Fwd: [fpn-clf] Comment opportunity on racial justice and equity in USDA programs
Asia Hampton
See below for more.
From: Patti Anderson <ptru...@jhu.edu>
Date: Wed, Jul 28, 2021 at 7:38 AM
Subject: [fpn-clf] Comment opportunity on racial justice and equity in USDA programs
To: fpn...@lists.johnshopkins.edu <fpn...@lists.johnshopkins.edu>
Hello everyone,
The USDA administers several programs that you may be familiar with, including the Local Food Promotion Program, Regional Food Systems Partnerships Program, and Farmers Market Promotion Program. We know that it can be difficult for the groups in most need to successfully access these programs due to staff grant-writing capacity, limited resources, and other barriers.
USDA is currently accepting public comments to better assess how food and farm programs, policies, and processes perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups. If your food policy council, members, or partners have experienced difficulty with accessing USDA programs and services, we encourage you to submit a public comment by August 14.
Please see additional details below compiled by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). Although the text below is oriented toward farmers, the opportunity to comment is for all groups affected by USDA programs.
Patti Truant Anderson, MPH, PhD
Senior Program Officer, Food System Policy
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
USDA Racial Equity Executive Order - Comment opportunity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the opening of a public comment period on “Identifying Barriers in USDA Programs and Services; Advancing Racial Justice and Equity and Support for Underserved Communities at USDA” as a part of the efforts put forth under the administration’s Executive Order (EO) 19385. In an effort to advance racial equity across federal agencies, the USDA solicited this comment period to better assess how food and farm programs, policies, and processes perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups.
If you are a farmer or an organization that works on behalf of farmers, particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals and/or groups who’ve faced barriers in accessing USDA programs, you have until Saturday, August 14 to submit your comments on how the agency can advance racial justice and equity for underserved farmers and communities.
Submitting a comment is simple - you can find the comment page for “Identifying Barriers in USDA Programs and Services” here. You can also submit comments by sending an email to Equi...@usda.gov.
Read NSAC’s initial blog on the announcement for more information and specific questions the Request for Information had put forth to the public to provide input on. Additional information and the updated deadline can be found in our recent blog here, including step-by-step instructions on how to submit remarks.
USDA Listening Sessions to Advance Racial Justice and Equity:
USDA will be hosting two listening sessions to collect public input on the systemic racism faced by underserved farmers and communities in accessing USDA programs, services, committees, and other processes on July 28 and July 29. Each speaker will have up to five minutes to make remarks on the historic and current discrimination and barriers faced by underserved farmers and communities. Speaker order is based on a first-come, first-serve basis- if you’d like to be included on the list of speakers be sure to register for the listening sessions! You can find more registration info below:
July 28: 10am-1pm, 1pm-4pm, 4pm-7pm Eastern https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yGVAn5vNQ-iTEepJVU6FGA
July 29: 7-9pm Eastern https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yGVAn5vNQ-iTEepJVU6FGA
Guiding Questions Specifically for the Listening Sessions:
1. If you have interacted with any agency at USDA, please describe that experience.
2. How can USDA remove or reduce barriers that underserved communities and individuals face?
3. What can USDA do to actively increase participation and engagement with underserved communities?
Other ways to comment:
1. Review the Federal Register Notice and submit comments here by typing directly into the comment section OR attaching your comments as a document (no longer than 20 pages).
2. Send an email with your comments to Equi...@usda.gov
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