141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

289538
Protecting against hunger and promoting nutrition in the farm bill

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

Sophie Milam , Feeding America, Washington, DC
In addition to setting agriculture policy, the Farm Bill authorizes critical federal nutrition programs that protect millions of people from hunger. SNAP, formerly food stamps, is the nation's frontline hunger-relief program, providing nutrition assistance to over 47 million people. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides nearly 20 percent of the food distributed through Feeding America's national network of food banks. Other programs support community-based strategies for promoting food security. The 2013 Farm Bill will be written at a time when food insecurity and poverty are at historic highs, and at a time when Congress is focused on cutting spending to reduce the nation's budget deficit. The presenter will discuss why the Farm Bill is critical to protecting against hunger and promoting nutrition and highlight opportunities to make progress even at a time of limited resources.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Explain how the Farm Bill can help to protect against hunger in the U.S. Describe how federal nutrition programs impact health and hunger in the U.S.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Sophie Milam is Director of Nutrition Assistance and Budget Policy at Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization representing a network of over 200 food banks nationwide. Sophie works on federal hunger and nutrition policy with a focus on SNAP and child nutrition programs. As chair of the 50-member Food Policy Working Group, Sophie builds partnerships to engage diverse national organizations in hunger and nutrition policy and coordinate their advocacy efforts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.