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USDA Unveils Framework to Transform the Food System
Efforts will benefit producers, consumers, the government organization said. The USDA said its efforts will create more and better markets that will benefit both producers and consumers, as well as address longstanding issues intensified by the pandemic.
Diane Adam
June 1, 2022
3 Min Read
Photograph: Shutterstock
As the country grapples with worsening food prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a livestream event June 1 during which Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the USDA’s Food Systems Transformation framework for shoring up the food supply chain and transforming the food system to be fairer, more competitive and more resilient. The USDA said its efforts will create more and better markets that will benefit both producers and consumers, as well as address longstanding issues intensified by the pandemic.
The USDA in a statement said the announcement “builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. This announcement also provides additional details on the June 2021 announcement to strengthen critical supply chains and address longstanding structural challenges that were revealed and intensified by the pandemic.”
The Biden-Harris administration and USDA recognize “we must build back better and strengthen the food system across the supply chain, from how our food is produced to how it is purchased, and all the steps in between,” the USDA said in a statement.
The USDA outlined its goals for its Food System Transformation framework as follows:
Building a more resilient food supply chain that provides more and better market options for consumers and producers while reducing carbon pollution: “In order to be more resilient, the food system of the future needs to be more distributed and local,” the USDA said. The USDA said that additional regional capacity will afford consumers greater options to buy locally produced products, which will reduce the climate impact of the food supply chain.
Creating a fairer food system that combats market dominance and helps producers and consumers gain more power in the marketplace by creating new, more and better local market options: According to the USDA, 14 cents of the food dollar go to producers on average—in large part because producers’ power in the marketplace has declined over the past 50 years with increased consolidation in the food system. “Today, just a handful of companies dominate meat and poultry processing and just a few multinational companies produce most brands and products on supermarket shelves. Right now, input prices and food prices are up—but so are the profits of major food companies and national supermarket chains,” the USDA said in a statement. The USDA said its investments will deliver a better deal for farmers, ranchers, growers and consumers.
Making nutritious food more accessible and affordable for consumers: The USDA said its Food System Transformation framework includes programs to ensure all consumers are able to access fresh, healthy, nutritious food. "Hard-pressed families—including those who depend on school meals, SNAP, and seniors on fixed incomes—may have limited food options and some communities have been underserved by grocery stores and food retailers, making it difficult to access healthy food,” the USDA said in a statement.
Emphasizing equity: The USDA said its Food System Transformation investments will create more economic opportunities in rural and undeserved communities allowing these communities to retain more of the food system dollar. “Where you live should not determine a fair shot to economic opportunity. It is in these communities where most of our food comes from; where most of the water that we drink comes from; and where most of the energy we consume comes from,” the USDA said.
The USDA said these announcements support the Biden-Harris Administration’s “broader work to strengthen critical supply chains as directed by Executive Order 14017 America's Supply Chains.” Funding is provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and other relief legislation, the USDA said.
The USDA also announced new measures to help consumers gain access to healthy foods through the following investments: Increase funding to the Healthy Food Financing Initiative by $155 million; an additional $50 million in the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program; an additional $40 million in the GusNIP Produce Prescriptions Program; $25 million to support SNAP technology improvements; and $100 million to create a new Healthy Food Incentive Fund.
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