General News
Feeding America Strongly Opposes Cuts to SNAP in House Budget
Statement Attributable to Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America:
“Late yesterday, the House Budget Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2017 budget resolution introduced earlier in the week by Chairman Tom Price (R-GA). We are deeply alarmed that the plan includes a harmful proposal to convert the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) into a ‘block grant’ program.
“SNAP provides critical food assistance to people struggling with a slowly recovering economy. Such a harmful change to the structure of SNAP would result in a reduction or complete loss of benefits for millions of people at a time of elevated need, and remove the program’s ability to immediately respond to fluctuations in the economy and changes in need.
“SNAP has a proven track record of not only improving food security but also providing long-term health, education and economic benefits. Food insecurity is clearly linked to poor health, delayed development and behavioral problems for children, and an increased risk for chronic conditions for the elderly, including diabetes and heart disease. SNAP is a smart investment that pays long-lasting dividends. SNAP and other federal nutrition programs provide a critical lifeline that must be maintained.
“Congress passed a bipartisan Farm Bill in 2014 that contributed $23 billion toward deficit reduction, including cuts to SNAP. The House Budget Committee now is resurrecting proposals that were considered and rejected by Congress during the three years of debate on that bill.
“This proposal also comes at a time when at least 500,000 of the most vulnerable SNAP recipients are set to lose benefits due to the harsh three-month time limit on benefits for unemployed childless adults, despite their willingness to work and their efforts to search for a job, or whether there are sufficient work or training opportunities available.
“We can all agree that good jobs are the best solution to hunger, but the reality is that millions of Americans are unemployed. Many others are working but unable to make ends meet. We need to make sure that people who have fallen on hard times can put food on the table until they can get back on their feet.
“States already have considerable flexibility in administering SNAP. The primary consequence of a block grant would be to erode the federal commitment that a family is eligible for the same level of food assistance, regardless of whether they live in Mississippi or Minnesota.
“Current SNAP benefits are already inadequate, and the majority of SNAP benefits are redeemed by day 21 of any given month, leaving many families scrambling to find enough food. The average SNAP household receives about $255 a month in SNAP benefits, which averages less than $1.40 per person per meal.
“Any additional cuts to SNAP would increase demand on the nation’s charitable food system at a time when food banks and other hunger-relief groups are stretched to meet sustained high need.
“We urge Congress to set aside harmful policy proposals that have been previously rejected and to work together to ensure a federal budget that maintains our nation’s longstanding, bipartisan commitment to protecting programs that help ensure vulnerable people have the nutrition assistance they need in hard times.
“Federal poverty reduction policy should promote opportunity and economic mobility, while also ensuring a strong safety net that protects individuals who are facing hard times from hunger. Unfortunately the House Budget falls far short of achieving either goal. We strongly urge members of the House to vote against this budget.”
San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition Winners Announced
The Olive Press’ Picual (Sonoma) and Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Bountiful Basil (Lodi) have been named the best of show winners in the 2nd Annual San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition. The competition, open to all olive oil producers in the state of California with products made from their most recent olive harvest, received a total of 61 entries from 18 different olive oil producers from throughout the state.
Entries were received in two classes, extra virgin olive oils and flavored olive oil, with nine subcategories in total. Gold and silver medals were awarded, as well as an overall best of show selected for each of the two classes. In total there were 39 EVOO and 22 flavored olive oil entries that were judged by a panel of seven judges from the California Olive Oil Council Taste Panel. The judging took place on March 8 in Pleasanton, California.
Gold medals in the extra virgin oil class went to Enzo Olive Oil Company’s Tyler Florence Test Kitchen EVOO (Clovis) and Rosenthal Olive Ranch’s Arbosana (Madera), which both won in the category for Spanish blends. Gold medals for Spanish single variety oils went to Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Premium EVOO (Lodi), Calolea Olive Ranch’s Calolea Mission (Marysville) and The Olive Press’ Picual (Sonoma).
Gold medals for Italian blends went to Winter Creek Olive Oil’s Winter Creek Olive Oil (Winter Creek), Winter Creek Olive Oil’s Ruscello d’Inverno (Winter Creek), Coldani Olive Ranch’s Lodi Olive Growers Blend (Lodi), The Olive Press’ Italian Blend (Sonoma), Coppetti Olive Oil’s Harvest Blend (Modesto), Bava Family Grove’s Bava Monticelli Estate Napa Valley (Escalon), San Miguel Olive Farm’s Tuscan Nectar of the Gods (San Miguel) and San Miguel Olive Farm’s Tuscan Gold (San Miguel). Coldani Olive Ranch’s Lodi Olive Oil Ascolano (Lodi) won the sole gold medal awarded for an Italian single variety oil, and Bozzano Olive Ranch’s A2 (Stockton) won a gold medal for other blends.
Gold medals for flavored oils went to The Olive Press’ Lime (Sonoma) and The Olive Press’ Limonata (Sonoma), which competed in the citrus-flavored category. Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Bountiful Basil (Lodi) won the gold medal for an herbal-flavored oil, and Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Jalapeno Garlic (Lodi) and Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Extreme Heat Serrano (Lodi) won gold medals for oils with other flavorings.
Silver medals in the extra virgin olive oils class went to Fandango Olive Oil’s Fiesta (Paso Robles), a Spanish blend; Italian blends, Frog Hollow Farm’s Frog Hollow Farm Organic EVOO (Brentwood), Bozzano Olive Ranch’s Toscana Organic (Stockton), San Miguel Olive Farm’s Tuscan Pristine (San Miguel) and La Ferme Soleil’s La Ferme Soleil (San Francisco); and other blends, Rancho Azul y Oro’s Estate Blend (San Miguel) and Rosenthal Olive Ranch’s Koroneiki (Madera). Among the single variety oils, The Olive Press’ Arbosana (Sonoma), The Olive Press’ Arbequina (Sonoma), The Olive Press’ Sevillano (Sonoma), Fandango Olive Oil’s Elegante (Paso Robles), Enzo Olive Oil Company’s Delicate Ranch 11 (Clovis) and Coppetti Olive Oil’s Fall Harvest (Modesto) won silver medals for Spanish single-variety oils; Coldani Olive Ranch’s Lodi Olive Oil Frantoio EVOO (Lodi) and Alta Cresta Olive Oil’s Alta Cresta Premium Coratina (Paso Robles) won silver medals for Italian single-variety oils, and Enzo Olive Oil Company’s Bold Ranch 11 (Clovis) and The Olive Press’ Mission EVOO (Sonoma) won silver medals for other single-variety oils.
In the category for citrus-flavored oils, Olive Ranch’s Meyer Lemon (Marysville), Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Lusty Lemon (Lodi), The Olive Press’ Clementine (Sonoma) and Rancho Azul y Oro’s Estate Blend Orange (San Miguel) were awarded silver medals. Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Rustic Rosemary (Lodi) and Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Oh! Oregano (Lodi) were awarded silver medals in the herb-flavored oils category, and The Olive Press’ Jalapeno (Sonoma) and Coldani Olive Ranch’s Calivirgin Hot Virgin Jalapeno (Lodi) were awarded silver medals for oils with other flavors.
Planning is already underway for the 2017 SJVOOC, which will be held April 4. More information will be available in November at www.fresnofair.com/sjv-olive-oil-competition.
The Continuing Resource Gap For Specialty Meat Producers
By Micah Cheek
Jeanie Alderson is trying to solve a puzzle that is still confounding many of the country’s alternative meat producers: Getting her meats from her ranch to customers’ tables. Large meat processors cannot process a small farm’s meats profitably, and small meat processors are in short supply.
“We have the best grass, the best country and the best cattle, but we’re far away from everyone,” says Alderson. The Montana rancher and co-owner of Omega Beef raises grass-fed and –finished wagyu beef, to the tune of 30 to 40 carcasses a year. “The places where big agribusiness is happening, those processors won’t even look at us,” says Alderson. This size of production constitutes a fraction of what a major slaughter house would process in a year, far too little for a larger slaughter house to cut at a profit. The nearest USDA-inspected processor that will work in Omega Beef’s volumes is Quality Meats of Montana, approximately three hours away. This long drive through the Montana steppelands, combined with deliveries after processing, takes a large cut of the company’s profit margin. Unfortunately, slaughtering at an uninspected processor isn’t an option. Going without the USDA stamp would mean losing the business of their retailers, their distributor and any out-of-state customers. “Basically the only people we would be able to sell to would be individual customers in Montana,” says Alderson.
The issue of finding size appropriate processors is not limited to beef. Les Miller, Food Producer at Wheatstem Meadows Farms in South Dakota, has encountered difficulties with pork and chicken as well. Miller has found a pork processor within 50 miles, but the expansion of his business is beginning to push the processor’s capacity. Miller is also raising chickens, but can’t find a facility to slaughter them in. “That’s the problem I’m facing with the broilers,” Miller says. “The closest [processor] I could find was in Minnesota. There’s nothing in South Dakota.” Miller is legally allowed to slaughter chickens in a limited capacity without an inspected facility, but that poultry can’t be sold across state lines. “Under federal law I can do 1,000 [per year], but it still isn’t like the USDA certification,” says Miller.
Groups like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a network of agricultural advocacy groups, are involved in changing policies to make access to USDA-inspected facilities more available, but Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director with the NSAC, says the results do not come easily. “A number of farmers, frustrated by this lack of policy, are starting their own processing facilities. How do you get inspectors to these plants? That’s a huge bottleneck,” Hoefner notes. This issue has become a top concern for the National Sustainable Ag Coalition. “With the federal government, most policies are going to become one size fits all,” Hoefner adds. “We’re looking for ways to make the regulatory regime fit.” One such legislative change has allowed select state-certified processors to operate as USDA-approved facilities, increasing the number of processors with the USDA’s stamp of approval.
Another potential answer is the implementation of mobile slaughter units. These are large trailers that are essentially a certified facility on wheels. They are driven out to farms. According to the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network, there are approximately 20 MSUs in operation in the country, operating in 14 states. Hoefner notes that the MSU system is still finding its place in the market. “It’s a little bit too early to tell there,” says Hoefner. “As the market develops, maybe the market will be viable.” MSU’ could be a future key to beef and poultry operations. “I would love for my animals to not have to leave, and end their lives here,” says Alderson.
