FOOD

Good Food for All

How the Farm Bill Can Make Sure Everyone Has Access
to Healthy Food
Fact Sheet March 2011

s consumers become more aware of the impacts food production has on our health
and environment, its becoming clear that our food system is broken. The system
fails many low-income consumers in even more fundamental ways, and growing
numbers of Americans struggle to feed their families healthy food on a regular basis.
The earnings of all but the richest families in America have
been stagnant for the past four decades,1 which has made
it harder for many families to put healthy food on the table.
In the short term, government food assistance programs
need to be strengthened so low-income families can afford
healthy, nutritious foods, not just the cheapest options. We
also need to strengthen programs that will increase access
to good quality food.
In the long term, people need opportunities to earn a living wage, and our nations social safety net must include
a broader array of anti-poverty programs. For both farmers
and consumers at all income levels to thrive over the long
term, families need the opportunity to earn a decent living
so that they can afford their own healthy foods.

Safety Net Against Hunger

Most consumers would be surprised to discover that the
vast majority of farm bill funding goes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known
as food stamps. SNAP provides low-income people with
benefits equivalent to cash to spend on food at approved
grocery stores and farmers markets. As of the most recent
farm bill, just over half the funding went to SNAP, but that
percentage has increased substantially since the economic
downturn. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there has been a 60 percent increase in the
number of people receiving SNAP benefits between 2007
and 2010.2
While it is unacceptable that one in seven Americans
struggle to feed their families,3 it is impressive that SNAP
helped cushion the recessions impact on so many families
in distress. SNAP benefits provide one of the best ways
to stimulate our economy, as one dollar in benefits yields
$1.73 in economic activity.4

Millions of Americans still struggle with the after-effects of

the recession. Now is the time to protect and strengthen
SNAP benefits to prevent further struggles for families trying
to make ends meet. The farm bill also creates a system in
which the USDA purchases substantial amounts of foods
like meat, poultry, dairy, and processed fruits and vegetables
from U.S. producers to be distributed through food banks
to low-income people. These important purchases supply
the food banks and food pantries that often help families in
acute crisis before they are able to receive SNAP benefits.

Access to Healthy Foods

Many grocery store chains left the inner city during the latter half of the 20th century, as supermarket brands merged
and closed older stores. New, bigger supermarkets were
built in the suburbs, creating a model difficult to replicate

How to Get There

The farm bill is a crucial opportunity to create a more fair,
safe and sustainable food system, and to make sure we
have an adequate safety net to prevent families from going
hungry. We need to protect what was gained in the 2008
Farm Bill and make sure the 2012 Farm Bill:
Helps re-establish regional food systems that will provide healthy affordable food to all communities.
Expands programs like Community Food Projects and
other innovative programs to increase access to healthy
foods.
Ensures fair markets for farmers, so small and mid-sized
farmers are able survive and thrive. A small number of
large corporations should not be able to determine the
food we eat and who has access to it.

in city neighborhoods.5 During the 1980s, cities lost supermarkets, even as more grocery stores opened than closed
nationwide. By 1995, the gap between the poor and rich
urban neighborhoods had widened, with 44 percent less
retail supermarket space in the poorest 20 percent than in
the richest 20 percent.6 The loss of retail stores typically
leaves low-income consumers with few options either
travel further to reach a grocery store or shop at a convenience store in their neighborhood, with fewer, more
expensive options.7 Several studies of low-income peoples
purchasing habits show an association between lack of access to supermarkets and fewer purchases of healthy foods.8
Advocacy groups, local governments and the federal
government are leading initiatives to encourage supermarket chains to invest in low-income neighborhoods and
convenience stores to increase the types of healthful food
they sell.9 Nonetheless, the trends toward bigger, suburban
supermarkets continue, worsening the public health crisis
of limited food access in food deserts.10
All sectors of our food system are increasingly dominated
by a small number of large corporations, worsening these
food access problems. In retail, just five companies account
for 56 percent of grocery sales, four companies control 85
percent of the meat processing, and one company controls
40 percent of milk sales. This extreme concentration of
power creates huge barriers to the development and maintenance of independent grocery stores. This accelerates
food deserts and helps to drive Americas family farmers out
of business.
The 2008 Farm Bill directed the USDA to conduct its first
comprehensive study of food deserts. It also provides
funding for the Community Food Projects grant program,
which assists community groups in expanding access to
local, healthy foods, as well as the Senior and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Programs, which provide vouchers for
low-income consumers to use at farmers markets. We need
to protect these gains, but we must do more.

Prioritizes safe workplaces and fair wages for all laborers in the food system.
Join us in the movement to create a Fair Farm Bill. Learn
more, take action and get involved at www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fairfarmbill.

Endnotes
1

Shaw, Hannah, and Chad Stone. Tax Data Show Richest 1 Percent
Took a Hit in 2008, But Income Remained Highly Concentrated at the
Top Recent Gains of Bottom 90 Percent Wiped Out. Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities. October 21, 2010.
2
Hagstrom, Jerry. Undersecretary Kevin Concannon: No food stamp
cut expected. The Hagstrom Report. Vol. 1, iss. 18. February 2,
2011.
3
Nord, Mark, et al. Household Food Security in the United States,
2009. USDA Economic Research Service Report Number 108. November 2010 at iii.
4
CNNMoney.com. Food stamps offer best stimulus study. Moodys
study suggests extending unemployment benefits, increasing food
stamps fastest ways to stimulate economy. Available from http://
money.cnn.com/2008/01/29/news/economy/stimulus_analysis/index.
htm. Accessed February 10, 2011. January 29, 2008.
5
Eisenhauer, Elizabeth. In poor health: Supermarket redlining and
urban nutrition. GeoJournal. Vol 53. 2001 at 127-128.
6 Ibid. at 128.
7
USDA Economic Research Service. Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their
Consequences. Report to Congress. June 2009 at 71.
8 Ibid. at 78.
9
See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [Press release]
Obama Administration Details Healthy Food Financing Initiative. February 19, 2010; The Food Trust. Pennsylvania Fresh Food
Financing Initiative Encouraging the development of food retail in
underserved Pennsylvania communities. Available from http://www.
thefoodtrust.org/php/programs/fffi.php. Accessed October 15, 2010.
10 Eisenhauer at 128.

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Copyright March 2011 Food & Water Watch