Creating the Nutrition Focus of the 2007 Farm Bill

Title IV of the 2007 farm bill began to switch the farm bill from a focus more on addressing food insecurity and more towards the well being of low income and nutritionally vulnerable populations. The provisions improved access to fruits and vegetables, provided for a study on obesity, called for a pilot project that provided healthy incentives for SNAP participants, and modified the SNAP nutrition education program to team with CDC and other community efforts addressing obesity. Some of these studies, such as the healthy food SNAP incentives demonstration project, are just getting started, but there has been discussion of limiting the food choices for SNAP recipients. Discussions of SNAP education have begun to examine new efficient ways to ensure those receiving or eligible for SNAP benefits know how and why to select healthy foods. Congress will consider changes to the SNAP program and other nutrition-related programs as part of efforts to reduce the budget deficit. The farm bill will also be an opportunity to examine which nutrition programs are working and which may need to be improved given the nutritional and health status of Americans, especially low income households.