Northwest Farm Bill Action Group

Our friends at Lettuce Link support the Let’s Grow Act and so do we!

Click HERE to read a brief summary of this bill that aims to:

• Improve access to nutritious food by promoting an expansion of the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit at farmers markets across the nation and assisting local corner stores to offer more fresh food options;
• Lower the rate of childhood obesity by creating the Farm-to-Preschool Program and a private, public partnerships to conduct assessments on the availability of nutritious foods served to children through federal feeding programs;
• Eradicate hunger through the Weekends and Holidays Without Hunger program for kids, and the expansion and modernization of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which makes funding for TEFAP food more responsive to changes in need through the creation of a trigger that ties funding to the unemployment rate.  This will increase support to food banks during an economic downturn.
• Encourage training and job creation by establishing the Urban Agricultural Workforce Training Pilot Programming, which provides grants to develop and implement urban agricultural workforce training programs.
• Incentivize urban farming through the creation of the Urban Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Program, which includes training and operation support for prospective and struggling urban farmers, as well as a grant program to assist with the creation and sustaining of community gardens.  The legislation includes grants for eligible individuals and entities to acquire abandoned and/or foreclosed properties in urban areas to convert for agricultural uses, while supporting the conversion of public land to usage for urban farms and community gardens. (courtesy of Rep. Fudge, press release April 16, 2012)

Please join Lettuce Link and the Northwest Farm Bill Action Group in fighting hunger and building local food economies by asking Seattle’s Rep. Jim McDermott to co-sponsor the Let’s Grow Act. Click here to send an e-mail or call 206-553-7170.

Here’s a sample letter to get you started:

Urban communities deserve access to healthy and affordable food, which can also expand local economies. I urge you to co-sponsor the Let’s Grow Act! H.R.4351 introduced by Rep. Fudge (D-OH). Everyone should have access to nutritious and affordable food, and I believe that the Let’s Grow Act will improve the lives of people in my community.

Seattle community leaders have stated their commitment to equitable access to healthy food and a health-centered food system with the Seattle Farm Bill Principles. I believe the Let’s Grow Act builds on these principles and I urge you to show your support by becoming a co-sponsor. Thank you for your time and commitment to representing the voices of Washington’s 7^th district.