Dive Summary:

• Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has reintroduced the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act in the House of Representatives.
• The bill would provide funding for small farms and local food systems while also allowing consumers more opportunities to buy local.
• Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has introduced a similar bill in the Senate as well.

From the article:

“Demand for local food is growing in every corner of the country. Senator Brown and Congresswoman Pingree should be applauded for their efforts to provide the local, healthy food that restaurants, schools, hospitals and consumers are clamoring for. It’s time to fix our broken food and farm system,” said vice-president for government affairs at Environmental Working Group (EWG) Scott Faber in a statement. EWG notes that the U.S. farm bill has provided an average of $113 million a year since 2008 to local and regional food and farming projects, a fraction of the $12 billion in annual subsidies that go to commodity crops grown on the industrial scale.