Family Farm Action Alliance is excited to see that Congress listened to the concerns of farmers, ranchers, and rural communities as they drafted the latest version of COVID-19 relief. We encourage the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to pass this relief package.
Family Farm Action Alliance Senior Policy Advisor Jake Davis said: “We have worked hard to ensure farmers, workers, and rural communities are included in any COVID-19 relief package. While there is more work to do, Congress has listened to our calls with this bill. Many of the grants, payments, and regulatory changes in this legislation will help working families, small businesses and farmers get through a difficult time. It also begins the process of strengthening our food system which has shown, throughout this pandemic, to be incredibly fragile because of the extreme concentration of power in the hands of a few multinational corporations.”
While this bill is far from perfect, the following provisions are significant wins for the American people.
- focuses more aid to businesses like small meat processors instead of multinational companies
- makes a significant investment in the local food system creating more resilience in a time of crisis
- allocates funds to help new retailers including farmers markets accept online SNAP, pushing back against the power of monopoly retailers
- requires a review of USDA food purchasing methods for families in need
- creates food processing worker protection standards
- includes additional direct payments and grants to farmers who continue to struggle
These provisions advance the policy guidelines that are contained in Family Farm Action Alliance’s recently released research, “The Food System: Concentration and Its Impacts” and move us towards a more resilient local and regional food system.
Media Contact: Anna Straus, anna@farmaction.us
