Maine needs farm bill’s food aid

Many people have criticized the reauthorization of the farm bill last week because of its obscure and unfair farm subsidies. While it is true that Congress missed an opportunity to revamp the commodity portion of the farm bill (Title I), it should not be forgotten that this program is a small and shrinking portion of the bill.

The farm bill is an enormous piece of legislation. It directs which commodities get subsidized, how we provide international food aid, how we protect and work in our forests, the resources to conserve land and waterways, and how we bring relief to hungry Americans just to name a few. With all of these issues at hand, it can be hard to tell whether this bill is good for Maine.

While Maine has never benefited from Title I of the farm bill in any substantial way, we have benefited from the food stamp program. The largest program within the farm bill is the food stamp program which more than 160,000 Mainers depend on. The food stamp program is a powerful tool both for fighting hunger and stimulating the economy. With an increase of more than $10 billion over 10 years, we have a real chance of addressing food insecurity. Maine is currently one of three states with the highest rate of food insecurity, surpassed only by Mississippi and Louisiana. In Maine, an additional $72 million now will be spent over the period between 2008 and 2017 trying to combat hunger.

The Nutrition Title (Title IV) is the portion of the farm bill that will have the largest effect on our state. The 2008 farm bill passed by Congress and making its way to the president makes numerous improvements in the Nutrition Title to help low-income Americans put food on the table. It invests an additional $10.36 billion in nutrition programs; including $7.8 billion for the food stamp program, $1.26 billion for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and $1 billion for the free fresh fruit and vegetable snack program. It provides resources to states to help stock food banks, including $50 million in 2008 to immediately address shortages at food pantries. It raises and indexes the minimum standard deduction and increases the minimum benefit for food stamp recipients, which is especially important for seniors in need.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “the food stamp program also serves as an economic stimulus, creating an economic boost that ripples throughout the economy when new food stamp benefits are redeemed. By generating business at local grocery stores, new food stamp benefits trigger labor and production demand, ultimately increasing household income and triggering additional spending.” USDA estimates that every $5 in food stamp benefits generates $9.20 in local economic activity.

Though reforms to farm policy may not have gone far enough, the shift from farm subsidies to conservation efforts, research, rural development and nutrition takes this legislation closer to reform than ever before. The commodities portion of the farm bill constitutes only 18 percent of a massive piece of legislation and is shrinking. In fact, less than a quarter of the farm bill is focused on farm policy anymore. So while it is true that bad farm policy in the farm bill delivers very little to Maine, the majority of the new farm bill – now named the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 – sends more money to our state than ever before.

Nicole Witherbee is a federal budget analyst for the Maine Center for Economic Policy.