Hundreds of International Fresh Produce Association members descended on the nation’s capital for the Washington Conference, an annual fly-in for the produce and floral industry to hear from industry leaders and policy experts and influence policymakers.
Armed and informed with insights, advocates take to Capitol Hill to bring the produce industry needs and firsthand experiences to elected leaders making policy decisions and shaping the way the industry works for years to come.
Related news: Photos: IFPA’s Washington Conference
Top produce priorities in D.C.
At this year’s conference, the key priorities and talking points communicated by fresh produce advocates, according to a news release, included:
Farm bill — Produce should be half the plate, but the farm bill spends less than 8% on programs aimed specifically at specialty crops. Congress must provide a better balance of resources for produce and specialty crops in the upcoming farm bill.
Labor — The fresh produce industry cannot survive in the U.S. unless Congress passes meaningful immigration reform that ensures it access to an affordable, predictable and reliable workforce.
Food safety — FDA must follow through on its cultural transformation to modernize the agency, to be more collaborative, transparent, and effective. Congress must hold FDA accountable.
Nutrition — To expand healthy nutrition and grow produce consumption, the fresh produce supply chain must be used to end hunger and reduce diet related disease.
Related news: Crunch Pak named ‘Advocate of the Year’ at IFPA’s Washington Conference
WIC benefits on the chopping block
Nutrition was an especially hot topic during the Washington Conference with the looming showdown and severe cuts to benefits for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) set to take place at the end of the month. IFPA CEO Cathy Burns shared the importance of this benefit for the nutrition insecure, but also highlighted the potential $1 billion investment in fruit and vegetable sales at retail that is at risk with these proposed cuts, the release said.
The cuts seek to take the benefit, which is designed to provide supplemental nutrition to children up to 5 years old and mothers. It would cut the monthly benefit for women by 70% and for children by 56%. This cut would allocate just $11 per month to purchase fruits and vegetables for children. The cuts are severe, and members traveled to Capitol Hill with almost 200 baskets of $11 worth of produce to show legislators just how little that is, according to the release.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, took the stage with one of the baskets in hand and expressed the power of the visual, the release said.
