National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA): Farm Bill priorities organizational sign-on letter

Dear Leader Thune, Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Chair Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Chair Thompson, and Ranking Member Craig:

We are undersigned organizations of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Physical Activity (NANA) Coalition, the nation’s largest nutrition advocacy coalition. As the farm bill has been extended through September 2026 via a continuing resolution, we urge Congress to pass a new farm bill that repairs cuts and protects and strengthens nutrition and feeding programs for millions of Americans.

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) slashed $186 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade. SNAP provides crucial food assistance, and two-thirds of program participants are children, people with disabilities, or older adults. Most SNAP recipients who can work already do so, but do not earn enough to make ends meet. OBBB also changed SNAP eligibility rules, making it more difficult for people struggling to afford food to access the program. SNAP is a program proven to improve food security and mitigate poverty; the massive cuts in OBBB will harm Americans’ health. SNAP also helps local economies, reduces long-term healthcare costs, and contributes to national security by improving military readiness.

A farm bill worthy of the American people would prioritize restoring SNAP access and ensuring benefit adequacy. It must also safeguard the nutrition title, which bore the brunt of harmful cuts under OBBB. No new farm bill is better than a bad farm bill, especially one that threatens health and rolls back proven nutrition programs.

In comparison, a good farm bill would increase access to nutritious foods (such as through nutrition incentives), strengthen the food environment to provide access to healthy choices for consumers, and restore the Nutrition Education and Obesity Grant Program, which funded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) program.

This farm bill is Congress’ chance to fix the harmful changes made in OBBB before we truly feel their negative effects. Failing to act now will threaten the health of millions of Americans and harm the economy.

Sincerely,
American Heart Association
Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Children's Council of San Francisco
Coalition for Healthy School Food
The Community Grocer
Food Research & Action Center
FoodPlay Productions
Healthy Food America
Horizon Foundation of Howard County (MD)
Louisiana Food Policy Council
MomsRising
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP)
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Education Association
National League for Nursing
Pilot Light
Pinnacle Prevention
Society of Behavioral Medicine
Trust for America's Health