Earlier today, Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren posted on Medium her plan for a “New Farm Economy,” which outlines a number of sweeping proposals intended to support America’s family farmers.
Of particular interest to Lunch Tray readers is Warren’s proposed one-hundred-fold increase in funding for the Farm-to-School Program, transforming the initiative into what she calls “a billion-dollar ‘Farm to People’ program’”
The current Farm-to-School Program opens the lucrative school food market to local farmers, ranchers, and other food providers, benefitting local economies while bringing fresher, healthier food to children’s cafeteria trays. Under Warren’s proposal, “all federally-supported public institutions — including military bases and hospitals — will partner with local, independent farmers to provide fresh, local food.”
The goal, writes Warren, is to open up new supply chains and grow thriving local and regional food systems, outside of the reach of the giant agribusinesses that currently control how food reaches the end consumer.
You can read the entire Warren New Food Economy plan here.
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