| Agricultural Policy |
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Agricultural policies govern what and how farmers grow or raise domestically and what agricultural products get imported. These policies impact food prices and availability as well as dietary intake among children in the United States. Research in this area evaluates agricultural policies, including those related to commodity foods, agricultural subsidies and food assistance programs. Title: Planting the Seeds for Public Health: How the Farm Bill Can Help Farmers to Produce and Distribute Healthy Foods
RWJF Grant ID: 65057
Principal Investigator: Jill Krueger, J.D.
Organization: Farmers’ Legal Action Group
Results: Resulting from a detailed legal analysis of the 2008 Farm Bill, this report finds that lack of information about yields and prices for fruits and vegetables has undermined farmers’ ability to make them more widely available and accessible. The report highlights the barriers the agriculture community faces in providing access to healthy foods, and provides key policy recommendations to help farmers to grow and distribute fruits and vegetables.
Title: The Federal Child Nutrition Commodity Program: A Report on Nutritional Quality
RWJF Grant ID: 57925
Principal Investigator: Kenneth Hecht, L.L.B.
Organization: California Food Policy Advocates
Results: This report found that school districts fail to take advantage of healthier foods offered by the federal child nutrition commodity program, despite improvements in the nutritional quality of foods offered to schools by USDA. The study found that, in California, meat and cheese products accounted for more than 82% of the dollars spent on commodity foods, while only 13% were used to purchase fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Nationally, the study found that more than 50% of commodity foods are sent to processors before they arrive at schools. Processing is completely unregulated as to nutritional quality. As a result, the items most frequently purchased-ground beef, cheese and chicken-are served to children as hamburgers, pizza and chicken nuggets, which are high in calories and saturated fat. School districts need assistance in using the commodity program wisely and fully to assure the highest nutritional meal quality for their students.
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