Farm Bill Trends and Food Insecurity: Impacts on Rural and Urban Communities

With the constraints in federal budgeting requiring the shrinkage of federal programs, programs outlined in the 2014 Farm Bill are significantly impacted, showing a thirteen year trend toward funding reduction. This paper examines historical Farm Bill programs, including crop subsidies and the nutritional assistance programs and how these programs historically addressed food insecurity versus how they are impacted by today’s budgetary constraints. The paper also examines new models for addressing food insecurity and how communities are pulling together resources to address food insecurity. In discussing the new models, the paper focuses on policy trends and funding structures; for example community food co-ops and their impact on farmers, rural and urban communities that are facing food insecurity. Ultimately, the paper aims to give the agriculture and law sectors tools to lessen the impact of Farm Bill changes and funding reductions in local communities