The Senate late last week passed a Farm Bill that includes some important provisions that will help maintain our nation’s leadership role in the world to confront global hunger. Some of the important improvements regarding global hunger that were included in the Senate-passed Farm Bill are:

• Increased resources to purchase food closer to hunger-affected communities rather than shipping it from far away;
• Increased cash resources to support long-term development food assistance programs (also known as “safe box” programs) such as providing meals at school to boost enrollment thus creating greater efficiency and flexibility to meet the needs of those who are hungry; and
• A step in the right direction towards increasing the amount of money dedicated to non-emergency programs that address persistent hunger, also known as the safe box. This amendment, introduced by Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas and adopted in the final bill, improved the funding prospects for the safe box programs but did not solve overall underfunding in the Senate bill.

Now that the Senate has completed its work on the Farm Bill, the measure moves to the House of Representatives. It is expected that the House Agriculture Committee will take up their version of the Farm Bill the week of July 9th. For a Catholic take on the Farm Bill provisions, read the USCCB’s summary of the Farm Bill.