Support for Nutrition and Public Health in COVID-19 Legislation

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 LEGISLATION

With each new day, the COVID-19 pandemic brings new advances and challenges. For millions of Americans, it has virtually affected every aspect of daily living. As we seek to ensure our families’ health and safety, we are reminded of the importance of daily necessities that we may have previously taken for granted. This realization has made many of us slow down and think more deeply about where our food comes from, and how we would survive as a society without grocery stores, restaurants, school meals, nutrition assistance programs, and other means of nourishment. Based on the typical American diet, nearly half the calories consumed each day are from products outside the home. This has caused a dramatic shift in consumption patterns and misalignment of production and supply.

To many, food has never seemed so important! We depend on farmers to continue working their fields, on supermarket employees to show up at their jobs, and on delivery drivers to transport food to markets or our front doors. Due to COVID-19, there is a new stressor in the infrastructure of our food system, and it is critical that stakeholders in our food industry are resilient and adaptive during this difficult time. What we eat affects our health and wellbeing and, in some places, nutritious food is becoming scarce. Per the most recent United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) Household Food Security Report, more than 37 million people, 11 million of whom are children, are facing hunger. Recently, nutrition-related legislation has been put in place to provide relief from the health and economic impacts caused by coronavirus. The three main pieces of COVID-19 relief legislation that we will focus on is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act.

FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT (FFCRA)

The FFCRA was the second Coronavirus relief bill passed in the United States. The Senate passed this bill on March 18, 2020 and President Trump signed the bill into law later that day. The act provides funding for free coronavirus testing, 14-day paid leave for American workers affected by the pandemic, and increased funding for nutrition assistance programs, specifically, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Child Nutrition Programs, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and Programs for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities.

To increase access to care, the FFCRA waives certain eligibility requirements for SNAP, WIC, and child nutrition program participants. In addition, this bill allotted $500 million to low-income WIC participants who are pregnant or mothers with young children who have lost their jobs or are laid off due to COVID-19. In a time of need, this extra share of benefits allows these mothers to receive access to nutritious foods. Included in this bill was $400 million to TEFAP. TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. With these funds, TEFAP will ensure that food banks can assist those Americans most in need. Lastly, $250 million was included in the bill for senior nutrition services. This allows approximately 25 million additional home-delivered and pre-packaged meals to be provided to low-income seniors. This population is especially susceptible to Coronavirus, and it is important that protocols are put in place to provide nourishment to seniors that are home-bound, have disabilities, and have chronic illnesses.

CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

The CARES Act is meant to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It was passed by the Senate on March 25, 2020. The next day, it was passed in the House via voice vote and signed into law by President Trump on March 27. Unprecedented in size and scope, this piece of legislation is the largest-ever economic stimulus package in U.S. history, even larger than the stimulus act passed in 2009 as part of the response to the Great Recession. The CARES Act has grown to a total cost of $2.3 trillion. These funds are being used to supply direct payments to Americans, loans to major industries, small business administration loans, support for farmers and ranchers, critical medical supplies, and increase funding for various nutrition and public health programs.

PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS

The public health programs that are included in this bill include the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, mental health programs, seniors and persons with disabilities programs, and nursing homes. This bill includes $90 million to support the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients to prevent or minimize the impact of this pandemic on people with HIV. This program provides a comprehensive system of HIV medical care, essential support services, and medications for low-income people living with HIV who are uninsured.

There is also support for mental health programs and resources in the CARES Act. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration received $425 million to increase access to mental health services through Community Behavioral Health Clinics, suicide prevention programs, and substance use disorder emergency grants.

The CARES Act also helps seniors and persons with disabilities. It waives eligibility requirements for Office of Aging (OAA) programs which ensures all seniors in need have access to meals. A total of $955 million in funds will go towards senior centers, independent living communities, and faith-based groups to provide support services for both seniors and caregivers such as in-home care services or transportation to grocery stores or medical appointments. In addition, $200 million is allotted to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to assist nursing homes with infection control and to support efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus in nursing homes.

AGRICULTURE PROVISIONS IN THE CARES ACT

Overall, $49 billion out of the $2.3 trillion provided by the CARES Act was put towards funding for nutrition assistance programs and crops/livestock producers to prevent the negative impacts that COVID-19 is having on the U.S. economy.

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

The CARES Act is aiding nutrition programs that are anticipating increases in participants due to COVID-19. The goal of these extra funds is to ensure low-income families and children have consistent access to affordable foods. The nutrition assistance programs specifically include SNAP, TEFAP, child nutrition programs, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). This bill includes $15.8 billion in funding for SNAP, but unfortunately the CARES Act does not provide increased benefits or flexibility to the eligibility guidelines. Instead, the funding will help with the increasing caseload of new participants but does not increase benefits for current households receiving SNAP benefits.

For child nutrition programs, $8.8 billion in funding was provided to ensure that school children receive meals while school is not in session. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the extension of three waivers to give child nutrition program operators the flexibility they need to continue to feed children during school closure. These three waivers include non-congregate feeding, parent pickup, and extending mealtimes. The first waiver of non-congregate feeding allows meals to be served to children outside of the normally required group setting to support social distancing. The second waiver is parent pick up which allows parents and/or guardians to pick up meals and bring them home to their children. The third waiver of mealtimes removes requirements that meals have to be served at certain standard times. This allows for grab-n-go options and for collection of multiple days-worth of meals to be provided at once. Many child nutrition programs have had to become very inventive in the ways in which they can continue to provide school meals while maintaining social distancing. For example, child nutrition program operators feed children by providing drive-thru pick-ups or by delivering meals on bus routes. These waivers were granted until August 31, 2020 to assist school districts in their summer feeding operations and to ensure children are able to receive the meals they need.

In addition, this bill provides $450 million to TEFAP to ensure that food banks can assist Americans and provide them with safe and nourishing foods. Included in this bill is $100 million for FDPIR which provides USDA Foods to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations and to Native American households residing in designated areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. The funds available through the CARES Act will be split evenly between facility/equipment upgrades and additional food purchases.

SUPPORT FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS

The U.S. depends on farmers and ranchers to grow and produce the food we need to live. For farmers and ranchers to continue carrying out their work during the COVID-19 emergency, many require additional assistance. The CARES Act will provide $16 billion in direct support to farmers and ranchers based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted. This will assist producers with additional marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19. This bill is open to farmers regardless of size or outlet.

USDA PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION

Many farmers are being forced to destroy tens of millions of pounds of fresh food due to the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities. Food waste is on the rise despite the desperate need for food by millions of hungry Americans. To aid in solving this dilemma, the USDA created a plan to partner with regional and local distributors, to purchase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat from farmers and ranchers. This allows for the food to go to the people in need rather than be wasted. According to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, the distributors will provide a farmers to families food box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need. It is vital that these boxes are pre-assembled due to the decrease in volunteers nationwide in food banks and other hunger-relief charities. Many feel that this form of aid is coming too late in the game and many Americans are already in need of these resources.

HEALTH AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY OMNIBUS EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS (HEROES) ACT

The HEROES Act was introduced by House Democrats on May 12, 2020. On May 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed it on to the Senate. The intent of the HEROES Act is to provide additional relief to public health agencies, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses impacted by coronavirus. It is a comprehensive Coronavirus response stimulus and relief bill that is similarly structured to the first round of payments in the CARES Act. It differs from the CARES Act in that it aims to increase both the number of qualifying households and the payment amount per each dependent. Like the CARES Act, the HEROES Act supports several public health and nutrition programs. These programs include SNAP, TEFAP, WIC, FDPIR, and child nutrition programs.

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

The HEROES Act provides $10 billion in additional funding for SNAP through September 30, 2021. The funds go towards boosting SNAP benefits by 15%, increases the minimum monthly SNAP benefit from $16 to $30/month, permits the purchase of hot foods, provides flexibility for SNAP-Ed funds, and more. For child and school nutrition programs, the HEROES Act would supply $3 billion in additional funding to provide emergency financial relief to school meals programs and the and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). In addition, it would fix the FFCRA to allow the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) to be covered by the USDA’s waiver authority. These waivers follow the same standards as the previously mentioned three waivers and likewise would allow schools more flexibility in serving fresh fruits and vegetables. It would also extend pandemic electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) through summer and into the fall of 2021, if schools remain closed. P-EBT provides eligible families with benefits similar to SNAP EBT benefits for each child who previously received free or reduced-price school meals. For the WIC program, $1.1 billion is allocated in the HEROES Act. The cash value vouchers for fruits and vegetables will be increased from $9 for children and $11 for women to $35 per month for women and children through September 30, 2020. For FDPIR participants, the HEROES Act will help increase access to commodities for families who participate in SNAP, live on an Indian reservation, but do not have access to approved retailers.

AGRICULTURE’S ROLE IN EMERGENCY FOOD RESPONSE

If passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump, the HEROES Act would significantly impact food banks and farmers throughout the U.S. through TEFAP. First, it would provide $150 million to help local food banks meet the increased demand. Secondly, it would provide $25 million to connect farms to food banks, resulting in less food waste and nutritious foods reaching those in need. This would cover the cost of harvesting, processing, packaging, and transporting these commodities to emergency feeding organizations. The HEROES Act continues to support farmers and ranchers by providing a sum of $16.5 billion in direct payments to agricultural producers. To further support agriculture during this time, $28 million will be distributed as block grants to State departments of agriculture for use in supporting Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) Programs. In addition, this act proposes to provide $50 million to local farmers and farmers markets and an additional $50 million to support new farmers and ranchers by providing them advice on navigating the current complicated food market.

CONCLUSION

Each piece of legislation mentioned, primarily addresses the short-term needs. To assist Americans in this time of crisis, we need impactful, long-term legislation that will ensure our neighbors are not having to choose between paying rent or buying food.

We will continually monitor proposed legislation in response to COVID-19. In these uncertain times, I encourage you to stay informed and utilize the programs addressed in this post if you are in need of assistance. I also urge you to stay informed and reach out to your legislators to let them know where you stand on these issues and to make them aware of your family and your community’s needs.