Please

note: most items without a description were added to the survey by participants, and appear with as much information as was provided. The deadline to participate in Survey 2 is May 25th, 2012. Food Security and Nutrition 1. Support a national pilot program to provide incentives for SNAP recipients to purchase fruits and vegetables: Studies have shown that financial incentives help increase healthy food purchases. An expanded pilot program would investigate the impact of purchasing incentives for fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins among SNAP participants. 2. Protect funding for federal nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP: Nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), play a vital role in protecting vulnerable populations from hunger and from the health consequences of poor nutrition. The federal nutrition assistance programs also create market opportunities for farmers via increased purchasing power for food among low-income individuals 3. Protect funding for SNAP-Education: SNAP Nutrition Education, or SNAP-Ed is an important program for improving the health of SNAP participants while helping to stretch benefits to the end of the month to purchase healthy foods, and supporting Americas farmers through education that encourages the purchase of the healthy foods they grow. SNAP-Ed is an effective program for ensuring low-income Americans have the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, improve diets, and reduce their risk of chronic disease and obesity. 4. Promote the use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets, CSAs, and other farm-fresh outlets: Serving over 45 million Americans, the SNAP program can be a major economic driver. Enabling SNAP participants to purchase directly from farmers would have significant impact on participants access to fresh food, and farmers incomes. Currently, many non-brick and mortar food outlets do not have wireless EBT devices to enable SNAP participants to purchase food. Under this priority, USDA would support wireless EBT point of sale devices to farmers markets, CSAs, and other farm-fresh outlets. Enable and encourage smartphone SNAP EBT technology in this effort.

Description of Possible Priorities for HFHP Coalition Priority Setting Survey 2 of 3 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HFHP_Survey_2

Healthy Farms, Healthy People Coalition Priority Setting Survey 2 of 3 Details For more information about the coalition, please see hfhpcoalition.org

5. Allow third-party organizations to accept EBT on behalf of farmers and farmers markets with administrative or technological barriers to establishing an EBT system on their own. For example, one NGO could serve as the hub for various farmers to make their products available to SNAP participants without each farmer having to be provided individual EBT capabilities. 6. Maintain and expand funding for Community Food Projects: Programs that enhance community food security, such as Community Food Projects, encourage job creation and economic growth. They also support farmers through the purchase of their products, as well as communities food security through access to these foods. 7. Increase support for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI): The HFFI supports the development of stores that carry fresh, healthy food in previously underserved areas. Supporting healthy food financing would enable more healthy, fresh food retailers to develop and thrive in communities that currently lack in these new markets. 8. Allow nurseries that sell food-producing trees and plants to become authorized SNAP retailers. Local and Regional Food 9. Expand funding for the Farmers Market Promotion Program: Programs like the Farmers Market Promotion Program encourage job creation and economic growth. They also support farmers through the purchase of their products. 10. Increase funds for local and regional food system infrastructure such as on-farm processing equipment and aggregation, distribution, and processing facilities: Such infrastructure would strengthen regional food hubs, Farm to School, value-added production, and other rural development programs. 11. Establish mechanism for schools to use Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh and USDA Foods funds to purchase local and regional product for school food programs: Establishing an avenue for schools to use DoD Fresh and USDA Foods funds to purchase and/or process local and regional products would help ensure that small- and mid-size farmers can participate in these programs and bring fresh products into school meals. 12. Ensure school districts are eligible for any new program funding that streamlines or consolidates existing programs that could support districts access to whole and minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grain, dairy and protein through regional food hub and supply chain investments 13. Ensure that any new regional development program set-aside funds may be used to support school-food supply chain improvements Fruits and Vegetables: 14. Protect funding for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program: The USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program has been a highly successful, cost-effective program, providing fruit and vegetable snacks to low-income elementary school students, thus increasing their consumption and introducing many to Healthy Farms, Healthy People Coalition Priority Setting Survey 2 of 3 Details For more information about the coalition, please see hfhpcoalition.org

new foods. It runs in selected low-income elementary schools in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 15. Facilitate small and mid-size farms production of diverse fruits and vegetables 16. Increase funding for Specialty Crop Block Grants 17. Support programs that increase the availability and affordability of vegetables and fruits Production Methods: 18. Maintain and increase funding for working lands conservation programs (such as, EQIP and Conservation Stewardship Program): Farmers play an extremely important role in preserving natural resources. Programs that encourage robust conservation practices on working lands benefit farmers, environmental health and ultimately, human health. 19. Maintain and increase funding for programs that promote organic production: Pesticide exposure has been linked to cancer and other health threats, such as endocrine disruption. Organic production protects farmers, farm workers and consumers from pesticide exposure and has numerous other environmental benefits. Organic programs in the farm bill include the National Organic Certification Cost-share Program and the EQIP Organic Initiative. Research 20. Require USDA to submit a report to Congress each year on the impact of US Agriculture on Health: In order for Congress to better understand these links and act accordingly to protect public health, via this priority, a written report covering topics such as environmental health, antibiotic resistance, farm and food worker health, and use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in agriculture, would be complied by USDAin partnership with other relevant Agenciesand submitted to Congress on an annual basis. 21. Expand research to advance adaptation and preparedness of the agricultural sector in face of climate change, water shortages, peak oil and other ecological threats. USDA does critical research on these issues. This important work needs more support and more of a systems-research approach, including a focus on the development of sustainable agricultural methods that can balance improved efficiency and effectiveness of production with increasingly limited resources and a changing natural environment. Fairness, Competition and Prices 22. Ensure funding set-asides in relevant programs for minority farmers who have been historically discriminated against by the USDA. Healthy Farms, Healthy People Coalition Priority Setting Survey 2 of 3 Details For more information about the coalition, please see hfhpcoalition.org

Rural Development: 23. Support HR 3236 Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Opportunity Act of 2011. More information available here: http://sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/beginning-farmer-bill/ Other: 24. Bring together public health and agriculture in more venues. 25. Require the USDA to once again make information on individual agricultural subsidies available to the public. 26. Support programs that ensure the reduction of harmful chemicals in food. 27. Work to have USDA align program spending with the Dietary Guidelines.

Healthy Farms, Healthy People Coalition Priority Setting Survey 2 of 3 Details For more information about the coalition, please see hfhpcoalition.org