Does not matter: USDA sends more dollars for school meals

Jan 10, 2022

Presented by Connect The Future

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich and Meredith Lee

Quick Fix

— The Agriculture Department has bumped up payments for school meals to help with rising costs as schools struggle with supply chain woes.

— The American Farm Bureau Federation's annual convention is underway in Atlanta, with President Joe Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack set to address the group today.

— Biden visited Colorado on Friday to survey damage from the historic Marshall Fire, as lawmakers in D.C. are looking to beef up wildfire prevention and response.

HAPPY MONDAY, JAN. 10! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host is finally fully back from vacation! So what'd I miss? And are your local grocery store shelves empty? Send tips to xbustillo@politico.com and @ximena_bustillo, and follow us @Morning_Ag.

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DRIVING THE WEEK

MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOL MEALS: USDA announced late last week that it will give schools roughly 25 cents more per school lunch this year. That might sound small, but it's a big deal for school food operators struggling with increased costs, from food to labor and packaging, as well as upended supply chains.

What does it mean? The move will send roughly $750 million more to school meal programs this year, per USDA. That's an addition to the $1.5 billion in extra funding USDA recently directed out of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

It's also on top of the higher than normal reimbursement rates schools have been receiving for much of the pandemic to help make things easier on their nutrition programs, which have been central in efforts to feed millions of kids as well as their families throughout the pandemic. Overall, USDA said schools are getting 22 percent more than they would normally.

"This rate adjustment delivers desperately-needed relief to school meal programs, struggling with tight budgets that are stressed by rising pandemic costs and supply chain disruptions," said Beth Wallace, president of the School Nutrition Association, in a statement. "SNA greatly appreciates USDA's ongoing efforts to provide additional support for school nutrition professionals who are working so hard to ensure students continue to receive healthy meals at school."

What's next on school meals? Well, we're supposed to be gearing up for a shot at child nutrition reauthorization, or CNR, as it's known in Washington. MA readers will recall that the last time Congress tried to do this, it blew up when House Republicans tried to include language for a block grant pilot program, which was essentially a poison pill. So at this point, the last time Congress did a proper CNR was more than a decade ago, when former President Barack Obama was in his first term.

There was some expectation that there would be an initial House Education and Labor Committee hearing to kick off the process in January, but there's nothing yet scheduled. It seems increasingly likely the timeline will get pushed back as Biden's Build Back Better spending package languishes on Capitol Hill. That bill contains $10 billion for child nutrition, so having it stuck in limbo is complicating things for now.

Coming soon: USDA later this month is expected to issue a final rule on sodium, whole grains and milk standards for school meals. The forthcoming rule comes after a federal court ultimately struck down a Trump administration move to relax some standards.

The final rule will cover the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. In the interim, USDA is planning to come out with a longer-term update to school meal patterns, which are required to follow the Dietary Guidelines.

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VILSACK, PERDUE ADDRESS FARM BUREAU CONVENTION: The annual event continued over the weekend with panels on everything from supply chains, labor and water rules to journalism and mental health. Farm Bureau members will hear from Vilsack today, after his predecessor took the stage on Sunday.

During his opening remarks, Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall touted the organization's interest in climate-friendly agriculture, while condemning the Biden administration's "30x30" plan to conserve 30 percent of all U.S. land and water by 2030.

Duvall also slammed the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule changes: "It is critical that this administration understand that we should not have to have a team of lawyers and consultants just to farm our land," he said.

Sunday highlights: Former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in a discussion with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), spoke about the upcoming farm bill and reminisced about the Trump era.

Reminder: Although Perdue praised former President Donald Trump's love of farmers, the four years of his presidency weren't all sunshine and rainbows for the ag industry. Farmers and ranchers suffered steep losses amid Trump's trade war with China, requiring massive bailout programs to stay afloat, while USDA saw major staffing cuts that the Biden administration is now grappling to reverse.

On tap today: Vilsack will be closing out the main events of the convention this morning. Later in the day, he travels to East Point, Ga., where he's set to make an announcement with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, a nonprofit association of Black farmers, landowners and co-ops.

What we're watching: As MA reported last week, the secretary is expected to discuss challenges across the agriculture sector after a year of extreme weather and Covid-19, and to highlight the administration's work on programs that have benefited farmers over the past year. He's also likely to tout Biden's plans to increase competition in the meat industry — one Biden administration move that the Farm Bureau voiced some support for last week.

First in MA: POTUS speaks: Biden will also address the convention via a pre-recorded video message, per a White House official. The video will run prior to Vilsack's remarks. But unlike his predecessor, Biden won't address the convention in person, even though he's traveling to Atlanta this week to promote voting rights legislation.

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UNICORN FOOD CO. LOOKS TO ENGAGE ON ORGANICS, FARM BILL: Daily Harvest, an up-and-coming plant-based frozen food maker that's been valued at more than $1 billion, says it plans to engage on food issues in Washington.

The young company's opening salvo? Projecting several large billboard-type images onto USDA's headquarters in D.C. over the weekend, including one that read: "Big Food, Bite Me." The projections accompany full-page ads in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

The company, which makes frozen smoothie kits, flatbreads and other items, says it's working directly with farmers and trying to encourage more of them to "make the leap to go organic and invest in cover crops and biodiversity," per Rachel Drori, CEO and founder of the company.

"But if we want to get serious about a healthier, more sustainable food system that'll keep people and the planet healthy, we need everyone to do more," Drori said in a statement. "That starts with change at the highest levels of government and industry."

The context: Up-and-comers in food usually steer clear of Washington unless they need to be here. It's really unusual to see lobbying or even much PR in the Beltway from the high-growth newbies.

Is this just an isolated PR stunt or is there a new voice in this space? We asked! A rep told us Daily Harvest "intends to engage on the farm bill and be an active player in D.C. pushing for an increase in organic farming." We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT WORSENING WILDFIRES: Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) on Friday introduced legislation aimed at preventing wildfires, funding firefighting equipment and supporting recovery efforts, as we flagged for MA readers last week, in the wake of the most destructive fire in Colorado history.

President Joe Biden was in Boulder County on Friday to survey the damage from the Marshall Fire alongside Colorado lawmakers. In his speech, Biden noted that the area of land that has burned in Western states including Colorado and Idaho is equal to the size of New Jersey.

"A blinking code red": That's what Biden called the extreme drought and wildfires in the West, a warning sign that federal action is needed to address climate change — such as the climate and forestry provisions in his stalled Build Back Better plan.

"The driest period from June to December ever recorded, unusually high winds, no snow on the ground to start — created a literal tinder box," he said. "These fires are being supercharged by change in the weather."

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Row Crops

— Senate Minority Whip and Agriculture Committee member John Thune is running for reelection this year, the South Dakota Republican announced over the weekend. POLITICO's Marianne LeVine has more.

— Two conservatives are battling it out in the upcoming GOP primary for Texas agriculture commissioner: incumbent Sid Miller and challenger James White. Read more about the election from the Dallas Morning News.

— New York farmworkers are forming their first union in the state, hoping to bargain over overtime pay rights. Farmers and labor advocates in the state are divided over the hour threshold for workers to receive overtime pay. Capital and Main has the story.

— Sugar cane burning in Florida has generated ash and smoke pollution within communities of color in the state. But Brazil's methods could provide a template for less destructive production. The Counter has the report.

— The U.K.'s plan to support British farming with its own subsidies post-Brexit could actually reduce farmer income and increase the country's reliance on food imports, The Guardian reports.

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