There’s good news and there’s bad news out of the U.S. House of Representatves Committee on Agriculture. The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) passed by a bipartisan 35-11 vote. The committee rejected amendments to alter the no-cost sugar program and also voted not to remove the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP) from [...]

Posted on July 12th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Buy Local, Childhood Hunger, Clean Energy, Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, Food Safety, Nutrition, Rural Issues | 1 Comment »

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the farm bill. Up next, the U.S. House of Representatives.  Word from Ag Chair Frank Lucas, R-Okla., is that mark-up of the bill is expected to begin on July 11 with high hopes that the bill will go to the full House before August recess. The biggest stumbling [...]

Posted on July 2nd, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Farm Bill 2012, Nutrition | 1 Comment »

USDA request for applications (RFA) are now available for the new Farm to School grant program. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is in its first funding cycle for grants planning or implementing new or expanded Farm to School programs. USDA expects to award up to $3.5 million to support access to local foods [...]

Posted on April 18th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Buy Local, Farm to School, Farm-to-School, Nutrition, Rural Urban Partnerships, USDA | No Comments »

I had to chuckle when Sunday’s White House pool reporter sent out the menu for President Obama’s White House Super Bowl party.  It looks like the First Lady’s primo nightmare, a veritable cholesterol festival. This should not be construed as criticism.  Nobody should be so rigid about diet that there can’t be any special days, [...]

Posted on February 7th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Are you up for a delicious bite of satire?  Try this, from Slate. Field of Greens The dreaded broccoli uprising and other freaky GOP nightmares. by Dahlia Lithwick When the socialist revolution comes, the first shot will not come from filthy peasants bearing flaming torches or angry, poorly dressed workers demanding [...]

Posted on December 21st, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Healthcare Reform, Republicans, Satire | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Guess what country offers its residents the best health care in the world. If you guessed the United States, you’ve been snookered by a bunch of lying, exceptionalist politicians and their boot-licking sycophants. You’ve been listening to too much talk radio, or too much bull hockey from the part of the [...]

Posted on December 6th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Health Care | 1 Comment »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Doctors at three Massachusetts medical centers are writing “prescriptions” for free fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets. Clinicians look for families of overweight and obese children enrolled in the centers’ exercise and nutrition program that can’t afford and lack access to fresh produce. Whole families are enrolled; the main requirement [...]

Posted on August 31st, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Childhood obesity, Farmers Markets, Nutrition | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Good news first: A federal program intended to boost sales of fresh fruits and vegetables will target low-income families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the state’s southwestern corner. Several thousand of the region’s 50,000 food stamp recipients will get a 30% discount off the price of fresh produce that they buy [...]

Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Federal Programs, Nutrition, USDA | 1 Comment »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson For people who have been denied health insurance because they had a pre-existing condition, there may be good news. The Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan (PCIP), a provision of the Affordable Health Care Act, which President Obama signed in March 2010, is now open for business.  States that have not offered pre-existing [...]

Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Healthcare Reform | 1 Comment »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson The last time (before this one) I was a hospital patient was in May 1965. The difference between my two hospital experiences is so vast, I have to tell you about it. I was 29 in 1965. The hospital was attached to a university medical school in what was then the [...]

Posted on May 22nd, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Health Care, Health and Healing | 8 Comments »