Learning about the Farm Bill

 On Thursday, March 16, JustFaith Ministries is offering a webinar on the Farm Bill, an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. 
 
According to Congressional Research Service (CRS):
Farm bills have become increasingly expansive in nature since 1973, when a nutrition title was first included. Other prominent additions since then include horticulture and bioenergy titles and expansion of conservation, research, and rural development titles. 
 
Without reauthorization, some farm bill programs would expire, such as the nutrition assistance and farm commodity support programs. 
CRS also notes: 
The relative proportions of farm bill spending have shifted over time. In the 2023 projection, the Nutrition title is 85% of the farm bill baseline, compared with about 76% when the 2018 farm bill was enacted and 67% in the 2008 farm bill. Sharp increases in the Nutrition title reflect pandemic assistance and administrative adjustments made to SNAP benefit calculations. For non-nutrition farm bill programs, baseline amounts in 2023 are greater than when the 2018 farm bill was enacted ($221 billion over 10 years as of 2023 compared with $210 billion over 10 years in 2018). 
The one-hour webinar will feature Mary Kate Costello, Director of International Policy and Relations at Church World Service and Eric Mitchell, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Hunger.
 
For more information about why you should advocate on this important piece of legislation, or to register, click here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CACC names new executive director

Peter Crasto-Donnelly has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Capital Area Council of Churches . Peter has served on the board for five years and as Board President for the last two years. He is a member of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Americas in Albany.     In making the announcement, the board expressed its thanks to Bruce France for his five years of service as Executive Director and thanked him for his ongoing help to ensure a smooth transition.   A video message from Peter is available here .
Read more

And so it begins

This is the continuation of a blog with the same name that lived on the website of the Albany Times Union for more than seven years until last week, when the newspaper decided to end that service. I am grateful to the staff of the paper for giving me the opportunity to reach out to their large audience and develop a following that was concerned about the role of religion in our public life. We in the Capital District are blessed to have an interfaith community that willingly shares its beliefs without feeling the necessity to attack those who believe differently. We gather on issues where we agree and travel our own paths on issues where we differ. Those differences center on substance, never on the character or tenets of the other. By way of introduction, my name Walter Ayres and I am an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. I also am director of Catholic Charities Commission on Peace and Justice, a member of the Capital Area Council of Churches , the Labor Religion Coalitio...
Read more

Stop the Hate on September 21

On Wednesday, September 21, the College of Saint Rose will mark the United Nations’ International Day of Peace with a “Stop the Hate” program. It will begin at 7 p.m. in the Interfaith Sanctuary, 959 Madison Avenue in Albany. Joan Horgan, director of spiritual life at Saint Rose, said that the International Day of Peace calls upon people worldwide to cease all types of violence and re-dedicate themselves to the work of peace. “Stop the Hate” speakers include Lisa Good, who works with Urban Grief and the victims of gun violence; Anne Liske, a Quaker whose community works for peace; Dr. Sheik Ubaid, who will address the anti-Muslim genocide in India; Father Vasyl Dovgan, who will share the perspective of the Capital Region’s Ukrainian community; and Walter Ayres of Catholic Charities will talk about racism and voting rights.   The event, which is free and open to the public, will also feature prayers and music from multiple faith traditions.    “At every level in our commun...
Read more