WASHINGTON, D.C. — Removing food and nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, from the farm bill has been a topic of conversation for years, but a lot of parties think the ties among the nutrition industry, agriculture and food insecurity are justified.

 

A Farm Foundation forum, “Nutrition and Agriculture – A Natural Partnership,” in late June took on the topic of food insecurity globally and in the United States, and programs that directly connect farmers with people in need.

“I think rural folks might understand hunger more than most,” said Karen Siebert, public policy and advocacy advisor for Harvesters, a food networking program based in the Kansas City area. “I think there is an awareness there, if we can just build on that.”

She said those in rural communities are more likely to see and interact with people that are food-insecure because people of different economic spectrums are more likely to interact, and all of the churches in a community probably donate to a single food pantry.

She said only 1/20th of food assistance is provided by charitable organizations; most of the programs are funded by the government, and those need to be strong.

In recent years, most food banks across the country have tried to stock healthier options. Producers still have quantities of food that cannot be sold, sometimes because of the appearance of the produce – but that food can be given away.

“If people can’t afford to purchase fruits and vegetables, they can’t buy them … if they can afford it, that’s what they prefer to buy,” said Sky Cornell, chief programs officer at Wholesome Wave.

Only one in 10 American children eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables because processed foods are cheaper, she explained. And when produce can be purchased, it has an impact on the local economy.

Compared to people who qualified but didn’t get SNAP benefits, Cornell said participants in the program had fewer diet-related diseases such as diabetes and even certain types of cancers, which means fewer health care costs. The grocers selling fruits and vegetables make money and the farmers supplying the stores also make more.

She said the programs in the farm bill allow food to be affordable, which benefits everyone.

Double SNAP, a program with which Wholesome Wave works, gives participants double the money but that increase can only be spent on fruits and vegetables. She reported the program has started in three states and 10 markets and has had positive feedback for everyone.

Recipients are purchasing more fruits and vegetables; grocery stores and farmers at markets are seeing increased purchases from these customers. Farmers have reported they’re able to make improvements on their farms, including adding hoop houses or greenhouses.

The second program Cornell would like to see expanded is the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program, which allows health care professionals to write prescriptions for produce to help prevent diet-related health issues. The program has been shown to help whole families, not just the individual getting the prescription, and it costs about $1 a day.

Cornell said the health of children in the program improved almost immediately. In Los Angeles, where the largest such program exists, participants reported a 182 percent increase in fruit and vegetable servings, and farmers’ markets and local Target stores reported about a $300,000 increase in produce purchases.

“If we decrease funding for SNAP, it’ll increase health care costs. No one ever talks to that,” said Craig Gundersen, a member of the Technical Advisory Group for Feeding America and the Soybean Industry Endowed Professor in Agricultural Strategy in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois.

He said SNAP recipients have similar to lower instances of obesity than SNAP-eligible people who do not use the program. “There’s a lot of pride from farmers that we’re feeding the world … and the United States. That’s the key goal of farmers, and that’s the key goal of anti-hunger groups,” he said.

In terms of productive government programs, he called SNAP amazing. The program was put in place to alleviate food insecurity – and it has worked. Anti-hunger groups and agriculture industry leaders know the importance of food assistance programs, recognize who benefits from farm subsidies and support free trade.

Gundersen said both industries want to remove unneeded regulations that cause the cost of food production to go up, enhance efficiencies, especially in food distribution, and support immigration reform.