A Helpful and Timely Resource on the Farm Bill

The deadline for reauthorizing the Farm Bill comes at the end of September and though the deadline will likely be extended, serious considerations are already taking place and details are being finalized. While this blog has previously provided information and resources on the Farm Bill (renewed every five years), it is important to remember that the current bill, signed in 2018, authorized $428 billion dollars of spending over the past five years, 80% of which goes to SNAP and other nutrition programs. Continued and expanded funding support is even more important today than in 2018.

I have recently discovered a wonderful resource prepared by our Presbyterian siblings through their Presbyterian Office of Public Witness. It's titled The 2023 Eater’s Guide to the Farm Bill, prepared in collaboration with the Food and Neighborhoods Community Coalition in Louisville, Ky. It is complete with questions you can ask your local, state, or federal candidates and other civil servants. You can find the resource here.

Please use this most helpful resource for your own education and recommend it to others. This is the time for us to use our Christian public voice, asking our Representatives and Senators to prioritize programs that provide security and safety nets for all in need. We need programs that strengthen rural communities, support farmers, farmworkers, and everyone who works in our food system. We need to support caring for the land, the land God created. We need a renewed and expanded 2023 Farm Bill.

Vernita Kennen

Incarnation, Shoreview