November 15, 2007
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator:
The undersigned organizations write to urge the Senate to vote in favor of the farm bill cloture motion. It is critical that the Senate pass omnibus farm legislation as soon as possible in order to assure enactment of a new farm bill this year.
While our organizations have differences on specific policy recommendations, we believe it is vitally important that the Senate pass a 2007 Farm Bill as soon as possible. The 2002 law expired in September, leaving farmers and ranchers uncertain of the policy environment in which they will operate next year and several conservation and nutrition programs expired. These programs that conserve land resources and serve poor and hungry people must be reauthorized and adequately funded now.
Extending the 2002 Farm Bill is not an acceptable alternative to enacting new legislation that addresses important needs in each of these areas. Extension is only a short term solution that does not provide the assurances that the nutrition, agriculture, conservation and renewable energy communities need for efficient long-term planning.
We worked with the Senate Agriculture Committee to develop a farm bill that addresses our priorities, but are concerned that delayed floor action is lessening the chances of completing a new farm bill this year. We therefore urge a yes vote on the cloture motion on this important legislation.
Sincerely,
AARP
Alameda County Community Food Bank
America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
American Farmland Trust
American Heart Association
American Public Health Association
American Wind Energy Association
America's Second Harvest of KY's Heartland Food Bank
America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Arizona Food Banks
Atlanta Community Food Bank
Bay Area Food Bank, Theodore, Alabama
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Verona, Virginia
California Association of Food Banks
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
Cathedral Kitchen, Camden, New Jersey
Center for Civil Justice, Michigan
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank
Children’s Alliance, Washington
Children’s Hunger Alliance, Ohio
Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP)
Cleveland Foodbank, Inc.
Coalition on Human Needs
Community Food Security Coalition
Colorado Anti-Hunger Network
Colorado Food Bank Association
Community Food Bank of New Jersey
Community Food Banks of South Dakota
Congressional Hunger Center
Connecticut Association for Human Services
Connecticut Food Bank
Dare to Care Food Bank, Louisville, Kentucky
DC Hunger Solutions
Denver Urban Ministries
Emergency Food and Shelter Program, NYC
End Hunger Conneticut!
End Hunger Network, Houston, Texas
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Environmental Law and Policy Center
Familia Center, Santa Cruz, California
Feeding Indiana's Hungry (FIsH)
Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America, University of Rhode Island
Florida Impact
Food & Water Watch
Food Bank for New York City
Food Bank of Alaska
Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
Food Bank of Central New York
Food Bank of Delaware
Food Bank of Iowa
Food Bank of Lincoln, Nebraska
Food Bank of North Alabama
Food Bank of South Jersey
Food Bank of the Albemarle, North Carolina
Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc.
FOOD for Lane County, Eugene, Oregon
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
FOOD Share, Inc., Oxnard, CA
Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula
FoodLink for Tulare County, Inc.
Foodshare, Bloomfield, CT
FRAMAX Child Care Food Program, Modesto
Georgia State Food Bank Association
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc.
God's Pantry Food Bank, Lexington, Kentucky
Great Plains Food Bank, Fargo, ND
Greater Chicago Food Depository
Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Harry Chapin Food Bank, Ft. Myers, Florida
Harvesters - The Community Food Network, Kansas City, Missouri
Houston Food Bank
Hunger Solutions Minnesota
Illinois Food Bank Association
Illinois Hunger Coalition
Island Harvest, Mineola, New York
Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes, Michigan
Kansas Food Bank
Kentucky Task Force on Hunger
Lincoln County food Share, Newport, Oregon
Los Angeles Regional Foodbank
Louisiana Food Bank Association
Manna Food Center, Rockville, Maryland
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, Ewing, New Jersey
Michigan Legal Services
Middle Georgia Community Food Bank, Macon, Georgia
Midwest Dairy Coalition
Migrant Legal Action Program
Minnesota Food Share
Mississippi Food Network
Montana Food Bank Network
N.C. Cooperative Extension, Mitchell County Center, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of State Energy Officials
National Center for Law and Economic Justice
National Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) Association
National Farmers Union
National Milk Producers Federation
National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc.
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
New Hampshire Food Bank
New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition
New Mexico Association of Food Banks
NM Human Needs Coordinating Council
North Texas Food Bank
Northeast Iowa Food Bank
Nutrition Consortium of NYS, Inc., New York
NYC Coalition Against Hunger
Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks
OMB Watch
Oregon Food Bank
Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force
Ozarks Food Harvest, Springfield, Missouri
PANDORA-Patient Alliance for Neuroendocrineimmune Disorders Organization for Research and Advocacy, Inc.
Partners in Ending Hunger, Maine
Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center
Public Policy Center of Mississippi
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund
Roadrunner Food Bank, Albuquerque, New Mexico
San Francisco Food Bank
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Second Harvest Food Bank for San Diego
Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, California
Second Harvest Food Bank of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus, Georgia
Second Harvest Gleaners Food Bank of West Michigan, Inc.
Second Harvest Heartland, Maplewood, Minnesota
Second Harvest Inland Northwest, Spokane, Washington
Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, Duluth, Minnesota
SHARE Food Program, Inc., Philadelphia
Side Campaign Against Hunger, New York City
So Others Might Eat, Inc. (SOME), Washington, D.C.
Social Ministries Task Force, Presbytery of Des Moines, Iowa
Society of Saint Andrew
South Plains Food Bank, Lubbock, Texas
Southern New Hampshire Services, Inc.
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation
St. Leo Food Connection, Tacoma, Washington
St. Louis Area Foodbank
St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, Phoenix, Arizona
Statewide Food Network of New Jersey
TEFAP Alliance
The Food Bank of Central Louisiana
The Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Inc.
The Food Bank, Memphis, Tennessee
The Foodbank, Inc., Dayton, Ohio
The Greater Boston Food Bank
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
The Kauai Food Bank, Inc, Hawaii
Union for Reform Judaism
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
United Food Bank, Mesa, Arizona
USAction/USAction Education Fund
Utahns Against Hunger
Ventura County Food Bank
Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger
Vermont Foodbank
Weld Food Bank, Greeley, Colorado
Western Organization of Resource Councils
WHEAT, Phoenix, Arizona
World Hunger Year (WHY)