Take Action: Contact Congress to Advocate for Increased Funding for TEFAP Foods in the Farm Bill

Congressional leaders have signaled they will push to finish the farm bill in the first months of 2024.

The farm bill is our country’s most meaningful food and agriculture bill and is reauthorized by Congress every five years. The farm bill impacts nearly every federal nutrition program that helps ease the strain and stress of hunger in communities across the country. This includes The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)—which, through the help of food banks, ensures that food from U.S. farms and producers makes its way to the homes of families facing hunger—and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which helps families afford groceries. The farm bill impacts if and how millions of people in our country put food on the table.

Specifically, we are urging people to co-sponsor the Farmers Feeding America Act of 2023—which would double annual mandatory funding for TEFAP foods—and include the legislation in the next farm bill.

Contact Info for Local Representatives:

It is imperative that these government funded food assistance programs be able to continue to provide help to our hungry friends and neighbors.

Feel free to use the following sample letter from Feeding America to contact our congressional offices about increasing funding for TEFAP foods in the farm bill.

U.S. Congressman Jim Banks: https://banks.house.gov/contact/

U.S. Senator Mike Braun: https://www.braun.senate.gov/contact/

U.S. Senator Todd Young: https://www.young.senate.gov/contact

Dear [Decision Maker],

Rural communities play a critical part in putting food on tables across the country, yet people in rural communities are more likely to face hunger. Higher rates of poverty in rural communities make it harder for people to afford food, and there may only be a single grocery store—miles or even hours away.

As a Feeding America advocate, I’m asking you to double down on our nation’s commitment to ending hunger in all communities by strengthening The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in the 2023 Farm Bill. This includes:

– Reauthorizing and increasing to $500 million per year mandatory funding for TEFAP food purchases, adjusted for inflation.

– Reauthorizing and increasing to $200 million per year discretionary funding for TEFAP storage and distribution.

– Reauthorizing $15 million per year in discretionary funding for TEFAP infrastructure grants.

– Increasing funding for the TEFAP Farm to Food Bank Program, removing the state match, and allowing states to prioritize projects for donated food or food purchased at a low cost from local growers and producers.

Sincerely,
[Your information here]