Opportunities in the 2018 Farm Bill: Federal Efforts to Advance Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems

Tuesday, January 9, 2017

View Presentation Slides, Speaker Biographies, and Q&A handout.

The Farm Bill shapes our local, regional, and national food systems, from farm and crop production, to access to healthy food, to nutrition and hunger programs. The process to reauthorize the Farm Bill in 2018 is underway. Stakeholders, advocates, and community members all have a role in ensuring that the next Farm Bill protects and expands progress made thus far, while strengthening policies that advance equitable and sustain food systems and healthy communities. This webinar will provide a brief overview of the Farm Bill and status of the reauthorization process, as well as highlight four key policy pillars within the legislation: the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), healthy food incentive programs such as Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI), and sustainable agricultural and local/regional food system development. Speakers will discuss challenges and opportunities in each policy arena and highlight opportunities to get involved in shaping the next Farm Bill.

Speakers include:

• Abby Bownas, NVG  
• Lisa Cylar Barrett, PolicyLink
• Ellen Vollinger, Food Research and Action Center
• Brenton Ling, Fair Food Network
• Wes King, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• John Weidman, Center for Healthy Food Access, The Food Trust (Moderator)

The Food Trust's Center for Healthy Food Access presents the second in a series of webinars featuring the work of our grantees.

Increasing Healthy Food Access Through Grocery Stores and Healthy Corner Stores shares lessons learned by national experts who have financed grocery store development and other healthy food retail in low-income urban and rural communities, and community-based grassroots organizations that have provided technical assistance and resources to small stores to help them sell healthy food.

Featured Speakers:

Sajan Philip, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), will discuss how LIIF has worked to increase access to healthy food retail in areas across the U.S. by increasing capital in low-income communities, and share lessons learned while implementing the New York Healthy Food Healthy Communities Initiative.

Juan Vila, The Food Trust, will discuss the work being done through the Good. To. Go. program to increase access to healthy food in corner stores in San José, CA, and elsewhere across the country.

Shamar Hemphill, Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), will discuss IMAN’s work to strengthen relationships between communities and corner store owners in Chicago while starting a healthy corner store initiative.

Mary Elizabeth Evans, Hope Enterprise Corporation, will discuss Hope’s work implementing Healthy Food Financing Initiatives to increase access to fresh food retail in rural and urban areas in the Mid-South.