There’s been much discussion about what Trump may do when he gets into office, but I’d like to tell you what he should do. Amid concerns about a hopelessly divided nation, Trump needs to champion a program that both Republicans and Democrats can get behind: Farm to School.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School program is a competitive grant program that awards schools money for building school gardens or procuring local food for their cafeterias. While this program may seem relatively insignificant, it has improved both students’ fruit and vegetable consumption and local economies.
A Trump rally in Fresno, California
The election of Trump and the GOP Congress would not have been possible without the support they received from rural voters, and it is important that they do not forget these people once they get into office. Farm-to-school programs generate an average income increase of 5% for local farmers. Such programs also benefit rural workers and the economy more broadly. Each farm-to-school job creates an additional 1.67 jobs and each dollar spent on farm to school generates an additional $2.16 in local economic activity.
But just how likely is Trump to support farm to school? Unfortunately, we know little about Trump’s views on food and agriculture policy in general and even less in relation to school nutrition. While his fast-food diet does not inspire hope, he does seem to at least vaguely grasp some of the budget issues facing school cafeterias today. On the Dr. Oz show in September, he acknowledged that obesity could be linked to what kids are served in schools, saying “a lot of schools aren’t providing proper food because they have budget problems.”
Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner and Trump advisor
Trump’s appointments give some sense for his approach to nutritional policy. Sid Miller is already serving as one of Trump’s agricultural advisors and is on the short list for Secretary of Agriculture. Miller, the current Texas Agriculture Commissioner, is perhaps best known for his controversial re-introduction of deep fryers, sodas, and cupcakes into Texas lunchrooms. However, he also started Farm Fresh Fridays in Texas, a farm-to-school program that brings local produce to Texas cafeterias. In addition, he urged schools in urban areas to plant gardens because, “Most kids never experience that. It might spark an interest in somebody becoming an organic gardener.”
Miller seems to embrace a holistic view of nutrition as opposed to the nutrient-based view that dominates our school nutrition policies. He once claimed that a Texas-grown, fried sweet potato was healthier than the school lunches served under the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which he says are “prepared in some industrial kitchen” and laden with “additives, preservatives, and dyes and all other kind of junk.” He has a point. Nutrition policies in the U.S. are so nutrient-based that they actually encourage the use of processed foods over fresh ones. This gives us some reason to believe that Trump could support the Farm to School program and maybe even a more effective child nutrition policy.
Trump will have the opportunity to champion Farm to School as soon as he gets into office. The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, which determined child nutrition policy, expired in 2015, but both the House and the Senate versions of the bill to reauthorize and amend it remain stalled in Congress.
Fortunately, both versions of the bill would double funding for Farm to School, from the current $5 million annually to $10 million. The increase in funding for Farm to School was one of the few pieces of the bill that received widespread support from both Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress. As it will likely remain stalled until the end of the term, this will be one of the first bills tackled by the 115th Congress when it convenes in January. Trump’s support might just be the push this bill needs to finally make it out of Congress.
If we want to move forward on food policy for the next four years, we need start with issues that we can agree on. Bi-partisan support makes farm to school a logical place to start.