FRAC's Agriculture Appropriations Chart:
Federal Nutrition Program Funding - Fiscal 2008-2012 (pdf)
FY2013 Agriculture Budget and Appropriations Nutrition Priorities (pdf)
On April 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its $20.79 billion FY2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill does the following:
Federal nutrition programs provide a critical safety net and help millions of struggling families and seniors put food on the table during times of need. Investing in hunger relief also makes sense fiscally. Hunger increases health care costs, lowers worker productivity, harms children’s development and diminishes their educational performance. As unemployment rates remain high and our nation works to recover from the worst economic recession seen in decades, nearly 49 million Americans – 1 in 6 – are now living in households that are food insecure. With need expected to remain high, Congress must ensure sufficient levels of funding to protect and strengthen the nutrition safety net.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, helps put food on the table for more than 46 million people each month. Benefits are responsive, targeted, and temporary. The average household has an income of only 57% of the federal poverty guideline and 84% of all benefits go to households with a child, senior, or disabled person. SNAP has been proven to be one of the most responsive and efficient safety net programs and the accuracy rate of over 96% is at an all-time high and is considerably higher than many other benefit programs. Unfortunately, SNAP benefits, which are modest, are slated to be cut to pay for legislation enacted in 2010, subjecting families to a sharp cliff in benefits and a loss of needed resources. With hunger, unemployment, and economic hardship affecting so many Americans, SNAP is more important than ever.
SNAP Message: Support the President’s budget proposal to restore SNAP benefit cuts made in the 2010 child nutrition bill and scheduled to take place in FY 2013. Because unemployment remains so high, support the President’s budget proposal to suspend for another fiscal year the harsh time limit that restricts certain working-age, unemployed adults without dependents to only 3 months of benefits in any 3 year period. Support the President’s $5 billion SNAP reserve fund included his FY2013 budget proposal. Oppose policy changes that would restrict eligibility, reduce benefits or make harmful structural changes.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
TEFAP Commodities: TEFAP provides food at no cost to low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief through organizations like food banks and pantries. Nutritious TEFAP foods are an essential resource for local emergency food providers, which combine government commodities with privately donated foods to maximize TEFAP benefits far beyond the budgeted amount for the program.
TEFAP Commodities Message: Provide funding at the mandated level of $269.5 million. In addition, Congress should continue to monitor food price inflation throughout the appropriations process to ensure the appropriate mandated indexing adjustment to the total mandatory funding level is provided.
TEFAP Storage and Distribution Funds: TEFAP Storage and Distribution Funds help defray State costs associated with distributing TEFAP commodities to emergency food providers and help those food providers defray the costs of storing, transporting, and distributing TEFAP foods. With food banks already struggling to meet a sustained increase in demand, they can no longer afford the rising costs associated with storing and distributing emergency food without adequate Federal assistance.
TEFAP Storage and Distribution Funds Message: Provide TEFAP Storage and Distribution Funds at the authorized level of $100 million.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, and access to health care for millions of low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk.
WIC Message: Support the President’s budget proposal of $7.04 billion, the amount estimated to support the participation of 9.1 million women, infants, and children and to meet other program needs. Congress should also carefully monitor WIC data throughout the appropriations process to ensure that appropriated levels will fully meet anticipated needs.
WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program provides fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to WIC participants and expands the awareness of use of, and sales at farmers’ markets.
WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Message: Support the WIC FMNP at $20 million.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
CSFP provides food packages to an estimated monthly caseload of 599,000 low-income seniors 60 years or older, pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to six years old. Seniors comprise nearly 97 percent of participants and receive food packages designed to meet their special dietary needs. While the cost to USDA to provide the food package is about $20 per month, the average retail value is $50, making it a highly efficient use of federal dollars. CSFP operates in 39 states, the District of Columbia and two Indian Tribal Organizations. Six additional states have USDA-approved plans for the program, and efforts are currently under way to assist the remaining states in developing state plans.
CSFP Message: Support the President’s CSFP budget request for $187 million which is expected to maintain existing caseload. Urge an increase of $5 million to expand operations into the six additional States with USDA-approved state plans (Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island).
Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs (SFMNP)
The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provides low-income seniors with coupons that can be exchanged for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs.
Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: Support SFMNP at $21 million.
Emerson/Leland Hunger Fellowship Program
Since 1994, Congress has funded the Bill Emerson/Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships, enhancing the effectiveness of local, state and national anti-hunger and anti-poverty groups, government agencies and faith-based organizations by the research, analysis and policy work conducted by the Fellows.
Emerson/Leland Fellows Message: Fully fund the Fellowship Program at $3 million.
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