Search Results for: Heal Farm Bill

Farmers, Food and Farm Groups Oppose Partisan Efforts to Weaken New Federal Rule Addressing Discrimination in Agricultural Lending

NATIONAL (May 15, 2024) – Today, 130 organizations including the HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance, the National Young Farmers Coalition, the Rural Coalition, the Center for Responsible Lending, and Self-Help, a national CDFI, sent a letter to Congress opposing multiple targeted efforts by Republican lawmakers to weaken, overturn, and provide exemptions to Rule […]

Equity Must be Integral to USDA Programs: HEAL’s Takeaways From the USDA Equity Commission’s Final Report

*Important update as of 1/24/2024* After decades of discriminatory practices that furthered inequities between white farmers and BIPOC farmers and years of pressure from farmers, organizers, and advocates across the country, the USDA brought on an equity commission that over the course of two years developed a comprehensive set of recommendations to improve outcomes for […]

HEAL Statement on USDA Equity Commission’s Final Report

February 26, 2024: Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Equity Commission issued its final report of recommendations for the USDA to “address historic and current discrimination and promote equity.” The Commission’s report provides the USDA and Congress with a guide to righting past wrongs and ensuring it provides programs and services equitably to […]

Sovereignty & Resilience: HEAL’s Winter Update

Welcome to the HEAL Food Alliance quarterly newsletter! To stay up to date on what’s happening in the food and farm justice movement, subscribe now » Everywhere we look this winter, we see beautiful acts of resistance, community building and care. At HEAL we recognize that our sovereignty and liberation is interconnected. It will take […]

Dysfunctional Congress Left American Farm Workers in Limbo

*note: This op-ed was originally published in the the Opinion section of the Messenger on October 18, 2023 Dysfunctional Congress Left American Farm Workers in Limbo By Jose Oliva and Sophie Ackoff Although Congress was able to make a deal this weekend and avoid a government shutdown, the 21.5 million people working in the food […]

Together We Thrive! HEAL’s 2023 Year in Review

Download “Together we Thrive” – HEAL’s 2023 End of Year Report! Everywhere we look, we see beautiful acts of resistance. Hundreds and thousands of people upending their own lives. Saying no genocide, yes to land back. We see poetry and prayer. Protests and possibility. People making meals for each other, giving each other car rides, […]

Bills, Bills, Bills: Nine pieces of legislation that could push the Farm Bill in the right direction

As part of the farm bill process, members of Congress introduce “marker bills” to try to get provisions included into the larger bill. We do not expect Congress to pass marker bills as standalone bills – they are often not politically feasible to pass on their own. But they do get people talking and help build momentum for policies that should be included in the larger (“omnibus”) bill. Marker bills are also an opportunity for advocacy, enabling community groups and legislators to work together to address issues that impact our food system and our lives. 

Climate Resilience: HEAL’s Summer Update

Welcome to the HEAL Food Alliance quarterly newsletter! To stay up to date on what’s happening in the food and farm justice movement, subscribe now » As we soak up the final weeks of summer, we are reflecting on the super bloom of our alliance’s collective work – from building climate resilience in our communities […]