“Last year, I had to turn away
long time customers and tell them they could no longer use their
coupons at our local market. I lost customers and our seniors
could not use their coupons. How does that help anyone?”
--Olive Jones, CCI member and farmers' market vendor.
What started as an issue in our Southeast
Iowa Chapter last June has turned into a statewide campaign that
touches farmers, seniors and mothers with young
children. Amazingly, it all boils down to one rule.
In 2004, the Iowa Department of Agriculture
changed a rule related to the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
(FMNP). This program provides coupons to low-income seniors and
WIC mothers to buy fresh produce at farmers’ markets. The
new rule requires farmers’ markets to have at least three
certified vendors before anyone can accept coupons for the program.
Suddenly, one-third of Iowa’s farmers’
markets could no longer accept the coupons. Eighteen counties were
left with not a single qualified farmers’ market, including
six of the ten poorest counties in Iowa.
After talking with department officials
brought no relief, CCI members worked to get a bill introduced in
the Iowa Legislature this year. The bill unanimously passed the
Senate, but stalled in the House after the Department of Agriculture
agreed to fix the problem. Once the bill stalled, however, department
officials announced they had no intention of fixing the rule.
But as usual, CCI members did not give
up. We quickly contacted legislators and an emergency hearing of
the Legislative Administrative Rules Review Committee was called.
Family farmers, low-income seniors and WIC mothers all testified
about how the rule change has hurt them. The chair of the committee,
Rep. George Eichorn, even scolded the Department of Agriculture,
telling them they had created a bureaucratic nightmare.
At the hearing CCI member and farmer’s
market vender Olive Jones, of Bloomfield said, “Last year,
I had to turn away long time customers and tell them they could
no longer use their coupons at our local market. I lost customers
and our seniors could not use their coupons. How does that help
anyone?”
Kari Peterson, a CCI member and WIC recipient,
told the panel how important the program was for her family. “I
love being able to provide fresh produce for my daughter. This program
helps me do that. There are families all over this state who need
this program. It is absolutely not fair to deny access to families
just because they live in a small community.”
At the hearing, CCI members turned in a
rulemaking petition that calls on the Department of Agriculture
to fix the rule. The Iowa Farmers’ Union, the Food Bank of
Iowa and Iowa Food Policy Council have joined us on the petition.
Two days after the hearing, department officials informed the Davis
County Farmers’ Market (within the Southeast Iowa Chapter)
that they could accept the coupons this year! This is a great first
step, but we’ll keep moving forward until the program works
for everyone.
For more information on this issue, please
contact the CCI office at 515/282-0484 or iowacci@iowacci.org.
Posted 6/13/05
Back
To Articles |
