July 2026 Food Advocacy Update

Farm Bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee released a “discussion draft” of the Farm Bill in June, and the Agricultural Act of 2026, or “Farm Bill 2.0”, is slated for “markup” (i.e. amendments) on Thursday, August 6 (you can find the video here or here!). This was surprising to many, as the clock is ticking on the upcoming August recess, and timing has been complicated with committee absences and negotiations on SNAP cuts and cost shifts enacted last year. Our top line concerns with the current draft include: 

• SNAP. Alaskans are facing unbelievably high costs of living, far outpacing wages. Our hunger statistics continue to rise, with a recent report of 1 in 6 Alaskans facing hunger from 2024 data – the highest level since Feeding America began reporting in 2009 (read more from AFPC included in this article from the Alaska Independent, and at the Food Bank of Alaska’s blog). The revised bill delays the new state cost-share for SNAP benefits by one year, and then raises the penalty for the highest-error states from 15% to 20%. Alaska’s error rates reflect our geography and pandemic-era capacity challenges, not mismanagement, and shifting costs to the state ultimately means more Alaskans facing hunger. At minimum, the committee should adopt the full two-year delay for every state. Our position hasn’t changed: repeal the cost shift. Read this recent blog from MAZON about the impacts of these cost shifts on states around the country. 
• Fund local food purchasing, including schools. The bill includes the Strengthening Local Food Security Program, a state-led successor to the local food purchasing programs that connected Alaska farmers, fishers, and producers with food banks and communities. We strongly support it, but without mandatory funding it can’t grow our markets. This is fixable at markup, and we hope to see it added. 
• Alaska’s producers need programs built for Alaska. We continue to support mandatory funding for the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment program (RTCP) which helps offset our extraordinary shipping costs; restoring the conservation funding this draft cuts from EQIP and CSP; cold-climate agriculture research; crop insurance that actually works here, and adding birch syrup alongside maple in federal programs.
• Expanded Tribal sovereignty. We stand with the Native Farm Bill Coalition in urging the Senate to restore the FDPIR self-determination purchasing pilot and to name Tribal and Alaska Native organizations as eligible entities across the bill.

Local Foods for Healthy Schools

The bipartisan Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act (H.R. 9474) is now referred to the House Agriculture Committee and is picking up cosponsors. It was introduced by Representatives Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA). It would create a permanent USDA program with $200 million a year in mandatory funding to help schools buy fresh, local food, building off of the Local Food for Schools program terminated last year. We’re hoping to see it move into the Farm Bill’s ongoing development. Read more from the National Farm to School Network

Cuts to Alaska’s Federal Workforce

Check out the Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s August issue of Trends magazine for a fascinating look at the reduction in Alaska’s federal workforce last year. We were the third most-affected state in the country, and the article breaks down where those cuts came from across federal departments. The USDA lost 25% of Alaskan jobs from the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, including a 20% reduction at NRCS. 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Proposed Rule

Last month we mentioned a public comment period closing in mid-July, in response to proposed rules from OMB around federal grants and contracts. An incredible 496,607 comments were received in the official docket! Federal agencies have a legal obligation to review and respond to comments that are deemed substantial. The rule change will be difficult to effectuate on their proposed timeline given the quantity of comments. It is likely that there will be court challenges when and if they implement the rule changes. Stay tuned!