Healthy Food provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill
• Sent to Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson and Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Minority Leader John Boehner (December 7, 2007)
• Senate Letter on Specialty Crops, including healthy food provisions Sent to Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (September 29, 2007)
• Letter from 26 California Representatives on Farm Bill Priorities Sent to Agriculture Committee Chair Rep. Collin Peterson and Vice Chair Rep. Bob Goodlatte (June 19, 2007)
• Healthy Foods and the Farm Bill Sent to Agriculture Committee Chair Rep. Collin Peterson and Vice Chair Rep. Bob Goodlatte (June 19, 2007)
• Local Food Procurement in School Meals Sent to USDA Secretary Mike Johanns by 18 Senators (May 21, 2007)

Organizational Letters to Congress

• Reforming America’s Agricultural Policy Resolution accepted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors | Co-Sponsors List (June 25, 2007)
• Strengthening the Farm Bill to Reduce Childhood Obesity, and Improve our Environment and Nation’s Health Sent to House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairmen and Vice Chairmen from over 300 doctors and health professionals (June 13, 2007)
• Healthy, Affordable Foods in the Farm Bill Sent to House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairmen (June 8, 2007) Increasing the Farm Bill Baseline Sent to Majority and Minority leadership; Agriculture Committees in the House and Senate (February 7, 2007)

Analysis and Reports

• Local Food Initiatives in the Farm Bill
• Farm and Food Policy Project Priorities Checklist
• Analysis of USDA’s Farm Bill (January 2007)
• Northeast Farm and Food System (Updated October 2006)
• Northeast Ag Works! Project - Summary
• Regionalist Approaches to Farm and Food System Policy: A Focus on the Northeast (October 2006) – Summary | Full Report | Regional Policy Scorecard

Events and Congressional Briefings

• Improving Healthy Food Access in Underserved Communities through the 2007 Farm Bill (December 6, 2007)
• How the 2007 Farm Bill Can Support Local Agriculture and Public Health (May 21, 2007)
• Farmers’ Markets and Public Markets: Advancing their Role in Urban and Rural Communities (May 3, 2007)
• Farm Bill 101 - Overview Briefing of the Farm Bill (January 16, 2007)
• Farmers’ Markets and Public Markets: Small Investments, Big Results (June 27, 2006)
• Leveraging Local Food Systems for Healthy Farms and Healthy Communities (June 13, 2006)
• Performance-Based Conservation (May 15, 2006)
• Meeting of the Northeast House and Senate Agricultural Caucuses (February 17, 2006)

Events and Congressional Briefings Archive 2001-2005

• Conservation Security Program: Status and Outlook (February 27, 2004)
• Reforming U.S. Agriculture Policy: Why Simply Eliminating Farm Subsidies Is Not the Answer (October 23, 2003)
• Federal Agriculture Policy and Farm Viability in the Northeast (June 9-10, 2003)
• Expanding the USDA Conservation Toolbox: Conservation Security Program and Grassland Reserve Program (March 14, 2003)
• Will There Be Adequate Resources to Implement the Farm Bill's Conservation Title? (March 7, 2003)
• Growing Healthy Children: How American Farms Can Feed American Kids More Effectively (February 21, 2003)
• Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic State Departments of Agriculture Workshop (September 24, 2002)
• Drought Briefing: Focus on the East Coast (March 18, 2002)
• Renewable Energy and the Farm Bill (January 29, 2002)
• Farm Bill Reauthorization: Conservation Programs Briefing (September 10, 2001)
• Farmland Protection and Smart Growth: Saving Urban-Influenced Farmland (July 30, 2001)
• The Uses and Abuses of Models in Agricultural Policy: Assessing Crop Prices, Farm Income, Export Projections, and Environmental Impacts (July 20, 2001)
• Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Rural Development (July 16, 2001)
• A Growing Concern: Concentration and Competition in Agriculture (July 9, 2001)
• Are the Nation’s Wetlands at Risk? (May 21, 2001)
• Nutrient Management: Strategies and Potential Solutions (April 30, 2001)
• Sustainable Agriculture and Livestock Management (March 20, 2001)
• Farm Bill 101 (March 2, 2001)
• Farm Bill Reauthorization Briefing (January 29, 2001)

2008 Farm Bill Archive

2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act Resources