Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack joined a call with the American Farmland Trust to break down some of the benefits for farmers in the American Rescue Plan.
The plan includes $12 billion dollars for nutrition programs, including a temporary 15 percent increase for SNAP. Vilsack says that the funding will allow USDA to increase commodity purchases to distribute to food banks and help families with children who are not able to get meals at school.
He says that increasing benefits for families also supports producers.
According to the Secretary, “Fifteen cents of every food dollar that is spent in the grocery store ultimately ends up in the pocket of the farmer. So, in a sense, as you increase and expand significantly, in fact doubling really, the help and assistance that we’ve provided in the past in terms of nutrition-- you essentially are impacting and ultimately affecting farmer income.”
During the call, the Secretary said that USDA will work with states to get more people signed up for the program.
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