Sen. Kristen Gillibrand called for restoration of cuts to the food stamp program in the Farm Bill, as debate began in the U.S. Senate on the bill Wed., June 6. The Senator also announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued federal agriculture disaster declarations for New York counties that experienced crop damage as a result of a spring freeze, including Greene, Columbia, Albany, Dutchess, Rensselaer, Schoharie, and Ulster counties. Farms that experienced "frost and freezes that occurred during the period of March 1, 2012," can apply for federal agriculture disaster recovery programs, including financial assistance to compensate for farm losses, low interest emergency loans and assistance in rehabilitating farm land.

In a related story, Common Dreams is reporting 70 leading chefs, authors, food policy experts, nutritionists, CEOs and environment and health organizations sent an open letter to Members of Congress this week, urging lawmakers to reinvest federal farm and crop insurance subsidy dollars into programs that feed the hungry, protect the environment and promote the consumption of local, organic and healthy food. Read the full story at commondreams.org.