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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Tuesday, March 04, 2025
Some groups and state agriculture leaders are beginning to rethink food as medicine programs to better connect local agricultural systems with nutrition.
Bipartisan momentum is building to scale up and tweak the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and enhance the offering of the healthy incentive pilots funded at $20 million in the 2008 farm bill.
Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the newest members of the House Ag Committee, wants to make sure consumers having trouble accessing healthy food options get relief when Congress considers changes to the farm bill.
Witnesses at a House Ag hearing on nutrition programs called for a stronger emphasis on health outcomes and improving job opportunities for those receiving food assistance. Committee members, meanwhile, used the hearing to vocalize their positions on potential reforms in the coming farm bill.
A recently released evaluation of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) indicates the program’s positive impact continues to grow.
Data from pilot projects is already pouring in on the positive impact on health with food prescriptions and medically tailored meals. Now groups are gearing up to make the case for continued funds within the farm bill as well as tapping into the larger pool of health care dollars to change the trajectory of the nation’s declining health and increase the scale of food-as-medicine projects.
A Tuesday hearing at a Senate Agriculture Subcommittee illustrated a bipartisan priority to incorporate the concept of "food as medicine" into the upcoming farm bill.
The White House has launched an effort to get Medicare and Medicaid, and eventually private health plans, to provide medically tailored meals to all Americans, a goal that produce growers hope will ultimately expand consumption of fruits and vegetables.
