FARM BILL UPDATE

Melissa Sobolik

NDNC President-Elect

Director – Ending Hunger 2.0

Great Plains Food Bank

Every 4 years, you hear about the Farm Bill, which really is about more than farming – it’s about food; from growing it to eating it. Set to expire on September 30, 2018, Congress has been working on a new Farm Bill for the past few months.

First, we saw the House of Representative’s version of the Farm Bill. It was released by the House Ag Committee in April and passed twice on the House floor. The House version was a partisan bill, that significantly cut key nutrition programs including, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill proposed extremely stringent work requirements, create new burdens on state governments, impact rural retailers and grocery stores, and shift the work of hunger relief to charitable entities, instead of a partnership between public & private.  If you’d like to read more about the impact to SNAP, the Great Plains food Bank posted a blog article (https://www.greatplainsfoodbank.org/about-us/publications/media-releases.html/article/2018/04/22/hunger-no-more-blog-let-s-talk-farm-bill-and-snap).

Then the Senate Ag Committee released their version, which protected federal nutrition programs and was truly a bipartisan effort. After a short debate on the Senate floor, the Senate passed their version on Thursday, June 28 with a vote of 86-11. Senator Heitkamp took floor time to talk about the importance of SNAP to North Dakota and even shared stories and photos of 2 North Dakotan families who rely on SNAP. Both Senators Hoeven & Heitkamp supported the Farm Bill and stood against harmful amendments that were offered.

With two different and competing Farm Bills passed, it now goes to a conference committee. This committee will include both House and Senate members who will ultimately work together to compromise and come to an agreement on a final bill.

Having a Farm Bill that protects and strengthens federal nutrition programs, improves access to healthy food and ensures our farmers have a safety net will take us all using our voice. Food isn’t a luxury, it’s a basic need. By speaking up, sending emails and informing your network, together, we can make sure no North Dakotan or America is going to bed hungry.

If you’d like to learn more or get involved, please send me an email. msobolik@greatplainsfoodbank.org.