Rising costs and expiring legislation threaten food security
Food banks and food pantries in Atlanta and across the country are feeling the pressure of rising costs and uncertain funding as the deadline for the Farm Bill legislation approaches. The Farm Bill, a collection of laws that governs various aspects of agriculture and nutrition programs, is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2023. The fate of the new Farm Bill remains in the hands of Congress, which has not reached an agreement on the key issues.
One of the programs that depends on the Farm Bill is the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides food and funds to food banks and food pantries. TEFAP accounts for about 20% of the food distributed by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, which serves more than 200,000 households a month across north Georgia.
Kyle Waide, the CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, said that the rising costs of food, fuel, and transportation have made it harder to meet the demand for food assistance. He stressed the importance of passing a new Farm Bill that would increase funding for TEFAP and other nutrition programs.
“So we’re still seeing really robust demand. We’re serving more than 200,000 households a month right now across north Georgia. And we expect that this level of demand is going to continue as long as we continue to have these elevated prices in this inflationary environment,” Waide said.
Advocates urge Congress to act swiftly and decisively
Food bank advocates have been urging Congress to act swiftly and decisively on the Farm Bill, which is usually passed every five years. They have written letters to Georgia’s congressional delegation, highlighting the importance of keeping up with the inflation that has driven up costs since the last Farm Bill in 2018.
Ike Reighard, the president of MUST Ministries, a nonprofit organization that operates food pantries and other services in Cobb and Cherokee counties, said that the uncertainty over the Farm Bill creates more pressure on their operations.
“It just creates more pressure. It creates the uncertainty of when are they going to be able to get around to this,” Reighard said.
Reighard also said that they need a more robust Farm Bill that would reflect the current needs of the community.
“We certainly need to be able to keep up with how inflation has made things so much more expensive than what it was five years ago in 2018 when the last farm bill was passed,” Reighard said.
Georgia lawmakers weigh in on the Farm Bill negotiations
Georgia has several lawmakers who serve on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, which are responsible for drafting and negotiating the Farm Bill. Among them are Rep. David Scott, a Democrat who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, and Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Scott released a statement saying that ensuring metro Atlanta families know where their next meal is coming from is one of his top priorities.
“The farm bill is currently being written by the Agriculture Committee, and I am working with my fellow Democratic members and colleagues across the aisle to negotiate a bill that protects funding for our food banks and reduces hunger across Georgia,” Scott said in his statement. “Millions of Americans—children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, working families—rely on food assistance every month, whether it’s from a food bank or SNAP. When people hit a rough patch in life, they shouldn’t be allowed to fall between the cracks.”
Warnock also issued a statement saying that he is committed to fighting for Georgia’s farmers and families in the Farm Bill process.
“As a member of both the Senate Agriculture Committee and Budget Committee, I am working hard to ensure that our farmers have access to critical resources like crop insurance and disaster relief, while also expanding access to healthy food for our children and families through programs like SNAP,” Warnock said in his statement. “I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass a bipartisan farm bill that meets the needs of our rural communities and urban centers alike.”
The Farm Bill covers a wide range of issues, such as commodity support, conservation, trade, rural development, research, bioenergy, forestry, horticulture, organic agriculture, crop insurance, disaster assistance, nutrition assistance, and animal health. The current Farm Bill was enacted in 2018 with overwhelming bipartisan support. However, some of the contentious issues that have stalled the negotiations for the new Farm Bill include climate change mitigation, social justice initiatives, payment limitations, broadband expansion, and SNAP eligibility and benefits.
