Work on the 2012 Farm Bill has already begun and there are lots of ways to get involved. Click on the links and articles below for more information.

FSEP Farm Bill Events and Information

The Farm Bill – It Affects You! Read this brief two-page summary of the farm bill and how it impacts communities in southeast Michigan.

Local, State and National events and articles on Farm Bill 2012

Expansion of Low-Income Access to MI Farmers Markets In Jeopardy, Public News Service-MI, August 08, 2011

LANSING, Mich. – Farmers Market Week is underway in Michigan, and with summer in full swing, the crowds have never been larger or the choices greater at the state’s nearly 300 farmers markets. Thanks to a federal initiative called The Farmers Market Promotion Program, access to fresh, locally grown food has greatly expanded by allowing some markets to add Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), the technology needed to accept the debit cards used by food stamp recipients. However, funding for this program will run out next fall, putting increased expansion at risk.

Elaine Brown, executive director of Michigan Food and Farming Systems, says the federal grant has made big inroads toward reaching an under-served population. “Several years ago, only three farmers markets in the state could accept EBT or cards for assistance, and now we have well over 30.” Congress has already begun holding meetings on the 2012 Farm Bill, which is slated to move through the House and Senate next year. Brown says keeping this program in place is a vital piece of combating the obesity epidemic, providing jobs for farmers and rebuilding the state’s economy. “If everybody spent $10 a week on fresh, local food we’d add millions to our economy: $37 million a week.” It’s estimated that every $1 spent at a local farmers market is worth $1.34 to the local economy. A list of farmer’s markets in Michigan is available at www.mifma.org.

 
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commissioned Report
Farmer’s Legal Action Group Report “Planting the Seeds for Public Health: How the Farm Bill Can Help Farmers to Produce and Distribute Healthy Foods”,