Sixty-seven percent of Farm Bill spending goes to food and nutrition programs. Some highlights of the Nutrtion Title include:
INCREASED OVERALL SPENDING
More than $10 billion over ten years in total federal nutrition spending, with $7.8 billion for the Food Stamp Program (renamed the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," or SNAP), $1.26 billion for emergency food assistance, and $1 billion for the free fresh fruits and vegetables snack program for school children.FOOD STAMP PROGRAM REFORMED TO REFLECT REAL NEEDS OF WORKING FAMILIES
New provisions and funding improves access to, and purchasing power of food stamps. The food stamp allowance better reflects the needs of working families to save money, invest in education and provide care for dependents. The minimum allowance increased from $10 to approximately $14 per month.SUPPORT FOR FOOD BANKS AND OTHER EMERGENCY FEEDING ORGANIZATIONS
Commodity purchases through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) increase from $140 million to $250 million annually, with indexing for inflation.
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The Emergency Feeding Assistance Program (TEFAP): TEFAP is a federal program that provides food at no cost to low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief. Federal commodities through TEFAP provide some of the most nutritious products received by the Food Bank. Programs like TEFAP serve the public good in two important ways: First, high-quality, nutritious food gets to hungry Oklahomans through the Oklahoma Food Bank System, and second, the agricultural economy is strengthened through surplus commodity removal.
Food Stamp Program (FSP): is our nation's first line of defense against hunger. Each month, the program provides assistance to more than 26 million people nationwide, enabling them to purchase food necessary for a healthy and productive life. For many families, the FSP is a lifeline, a support just as crucial as Social Security is to the elderly. Nationwide, more than half of the people served by the FSP are children and more than three quarters of the total program funding goes to households with children. Over the course of a year, the FSP brings more than $467 million in assistance to vulnerable families in Oklahoma.Oklahoma has been nationally recognized for its success in increasing participation in the FSP. In federal fiscal year 2002, an average of 316,809 Oklahomans participated monthly, representing 75 percent of those eligible to paricipate.