The Honorable Collin Peterson
United States House of Representatives
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Rep. Peterson,
We write to you as Minnesota and Wisconsin farmers and members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) Federal Policy Steering Committee. Our committee decided on the agricultural policy priorities in LSP’s “Our Farm Bill” campaign. We selected these policy priorities to serve family farmers, everyday people and the land. We believe that our public policy should serve the public good. It should value the land, support all people, and strengthen the communities people live in.
We are aware right now that as part of the leadership of the U.S. House Agricultural Committee, one of the major topics you are negotiating on is funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the 2018 Farm Bill.
We appreciate your leadership to resist proposed cuts to the program. The values of the “Our Farm Bill” campaign lead us to support a strong and secure SNAP program. We as farmers need vibrant communities where no one is left behind. We all depend on each other, and just as we believe our public policy should create a safety net for family farmers, it should also provide a strong safety net for all people so they can feed their families. When all families can eat and succeed in our communities, we as farmers succeed.
The SNAP program should not only be protected, but also build on the advances made to better connect farmers selling into their communities with families wanting to use SNAP to access the food these farmers grow. All people deserve healthy food to live healthy lives.
Therefore, we urge you, Rep. Peterson, to support a strong and secure SNAP program. Any cuts to SNAP’s funding will hurt us all. Our communities suffer when families cannot feed themselves. We ask you to act courageously in the best interests of farmers and our communities by working for a strong SNAP program.
Sincerely,
Farmers & Members of the Land Stewardship Project Federal Policy Steering Committee
Betsy Allister, Northfield, Minn.
Darwyn Bach, Boyd, Minn.
Bill Gorman, Goodhue, Minn.
Jon Jovaag, Austin, Minn.
Lauren Langworthy, Wheeler, Wis.
Darrell Mosel, Gaylord, Minn.
Eric Sannerud, Ham Lake, Minn.
Paul Sobocinski, Wabasso, Minn.