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The Farmlink Project’s mission is simple: to provide nutritious food to those who need it most. However, the underlying issues that make this mission necessary are much more complex. By addressing food insecurity, The Farmlink Project attempts to address a myriad of problems: racial inequities in the food system, climate change, food waste, and the struggles of farmers, to name a few. The Farmlink Project approaches these issues from a grassroots level, but the implementation of policy by federal decision-makers is critical to support the people that are so often disadvantaged within the food system.
With the swearing in of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, the struggles of rural Americans and minority groups are being placed at the forefront for new policies. Before his first day in office, Biden vowed to defend the environment, support small business owners, protect farms and farmers, and aid historically disadvantaged racial groups through a series of policies that will starkly contrast those of the previous administration.
For example, Biden’s plans include the incentivization of carbon-reducing practices, which will reward farmers for curbing their emissions and eventually accomplish the goal of making America the first country to achieve net-zero emissions in its agriculture sector. Biden also promises to grant $150 billion in new capital to small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas and create the Farmland Trust, which will support underrepresented, low-income people in finding, purchasing, and maintaining farmland and diversify the supply chain. He commits to creating supply chains that will deliver food from farms to schools, hospitals, and government institutions to allow farmers to negotiate prices for their crops. Biden also guarantees that he will restore tribal lands and address climate change threats on Native lands, while also addressing the disproportionate rates of food insecurity and health disparities in Indigenous communities.
These new policies will aid people like Jewel Williams, the community leader in Georgia, who is combating the resource inequities in the Southeast that have intensified the negative effects of food insecurity and COVID-19 on her community. They will also assist Pierre Sleiman Jr., the entrepreneur whose company, Go Green Agriculture, uses sustainable practices to grow crops in areas that are not suited to traditional growing methods. They will benefit the Place family of Hidden Pastures Goat Dairy in New York, whose supply chain was devastated by the pandemic and who, before connecting with The Farmlink Project, threw away 95 percent of the goat milk they produced every day. Similarly, they will help Gwendena Lee Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona, who facilitated mask drives and food deliveries to members of her tribe, which was the hardest hit of any Indigenous nation by COVID-19 and often lacks access to clean water and healthy food.
The Farmlink Project feels incredibly lucky to work alongside such resourceful and passionate leaders who are so committed to protecting their communities. As the food industry battles the challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new presidential administration needs to live up to their promises to aid these people and rebuild the food system so that one day, organizations like The Farmlink Project no longer need to exist. There is still plenty of work to be done; although no one policy will fix the holes in the American food system, these policies are a step in the right direction to ensure that those who have struggled under the inequities of the food system are supported and empowered to thrive under the new administration and hopefully for many generations to come.
These changes are great. But how’s it all going to be funded?
During the comment process, Farmlink, as well as other food rescue organizations and coalitions, raised critical questions about how the strategy would be funded and, as a result, which measures are feasible. In particular, we hoped for more clarity beyond the draft’s statement that the USDA would use American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act funds and the EPA would use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. Of the 86 programs or initiatives reviewed in the final strategy, only 15 are completely new programs announced in the strategy.
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The other 71 are existing programs or initiatives that either already have a food loss and waste focus or that the national strategy has repackaged as food loss and waste solutions. While we had hopes of new, innovative programs being included in the strategy, the good news with these 71 programs is that most, if not all, are already funded, meaning that they are not reliant on an increasingly turbulent Congress for implementation. Of the 15 new programs, which included the EPA’s new consumer education campaign and several new cooperative agreements with land-grant universities, only 2 had specific funding mechanisms. It has become increasingly clear that food rescue organizations and other stakeholders in the food and agriculture space should not consider this strategy as a new rollout of FLW solutions, programs, and funding but rather as an evaluation of the current resources and solutions and how each can be most effectively utilized to achieve the strategy’s goals. In particular, the framing of many of USDA’s programs as FLW solutions offers opportunities to utilize existing funding, data, and infrastructure to solve one of the United States’s most pressing problems.
Whats next?
Now that we have the strategy, it’s time to truly take advantage of the opportunities it presents. In the immediate future at Farmlink, we’re excited to continue optimizing Section 32 as a critical on-farm food loss solution as we anticipate significant surplus recoveries in the fall. As we move forward, we continue to advocate for dignity with food distribution, emphasizing cultural appropriateness and quality in every pound of food we rescue. As outlined in our comments, food rescue organizations are critical stakeholders and thought partners for the agencies. Our inclusion in the strategy as such is an opportunity we are taking full advantage of to help guide federal action to support farmers, feed communities, and heal the planet.
< BackThe Farmlink Project’s mission is simple: to provide nutritious food to those who need it most. However, the underlying issues that make this mission necessary are much more complex. By addressing food insecurity, The Farmlink Project attempts to address a myriad of problems: racial inequities in the food system, climate change, food waste, and the struggles of farmers, to name a few. The Farmlink Project approaches these issues from a grassroots level, but the implementation of policy by federal decision-makers is critical to support the people that are so often disadvantaged within the food system.
With the swearing in of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, the struggles of rural Americans and minority groups are being placed at the forefront for new policies. Before his first day in office, Biden vowed to defend the environment, support small business owners, protect farms and farmers, and aid historically disadvantaged racial groups through a series of policies that will starkly contrast those of the previous administration.
For example, Biden’s plans include the incentivization of carbon-reducing practices, which will reward farmers for curbing their emissions and eventually accomplish the goal of making America the first country to achieve net-zero emissions in its agriculture sector. Biden also promises to grant $150 billion in new capital to small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas and create the Farmland Trust, which will support underrepresented, low-income people in finding, purchasing, and maintaining farmland and diversify the supply chain. He commits to creating supply chains that will deliver food from farms to schools, hospitals, and government institutions to allow farmers to negotiate prices for their crops. Biden also guarantees that he will restore tribal lands and address climate change threats on Native lands, while also addressing the disproportionate rates of food insecurity and health disparities in Indigenous communities.
These new policies will aid people like Jewel Williams, the community leader in Georgia, who is combating the resource inequities in the Southeast that have intensified the negative effects of food insecurity and COVID-19 on her community. They will also assist Pierre Sleiman Jr., the entrepreneur whose company, Go Green Agriculture, uses sustainable practices to grow crops in areas that are not suited to traditional growing methods. They will benefit the Place family of Hidden Pastures Goat Dairy in New York, whose supply chain was devastated by the pandemic and who, before connecting with The Farmlink Project, threw away 95 percent of the goat milk they produced every day. Similarly, they will help Gwendena Lee Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona, who facilitated mask drives and food deliveries to members of her tribe, which was the hardest hit of any Indigenous nation by COVID-19 and often lacks access to clean water and healthy food.
The Farmlink Project feels incredibly lucky to work alongside such resourceful and passionate leaders who are so committed to protecting their communities. As the food industry battles the challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new presidential administration needs to live up to their promises to aid these people and rebuild the food system so that one day, organizations like The Farmlink Project no longer need to exist. There is still plenty of work to be done; although no one policy will fix the holes in the American food system, these policies are a step in the right direction to ensure that those who have struggled under the inequities of the food system are supported and empowered to thrive under the new administration and hopefully for many generations to come.
President Biden’s Plans for the American Food System
The Farmlink Project’s mission is simple: to provide nutritious food to those who need it most. However, the underlying issues that make this mission necessary are much more complex. By addressing food insecurity, The Farmlink Project attempts to address a myriad of problems: racial inequities in the food system, climate change, food waste, and the struggles of farmers, to name a few. The Farmlink Project approaches these issues from a grassroots level, but the implementation of policy by federal decision-makers is critical to support the people that are so often disadvantaged within the food system.
With the swearing in of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, the struggles of rural Americans and minority groups are being placed at the forefront for new policies. Before his first day in office, Biden vowed to defend the environment, support small business owners, protect farms and farmers, and aid historically disadvantaged racial groups through a series of policies that will starkly contrast those of the previous administration.
For example, Biden’s plans include the incentivization of carbon-reducing practices, which will reward farmers for curbing their emissions and eventually accomplish the goal of making America the first country to achieve net-zero emissions in its agriculture sector. Biden also promises to grant $150 billion in new capital to small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas and create the Farmland Trust, which will support underrepresented, low-income people in finding, purchasing, and maintaining farmland and diversify the supply chain. He commits to creating supply chains that will deliver food from farms to schools, hospitals, and government institutions to allow farmers to negotiate prices for their crops. Biden also guarantees that he will restore tribal lands and address climate change threats on Native lands, while also addressing the disproportionate rates of food insecurity and health disparities in Indigenous communities.
These new policies will aid people like Jewel Williams, the community leader in Georgia, who is combating the resource inequities in the Southeast that have intensified the negative effects of food insecurity and COVID-19 on her community. They will also assist Pierre Sleiman Jr., the entrepreneur whose company, Go Green Agriculture, uses sustainable practices to grow crops in areas that are not suited to traditional growing methods. They will benefit the Place family of Hidden Pastures Goat Dairy in New York, whose supply chain was devastated by the pandemic and who, before connecting with The Farmlink Project, threw away 95 percent of the goat milk they produced every day. Similarly, they will help Gwendena Lee Gatewood, Chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona, who facilitated mask drives and food deliveries to members of her tribe, which was the hardest hit of any Indigenous nation by COVID-19 and often lacks access to clean water and healthy food.
The Farmlink Project feels incredibly lucky to work alongside such resourceful and passionate leaders who are so committed to protecting their communities. As the food industry battles the challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new presidential administration needs to live up to their promises to aid these people and rebuild the food system so that one day, organizations like The Farmlink Project no longer need to exist. There is still plenty of work to be done; although no one policy will fix the holes in the American food system, these policies are a step in the right direction to ensure that those who have struggled under the inequities of the food system are supported and empowered to thrive under the new administration and hopefully for many generations to come.
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