Understanding the Farm Bill: What’s SNAP Got to Do With It?
[N]utrition programs account for a surprising two-thirds of Farm Bill spending. Low-income and emergency food assistance, nutrition education, and several farmers’ market programs are all governed under the Farm Bill. (Some other familiar nutrition programs, such as those for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the School Lunch Program, are regulated by the Child Nutrition Act, separate from the Farm Bill.)
SNAP is by far the largest of these programs, making up 95% of nutrition spending in the Farm Bill.
Simple, Good and Tasty is doing a whole series on the Farm Bill, starting with a primer on what the Farm Bill is. I’ll confess that I thought the Farm Bill largely consisted of nonsensical subsidies to corporate farmers. That’s a relatively small proportion (approximately 15%). The Farm Bill is way bigger than I thought it was.