![]() ![]() About 1 in 7 children in the state face hunger daily. West Virginia holds some of the highest food insecurity rates in the nation, with nearly 12% of residents defined as “food insecure” by Feeding Hunger. West Virginia a ‘massive stakeholder’ in nutrition programs Those pandemic-era programs include more money in SNAP benefits for families and, locally in West Virginia, a delay on the implementation of work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents to access the benefits. “If we had more flexibility, we could be able to build in and retain a bunch of the support programs that were implemented through COVID-19 but are now done.” ![]() ![]() “We should be able to use it in backpack programs for students, for school lunch programs,” Leonhardt said. ![]() When there is a surplus of funds in grant programs or other programs authorized by the farm bill, Leonhardt wishes West Virginians had the opportunity to “be creative” with where that money goes. Programs like SNAP Stretch - a statewide program that allows SNAP and EBT dollars to be used at participating farmers markets to increase access to fresh produce - should be expanded, he said, and barriers for sellers to participate should be lowered. Generally, Leonhardt would like to see several components of the farm bill become more flexible. There are rules, we’re inspected and meeting those standards, so why can’t we benefit from wider sales?” “It’s difficult to get plants set up in the panhandles because of those restrictions. “If West Virginians can buy and eat that meat, why can’t people in Pennsylvania, in Ohio?” Leonhardt said. This year, Leonhardt has several specifics he would like to see a farm bill tackle, including a fix to meat processing that would allow local processors who have their plants inspected by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture to sell the goods across state lines. “West Virginia needs different than Pennsylvania, than cash crop states, than other places altogether.” “Let’s face it - not every state is the same, and a one size fits all approach for the nation doesn’t always work,” Leonhardt said. Kent Leonhardt, the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture, said the sprawling scope of the farm bill legislation is part of what makes it so complicated but also crucial. The impact this will have on West Virginia will likely not be as big as it will for other states, where farming makes up larger portions of the economy, as nutrition programs - the key concern for the Mountain State - are permanently authorized under the farm bill and can be extended with already-budgeted dollars. If the current farm bill expires without a new one passed, several programs to support local farmers and food economies could expire while others will revert to archaic 1933 laws. On the local level, the massive pFiece of legislation passed federally every five years dictates how everything from nutrition assistance programs to farm and crop subsidies are deployed in communities nationwide. 30 deadline to pass the sprawling omnibus approaches. As members of Congress return from their August recess today, discussions and debates around the 2023 farm bill are expected to ramp up as the Sept. ![]()
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