Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced the FRESH Act, a bill that would reduce federal subsidies that fund foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sugar. Please call your senators today and ask them to vote for the FRESH Act. Then, send a follow-up e-mail.

As it stands, the Farm Bill does relatively little to encourage consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. If the FRESH Act is passed, Farm to School and Farmers' Market Promotion programs would receive more funding. Food Stamps recipients would be encouraged to use farmers' markets, and the government would initiate a pilot program giving discounts for the purchase of fruits and vegetables. The health of America’s schoolchildren would be prioritized. Under the FRESH Act, the government must support healthy diets when allocating food and food ingredients for school meals. The Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program would be expanded to more than 5,000 schools, and funding would increase by several times the current amount.

The FRESH Act would reduce subsidies overall, which means less support for meat and more money for nutrition programs. Currently, federal policies do relatively little to support fruit and vegetable farmers, who receive less than 0.5 percent of subsidies. More than 80 percent of food production subsidies support meat, sugar, oil, dairy products, and animal feed.

Please call and e-mail your senators today! If you have any questions, please contact me at kash@pcrm.org.