FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Highlights Historic Food System Investments
President Biden has prioritized strengthening America’s food system across every segment of the food supply chain from farm to fork. The Biden-Harris Administration has invested in a food system that is fair, competitive, distributed, and resilient. By taking a whole-of-government approach, the Administration is bringing new revenue to farms and ranches, bolstering local and regional food markets, and supporting workers across the agriculture and food supply chain, while making nutritious food more accessible and affordable for families and ensuring consumers have the information they need to make informed, healthy choices.
Today, the Administration took another significant step to help empower consumers and create a healthier food supply. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would require a label on the front of food and beverage packages that indicates if an item is high, medium, or low in added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. Consumers would then have simplified, at-a-glance nutrition information that helps them quickly and easily make more informed choices.
BUILDING NEW MARKETS AND INCOME FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS
The Biden-Harris Administration is helping farmers keep farming by removing barriers and supporting opportunities for farmers and ranchers to diversify their income—increasing the resilience and profitability of their operations.
Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture and Renewable Energy
President Biden knows that agriculture has great potential to fight climate change, and that climate-smart practices offer farmers, ranchers, and foresters new revenue streams.
Through the novel Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested over $3 billion in 135 five-year projects that provide farmers a financial incentive to implement climate-smart practices. The program has connected over 14,000 participating farms to climate-smart markets, premiums, and incentives; enrolled more than 3.2 million acres of working land into climate-smart practices, with over half of participants being new adopters of climate-smart agriculture; sequestered over 400,000 metric tons of carbon; and made over 40 climate-smart commodities available to consumers.
Powered by the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic injection of $19.5 billion to support on-farm conservation practices, USDA is addressing its backlog of popular conservation programs for farmers wanting to use water-saving, soil-protecting, carbon-storing practices. Through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), USDA since 2021 has enrolled nearly 190,000 farmers in conservation programs and awarded 28,622 contracts through the Inflation Reduction Act for a total of nearly $2 billion.
Also supported by President’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program is the largest investment in rural America’s electric system since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act in 1936. It invests $9.7 billion to help member-owned rural electric cooperatives provide their communities with clean, reliable, and affordable energy. USDA announced approximately $9 billion through New ERA across 24 states so far, with the rural electric cooperatives building or purchasing nearly 12 gigawatts of clean energy.
The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) funds new clean energy and energy storage projects to make it more affordable for rural Americans to use clean, reliable energy. In 2024, USDA awarded 34 projects totaling $917 million. And since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested more than $3 billion through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in 9,901 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements helping farms and small businesses lower their energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resilience of their operations.
All five programs advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The Administration has also galvanized unprecedented science-based investments in climate-smart agriculture on a global scale. Launched by President Biden at COP26, the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) has mobilized $29.2 billion for research and innovation, funding nearly 130 projects to advance climate-smart agriculture and strengthen food systems around the world.
Supporting All Types of Food Production
The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to build a more diversified food system that includes a variety of growing operations that meet consumer demand, embrace innovation, and shorten the distance food travels from field to table.
USDA established the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production to provide technical and financial assistance for a variety of growing operations, including community farms and gardens, rooftop, indoor, and vertical farms, and hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic facilities. In 2024, USDA provided more than $5.2 million in grants to support urban, small-scale, and innovative producers.
To boost access to locally grown fruits and vegetables, USDA has invested more than $357 million through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative for research and extension projects addressing key production challenges and more than $407 million through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to support growers through marketing, education and business support. Through its new Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops initiative, the Department will provide $2 billion to help farmers who grow fruits, vegetables, and nuts overcome market barriers for their products, and $140 million through the Commodity Storage Assistance Program to help farmers access storage for their crops following severe weather events.
And to support the rising demand for organic products, USDA launched the Organic Transition Initiative which has invested $300 million to support farmers transitioning to organic agriculture. USDA’s Organic Market Development Grant program has awarded $85 million to 107 projects, enhancing processing capacity and promoting domestic organic products.
Rebuilding Trust and Advancing Opportunity
On Day One, President Biden issued an Executive Order that charged the federal government with advancing equity for all, including communities that have long been underserved, and addressing systemic barriers and disparities in our Nation’s policies and programs.
USDA is facing its difficult history of discriminating against the people who needed its help the most, convening an independent Equity Commission that issued a report with 66 recommendations to lift barriers to inclusion and access across USDA programs, policies, systems, and practices. USDA has implemented dozens of the Commission’s recommendations and has worked with Congress to advance legislative action necessary to implement the remaining changes.
As a result of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, USDA made additional investments to break down barriers. For example, USDA provided $67 million through its Heirs’ Property Relending Program which allows intermediary lenders to help farmers and landowners resolve heirs’ land ownership and succession issues. USDA invested $300 million in 50 innovative projects to improve access to land, capital, and markets for underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. USDA also invested $100 million through the Technical Assistance Investment Program to support more than 33 cooperator organizations in providing outreach and tailored resources to underserved farmers and ranchers. To support future food and agriculture leaders, USDA launched the $262.5 million NextGen Program supporting more than 60 institutions of higher education to engage and train a diverse next generation food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences workforce.
In addition, USDA created the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program which distributed nearly $2 billion to more than 43,000 farmers, ranchers, and landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs. USDA’s distressed borrower assistance program deployed about $2.4 billion to help forgive or offset farm loans for nearly 44,000 farmers. This program has generated or supported nearly 49,000 jobs, increased household income by $2.47 billion, added $3.56 billion to the United States gross domestic product, and increased gross revenues from total sales of final goods and services by $5.66 billion.
MODERNIZING THE MIDDLE OF THE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN: FOOD PROCESSING, AGGREGATION, & DISTRIBUTION
President Biden issued an Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains, directing federal agencies to make food supply chains more resilient to future disruptions. The Administration has since built more distributed, local capacity to increase resiliency in the face of market disruptions, provided more choices for farmers to create value added products and sell locally, and supported job creation in rural communities.
Building Local and Regional Food Processing Capacity and Markets
USDA has invested over $1.4 billion to support new or expanded small and medium sized processing facilities and to create a more diverse and secure U.S. food supply chain. These investments are giving farmers more market options and fairer prices by spurring competition, while providing consumers with more choices and affordable prices at the grocery store. This includes $336 million in grants to about 75 projects through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program and $275 million to 29 lenders under the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program, enhancing competition and strengthening the food supply chain. And USDA awarded $48 million in grants to 12 Tribal Nations through the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meating Processing Grant Program, supporting traditional harvesting and processing methods for indigenous animals like bison, reindeer, and salmon.
USDA launched the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, and is committing $420 million to enhance local and regional food supply chains by investing in key supply chain infrastructure including processing and distribution capacity like warehousing and cold storage. To spur private investment in infrastructure, USDA launched the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, leveraging $52 million from the American Rescue Plan to unlock nearly $382 billion in loan guarantees. USDA also funded 12 Regional Food Business Centers across the country to provide technical assistance, market access, and capacity building support for farmers and businesses.
Recognizing the power of institutional purchasing to bolster local food systems, USDA invested $1.3 billion for Local Food Purchasing Agreements with 50 states, 92 Tribes, three territories, and the District of Columbia to purchase local food for food banks, schools, and other nutrition assistance programs. USDA launched the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, allocating over $800 million to state governments to procure local, unprocessed foods for school meal programs. This builds on USDA’s Local Agriculture Market Program, which has funded more than 100 projects to cultivate local and regional food economies across the country through farmers markets, value-added production, and marketing support.
Supporting Food Banks and the Emergency Food System
USDA invested billions of dollars for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including $2.5 billion for food purchases, enhancing the support the emergency food system provides through organizations like food banks. To expand emergency food assistance to underserved areas, USDA awarded nearly $100 million in TEFAP Reach and Resiliency grants to 42 state agencies. USDA also helped connect surplus food to emergency feeding organizations, investing up to $4 million in annual funding in the Farm to Food Bank Project, with 27 states and territories receiving grant funding in FY 2024.
CREATING MORE FAIR AND COMPETITIVE MARKETS
President Biden has prioritized boosting competition in agriculture, including signing a landmark Executive Order on Promotion Competition in the American Economy and announcing an Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain.
Promoting Competition and Transparency
USDA spearheaded several new rules to improve fairness and competition, including final rules to promote transparency in poultry farming contracts and prohibit discrimination and ban retaliation against farmers and ranchers in meat markets, as well as a proposed a rule to protect poultry growers from unfair deductions and variations in pay.
USDA also finalized a new rule that only permits the voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” claim to be applied to meat and poultry products that are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States, which better aligns with consumer understanding of what the label means. USDA stood up the first-ever Farmer Seed Liaison initiative to work across the Federal government, including with the U.S. Patent Office, to promote transparency, farmers’ and plant breeders’ voice, and researcher access to germplasm.
The Administration also committed to better enforce the laws on the books. USDA stood up an enforcement partnership with 32 state attorneys general. USDA and Department of Justice (DOJ) strengthened their collaboration, and in 2022 created an anonymous reporting tool for unfair and anticompetitive practices. Since then, DOJ brought suit against Agri Stats for using algorithms to fix prices and outputs in meat markets; secured a consent decree with major poultry processors Cargill, Sanderson, and Wayne Farms to limit unfair variations in pay for poultry farmers; secured a consent decree with Koch Foods cracking down on penalties unlawfully imposed on farmers who tried to work for other chicken processors; and blocked a merger of Dole and Fresh Express which would have consolidated vegetable markets.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully challenged the largest grocery merger in US history and brought a case to prevent price discrimination by big brands against independent retailers. The DOJ and FTC also worked to preserve and promote the right of farmers to repair their own tractors, including parts and batteries.
Boosting Trade and Market Access
The Administration has delivered over $26.7 billion in agricultural market access across the globe for America’s farmers and ranchers. The four largest annual export values on record were between 2021 and 2024, including a record-high of $195.7 billion in agricultural exports in 2022.
USDA allocated $600 million to 72 U.S. organizations through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) to diversify and expand export markets for American agricultural products. USDA also invested $65 million through the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative to help specialty crop producers overcome non-tariff trade barriers. And the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program continues to fund projects addressing sanitary and phytosanitary challenges that hinder U.S. specialty crop exports.
IMPROVING FOOD ACCESS, NUTRITION SECURITY AND HEALTH
President Biden has been steadfast in ensuring every American family has access to affordable, nutritious foods. The President hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years; released a National Strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030; and cultivated over $10 billion in external commitments, including through the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. More than 20 federal agencies are taking action to implement the National Strategy.
Improving Food and Nutrition Security
A critical step to reduce hunger and associated disparities is helping all Americans become economically secure. The expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) through the American Rescue Plan in 2021 helped cut child poverty nearly in half, reduced food insecurity by roughly 26%, and led to the lowest share of households with children that were food insecure on record. President Biden and Vice President Harris are advocating to restore this expansion and lift nearly three million children back out of poverty.
USDA completed a comprehensive reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan—the basis for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—to reflect the current costs of a healthy diet, resulting in a 21% increase in the maximum SNAP benefits for a family of four. This was the first adjustment of its kind since 1975. USDA modernized the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, increasing WIC participation by 5.3% from 2021 to 2023, and permanently funded the bonus package that enabled participants to access more fruits and vegetables.
USDA improved school meals and snacks with a new rule that reduced added sugars and sodium, while also expanding access to free school meals through the Community Eligibility Program (CEP). To ensure kids have meals over the summer months, the Administration established the SUN Bucks program giving families $120 per child—with the amount expected to rise over time with inflation—during summer months to purchase groceries. This is the first permanent nationwide summer grocery benefit and addresses longstanding spikes in hunger when children lose access to school meals. And beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, students eligible for free or reduced-price meals will no longer incur processing fees when using cashless payment systems, alleviating unnecessary financial pressure on low-income families.
The Administration has also strengthened food security for our nation’s military members and families. The Department of Defense (DOD) published the Strengthening Food Security in the Force: Strategy and Roadmap report, outliningmore than 50 actions and subsequent progress made across the Department to improve Service members’ access to nutritious, affordable food. This includes creating Dietitian-Approved Fueling Stations that are increasing healthy food options across DOD dining facilities and vending machines, and enabling online shopping and curbside pickup service at its commissaries to now accept SNAP payments online. And the Administration enhanced and expanded access to the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA), which helps low-income military households better afford basic needs. DOD increased the BNA eligibility threshold from 130 to 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines and excluded federal food assistance programs from Service members’ gross household income calculations, making it easier for them to qualify for and receive a higher BNA.
Galvanizing a Food is Medicine Movement
Food is Medicine (FIM) encompasses a broad range of approaches that promote optimal health and healing and reduce disease burden by providing nutritious food—with human services, education, and policy change—through collaboration at the nexus of health care and community. To accelerate FIM, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established the FIM Initiative to Unify and Advance Collective Action and launched a comprehensive online toolkit to help communities design and implement FIM interventions. Collectively, HHS and other federal agencies continue to lead critical investments that support growth of FIM interventions across the nation.
As part of this work, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created groundbreaking opportunities for states to cover clinically appropriate and evidence-based services and supports that address health-related social needs, such as food insecurity. CMS published updated guidance on state opportunities, which includes a framework of services and supports that CMS considers allowable under specific Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) authorities. This builds on previous guidance and brings together policy from approved section 1115 demonstrations, providing direction and encouragement for state partners to realize these opportunities, such as providing medically-tailored meals and nutrition counseling to beneficiaries with a clinical need. To date, CMS has approved section 1115 demonstrations in 18 states that cover certain evidence-based housing and nutritional services.
CMS finalized the creation of advance investment payments for certain new Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). ACOs are permitted to use these payments to address the social needs of beneficiaries, including working with local community-based organizations to address food insecurity. CMS also developed an Agency strategy for diabetes prevention and management.
The Indian Health Service (IHS) awarded $2.5 million to help decrease food insecurity in Native communities, integrate an Indigenous perspective to FIM, and advance food sovereignty. Of that funding, five tribes and tribal organizations were awarded $500,000 annually to implement a 5-year Produce Prescription Pilot Program to improve health care outcomes and overall dietary health by increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and traditional foods.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken several steps to support the health and well-being of our nation’s veterans. For example, VA established the Veterans Food Security Office, becoming the first national health care system with an office exclusively dedicated to food security. VA also partnered with the Rockefeller Foundation to pilot the expansion of Food is Medicine programs and launched produce prescription programs at the Salt Lake City and Houston VA Facilities, with additional pilots coming soon. Additionally, veterans’ participation in the VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen Program significantly increased from 31,000 to 43,000 encounters in FY 2024, and all other outpatient nutrition encounters with Dietitians increased from 1.6 to 1.9 million.
To improve access to fruits and vegetables for low-income communities, USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) from 2021 to 2024 provided nearly $290 million in funding to over 200 projects through nutrition incentive projects and produce prescription projects. USDA also established a network of four Nutrition Hubs under the ASCEND for Better Health Initiative to equitably advance nutrition security and prevent diet-related chronic diseases and cancers in underserved communities.
Understanding the connections between nutrition and health across diverse groups requires substantial investment in science, research, and data as well. In FY 2023 alone, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided $2.2 billion to support nutrition research and training. Significantly, NIH is leading the largest current single investment in human nutrition research through Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH), powered by the All of Us Research Program, which is working across 14 U.S. sites to engage 8,000 participants from diverse backgrounds to learn more about how our bodies respond differently to food. NIH also funded the Advanced Training in Artificial Intelligence for Precision Nutrition Science Research institutional training program. This program’s goal is to build a diverse workforce with competencies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science analytics to tackle complex biomedical challenges in nutrition science and lead to innovative solutions to diet-related chronic disease. NIH also partnered with the FDA to hold a joint workshop to advance collaborative nutrition science that can generate evidence and data to inform food-related policy decision-making across topics such as ultra-processed foods and emerging innovation related to nutrition regulatory science.
Empowering Consumers to Make Healthy Choices
As food can be a vehicle for wellness, FDA is supporting nutritious eating patterns by providing information that helps consumers make informed food choices and by encouraging industry to make foods healthier. FDA updated the criteria for the “healthy” claim for food labels to help consumers quickly find foods that are the foundation of healthy eating patterns. In an additional effort to help consumers quickly and easily identify which foods are part of a healthy diet, FDA conducted consumer research and published a proposed rule on front-of-package nutrition labeling that, if finalized, would require a label on the front of most foods and beverages that indicates if they are high, medium, or low in added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. Consumers would then have simplified, at-a-glance nutrition information that can help them quickly and easily make more informed food choices.
Research shows that excess sodium consumption is a contributing factor in the development of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke, the first and fifth leading causes of death in the country, respectively. FDA has continued its sodium reduction efforts by issuing Phase I and draft Phase II voluntary sodium reduction targets for industry to help reduce sodium across the food supply. Already, 40% of the Phase 1 targets set for foods have been met or nearly met. FDA also issued a proposed rule to allow safe and suitable salt substitutes in standardized foods for which salt is a required or optional ingredient.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has meanwhile expanded efforts to improve Americans’ access to nutritious foods and healthy environments. CDC launched the PLACES interactive map so that people can understand what is happening in their community across health outcomes, prevention measures, health risk behaviors, disabilities, and health-related social needs. CDC also added new questions on consumption of fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverages in the National Survey of Children’s Health to understand national and state-level trends to inform action. The agency’s investments in key state and local programs to increase healthy eating, active living, and prevent obesity have resulted in 3.8 million children attending childcare where nutrition and physical activity practices are improved, more than 9 million Americans with increased access to healthier food where foods are served or sold, and over 28 million people with increased access to physical activity in communities. CDC also continues to grow obesity prevention and treatment programs, including the Diabetes Prevention Program and Family Healthy Weight Programs.
Federal agencies also leveraged the federal government’s purchasing power to expand healthy food options. For example, the VA reduced sodium in inpatient and residential food operations by 400 milligrams per day compared to 2022, and is expanding procurement of local foods for veterans’ care facilities by drafting a new Veterans Health Administration Directive to recertify local set aside practices for bread, milk, and produce. In addition, HHS directed all HHS Operating Divisions to adopt the Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities (FSG) in their facilities. The FSG are a set of best business practices to increase healthy food options for employees and visitors, prevent food loss and waste, and increase local food sourcing.
ENHANCING FOOD SAFETY
The Administration has also taken important steps to protect public health by ensuring safe food products and enhancing consumer protections against foodborne illness.
USDA issued a rule to classify raw poultry products contaminated with specific Salmonella levels and serotypes as adulterated, aiming to reduce over 1 million Salmonella infections annually in the U.S. USDA also finalized a rule declaring Salmonella an adulterant in raw breaded stuffed chicken products exceeding 1 colony-forming unit per gram.
FDA launched the “Closer to Zero” initiative (C2Z), which sets forth a science-based approach to continually reducing exposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury to the lowest levels possible in foods eaten by babies and young children. As part of the C2Z initiative, FDA has issued numerous action levels for toxic elements: draft levels for lead in juices; final levels for lead in foods intended for babies and young children; and a final level for arsenic in apple juice.
In addition, FDA revoked authorizations for the uses of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food because of the potential for adverse health effects in humans. FDA also revised its regulations and revoked prior-sanctioned uses of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) because studies consistently link consumption of PHOs (industrially produced trans fat) with heart disease. Before the end of the term, FDA also plans to revoke the authorization of Red No. 3, a red dye used in certain medications and various foods and beverages, including candies, cakes, frostings, and frozen desserts, due to studies showing that the dye caused cancer.
SUPPORTING BREAKTHROUGH AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation catalyzed a series of bold goals and federal actions to ensure that the U.S. can continue to lead the world in science, technology, and innovation, especially to accelerate sustainable agricultural production. For example, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and USDA collaborated on the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge to harness agriculture to scale up new technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels on a commercial scale by 2050. And through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), USDA has awarded $517 million in 76 projects to boost innovative domestic fertilizer production by 9.1 million tons annually and create more than 800 jobs in rural communities.
Since 2021, USDA has invested over $8.4 billion in extramural funding to advance agricultural research, education, and extension programs to build a stronger, science-informed agricultural future. This includes $1.7 billion in funding for minority-serving higher education institutions (MSIs) to build a more diverse agriculture and food sector through education and scholarships, and nearly $2 billion for activities under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). USDA and the Department of Education also issued letters to 16 states to close the over $12 billion gap in funding between land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their non-HBCU land-grant peers in their states.
To boost innovation, USDA invested $144 million in small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and provided $661 million for new and inventive projects that strengthen the bioeconomy. USDA also partnered with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to invest more than $220 million to establish a nationwide network Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes to lead AI-driven innovation across agriculture.
SUPPORTING WORKERS ACROSS THE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
The Biden-Harris Administration has taken action to protect farm and food workers across the supply chain and provide them with the resources they need to thrive. For example, USDA’s Farm and Food Workers Relief Grant Program provided $670 million to 14 non-profit organizations and one Tribal entity to distribute $600 relief payments to farm, meatpacking, and grocery workers who incurred expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program, USDA awarded $50 million from the American Rescue Plan to agricultural employers, many of which were small and mid-sized farms, so they can hire and retain the workers they need to be competitive while improving labor standards for workers.
The Administration also increased protections to support the health of farmworkers. EPA stopped the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food to better protect human health, particularly that of children and farmworkers. EPA issued an emergency order to stop the use of the pesticide dacthal to address the human health risk, and the agency released a final rule restoring pesticide Application Exclusion Zone requirements to protect farmworkers and people who live near farms from being exposed to pesticides as they are being applied. The Department of Labor proposed a rule to establish the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard to address excessive heat in the workplace. If finalized, the rule would protect about 36 million workers and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths on farms and in other workplaces.
REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE
In June 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration released the first-ever National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics to accelerate the reduction of food loss and waste.
USDA has invested $57 million of American Rescue Plan funds to get surplus wholesome food to individuals; develop linkages between farmers, providers, and food recovery organizations; and educate school children and youth about food loss and waste and strategies to reduce it. This includes $23.3 million in cooperative agreements to help 119 entities pursue innovative, scalable waste management plans aimed at reducing and diverting food waste from landfills.
In addition, using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, EPA established two grant programs—the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Program and the Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Program—to support communities, states, territories and Tribes with materials management. Through these two grant programs, EPA has awarded $198 million with over $83 million going to organics recycling projects, and the remainder supporting composting projects—the majority of which included food waste.
The Administration has also taken other actions to prevent food waste. In 2022, FDA released the most recent version of the Food Code, which clarified for the first time that food donations from retail food establishments are acceptable as long as proper food safety practices are followed. USDA invested $1.5 million to fund a Center that will prioritize food loss and waste prevention and recovery among Land-grant Universities and their partners. FDA and USDA issued a joint Request for Information (RFI) to collect information on food date labeling terms like “Sell By,” “Use By,” and “Best By” to reduce the premature discard of wholesome food and thus help households save money.
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