NASDA Highlights Farm Bill Recommendations—Food and Nutrition

News Date March 26, 2007

NASDA is presenting farm bill highlights each week in NASDA News as Congress gears up for consideration of the 2007 farm bill. NASDA's recommendations and a summary of highlights are posted on the NASDA website at http://www.nasda.org/fb2007. This week the highlights focus on food and nutrition. 

NASDA's 2007 Farm Bill Recommendations emphasize nutrition for the first time and includes several recommendations to provide consumers greater access to a wider variety of safe, healthy, high-quality foods. One of the key recommendations is to increase funding and expand USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program (FVPP) nationally to all states and to all schools within each state. NASDA also proposes increased funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and to give states more flexibility to determine what types of products that schools may order. The proposals support a buy-locally-first approach to provide healthier and fresher commodities and to halt rising costs of warehousing, shipping and reprocessing charges that are limiting services. 

USDA administers a variety of food and nutrition assistance programs to provide children and needy families with better access to food and a more healthful diet, including nutrition education efforts. Programs include: Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, Food Stamp Program, School Meals, Food Distribution, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. NASDA recommends additional funding for these programs and to allow more flexibility for states to administer them. NASDA further recommends improving outreach and nutrition education in the Food Stamp Program through guideline revisions in Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE). NASDA also believes there is a need to emphasize fruit and vegetable consumption in all nutrition programs to align with the healthy eating index. 

Another NASDA farm bill priority is to allow interstate sales of state-inspected meat and poultry. Current law prohibits state-inspected products (beef, poultry, pork, lamb, and goat) from being sold across state lines, even though these products must meet or exceed federal inspection standards. No other food commodities inspected by state authorities are prohibited from being shipped across state lines. Removing the ban on interstate meat sales will level the economic playing field for rural small businesses. Increased markets will not only benefit producers and processors, but it also gives consumers more choices at the supermarket. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)