Brown Visits Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Discusses Food Security, Farm Bill Priorities

 

Brown Seeking Ohioans’ Input on Priorities for Next Farm Bill, How to Build Stronger Local Food Supply Chains

GROVE CITY, OH – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined stakeholders at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective to discuss the importance of food security and learn what priorities Ohioans have for the2023 Farm Bill. Brown addressed those at the Statewide Farm Bill Convening Focused on Food Security, toured the facility while speaking with Foodbank leaders and then spoke with Food Collective volunteers.

“We know how important farming is to our state – 1 in 7 Ohioans depend on agriculture for their jobs, and Ohio farmers are some of the most productive in the world,” said Brown. “We’ve seen during the pandemic how long supply chains that stretch around the world can cause inflation. In the next Farm Bill, I want to make it easier for farmers to feed their communities and for consumers to buy local Ohio food and farm products and keep money where it belongs: here in our communities.”

Brown, the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years, will help write the upcoming Farm Bill.

Brown has long been a leader for Ohio’s agricultural communities. This week, Brown held several roundtables around the state to talk with farmers and other producers about their priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill.

“The upcoming Farm Bill is an absolutely critical legislative vehicle to protect and promote food security for every Ohioan and every American. Food security means the ability to afford and access adequate, nutritious food. But more broadly, food security also means the sustainability and viability of our food systems and food supply,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, Executive Director, Ohio Association of Food Banks. “We look forward to working in partnership with our elected officials, including Senator Brown, over the next several months to make sure Ohio is leading the national conversation around ways to promote food security, in every sense of the term, in the 2023 Farm Bill.”

“The tie between food security and access to healthy food is undeniable in our ongoing work to lift up our neighbors. The Farm Bill provides critical pathways to ensure availability of fresh food for individuals and families facing food insecurity,” said Matt Habash, President & CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with Senator Brown and our federal officials in creating a Farm Bill that brings together so many diverse interests to work collectively toward ending hunger.”

Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, Brown held similar roundtables around the state to learn  from farmers and other agriculture stakeholders about what they wanted to see in that bill, and successfully secured a number of Ohio-specific provisions that were important to the state’s agriculture industry.

The event was sponsored by the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, The Center for Community Solutions and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.