Tell your legislators: Put family farmers before Big Ag's profits!

Right now, Congress is preparing for the next stimulus package. And with your help, it could put families in need of food assistance, family farmers, and local producers of healthy food before polluting corporations. But your elected officials won’t act unless they hear from you.

Dear Representative,

As a constituent, I am very disappointed that the last COVID-19 Stimulus package failed to provide protections for family farmers and did not place restrictions on the $23 billion included for agriculture.

America’s family farmers were already in an economic crisis, but the situation has become even more dire with COVID-19. Historically, USDA has used its discretion to benefit the largest industrial farms producing corn and soy for fuel, processed foods and exports.  But small and medium-scale, farmers of color, beginning and young farmers and others who have been historically underserved by USDA have the greatest need for financial support.

These producers are losing access to markets, like local farmers’ markets and restaurants, and are struggling to make a living and feed their communities.

It’s also critical that Congress ensures access to healthy food for all residents during this crisis, but the last stimulus package failed to expand SNAP and provide sufficient support to fruit and vegetable producers. 
In the next stimulus package, please:

-	Ensure disaster relief payments go to farmers, ranchers and fisherfolk who have lost markets as a result of COVID-19 and cap relief payments to $500,000. 
-	Prioritize relief for small and mid-sized operations, limited resource producers, specialty crop producers, and farms operated by farmers of color and tribal nations for both disaster payments and targeted commodity purchases.
-	Forgive all debt for two years for all producers and implement zero interest loans for family-scale farmers.
-	Increase funding for USDA Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP) by $200,000,000 and temporarily waive cost-share requirements 
-	Double funding for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (“GusNIP”) to specifically cover direct sales from small and medium-scale producers. 
-	Double WIC benefits on fruits and vegetables. 
-	Ensure child nutrition programs are adequately compensated for the loss in revenue they have experienced this semester. 
-	Protect food and farm workers by ordering OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to mandate that employers offer adequate protections for front-line food-chain workers and others at risk.
-	Devote at least $200,000,000 to purchasing specialty crops for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).
-	Expand SNAP by boosting maximum benefits by 15%; increasing the minimum benefit from $16 to $30; and suspending all SNAP administrative rules that would terminate or weaken benefits.

These policies are essential to help our families and farmers survive this crisis. Thank you for considering my opinion.

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