Last week, we talked about SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and how it shows up in real people’s lives. This week, we zoom out to the bigger picture: the Farm Bill, the massive piece of legislation that shapes what gets grown, what’s conserved, and who can afford to eat.
In this solo episode, host Dana DiPrima unpacks how and why SNAP ended up inside the Farm Bill, who’s fighting to separate them, and what’s really at stake for both farmers and families if that happens. From coalition politics to sugar subsidies, she traces the threads that tie our plates to our policies — and asks a powerful question:
If we disconnect farm policy from food policy, are we merely deepening the same disconnection that already plagues our food culture?
What You’ll Learn
- The origin story of the “food + farm” marriage — and why it was intentional.
- How much of the Farm Bill actually funds nutrition programs (hint: about 75%).
- Who wants to separate SNAP and the Farm Bill — and why.
- What would happen to farmers and eaters if they split.
- Why SNAP’s connection to farm policy keeps both sides politically strong.
- The quiet overlap between USDA sugar supports and SNAP purchase rules.
- How America’s cultural disconnection from food is showing up on the policy stage.
Quick Facts
- SNAP participation (FY 2024): ≈ 41.7 million people per month (12.3 % of U.S.).
- Average benefit: ≈ $187 per person per month.
- Total cost: ≈ $100 billion.
- Farm Bill budget share: ≈ 75 % nutrition programs (USDA ERS / CBO).
- First combined food + farm bill: 1973 Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act.
- 2013 precedent: House briefly passed split bills before recombining.
- USDA pilots: Testing limits on sugary drink purchases with SNAP.
(Sources: USDA ERS, CBO, CRS Reports R48167 & R47055, USDA FNS data, Heritage Foundation policy briefs, HealthEatingResearch 2025 snapshot.)
Key Question
If we split SNAP from the Farm Bill, are we fixing inefficiency or widening a cultural and political gap between the people who grow our food and the people who eat it?
Quote to Remember
“Splitting the Farm Bill and SNAP might look tidy on paper, but symbolically it says: what farmers do has nothing to do with what families eat. And that’s not true, it never has been.”
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