Farm bill update

As you may already know, the U.S. "farm bill," or Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 is up for re-evaluation and renewal this month in Congress. This omnibus bill tends to be controversial for poverty and hunger activists and agriculture/business lobbyists alike, as it contains the allocations for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps) and TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) and determines agricultural subsidies. Provisions in the bill can influence international trade and the natural environment, drawing concern from even more interested parties and lobbyists.

The farm bill is up for renewal every five years. This year, the Senate began consideration on the bill passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee the week of June 4. This version of the bill contained $4.49 billion in cuts to SNAP. Several amendments are in the works. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is working on an amendment that would restore the money lost to these cuts, but others would likely increase them. The House Agriculture Committee is expected to bring its version of the bill to a vote this week, and decreases in spending on food assistance are expected to be even sharper.

Feeding America's Hunger Action Center has information on the farm bill's food assistance provision, and action you can take. For more information about the farm bill, follow the news and stay up-to-date!

Nifty Blogs and WT opportunities: Local Food in Lorain County

At the BCSL I share an office with Food Policy Options Intern Avi Miner, a 2009 OC grad who does lots of awesome things with local foods.  Cool things that Avi does:

• He manages the Oberlin City Fresh stop, the local farm share program where you can sign up for a weekly bag of whatever fresh has come off the local farms
• He oversees private readings and Winter Term students who work on local foods issues
• He maps out where the food at local restaurants and the College cafeterias come from
• He researches important policy questions like:
• Can you have chickens/bees/other small livestock in your house in Oberlin?
• Can you have a vegetable garden in your front yard and not have the city mow it down for being over the limit for lawful lawn height? (this actually happened in Elyria)
• Then he takes these questions and finds out how we can change policy to allow these things so that people can grow more of their own food legally--because nothing is more local than your front yard.
• He bowls. Talk to him about bowling!

If you are interested in getting involved with Avi's work, come by the BCSL Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday to talk to him.  Remember: he can do private readings and winter term projects! You can also follow what he does and learn more about the local food movement at The Oberlin Food Blog:  http://oberlinfood.wordpress.com/