The new farm bill is extremely important in meeting the needs of rural people to be self-sufficient, in promoting good stewardship of the land that produces food, and in providing a safety net to meet the nutritional needs of people feeling economic difficulties.
Statistically, poverty has decreased around the world, but has grown in the United States over the past seven years. More than half of those using food shelves have children. Sixty percent of food shelf clients are the working poor.
Food banks alone cannot meet the increasing need for food assistance. More and more people, crunched by increased prices, who have lost a job, or suffered from unexpected illness, turn to food assistance programs such as the food stamp program. To meet this basic human need for food, the food stamp program must be fully funded through the farm bill.
In spite of greatly increased demand for food assistance programs, the proposed farm bill cuts back the $11.5 billion increase for nutrition programs over 10 years that was passed by the full House in July 2007. We can thank Rep. Collin Peterson for his challenging leadership role on the farm bill. He and others in leadership positions need to know that it is imperative that this farm bill be a food bill that provides a safety net with provisions for food so that all might be able to eat from the fruit and labors of our land. Permanent increases for nutrition at or above previously House-passed levels honor rural values of helping neighbors through difficult times.
