As lawmakers work on proposals for a Farm Bill, advocates said it is important to make sure young people of color are not left out.

House Republicans have released a draft covering funding and program changes for the next five years.

Vanessa Garcia Polanco, government relations director for the National Young Farmers Coalition, said it includes help for small and beginning farmers but fails to restore $187 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enacted through the Trump administration's “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

She noted Democrats are trying to address the SNAP funding deficit.

"We expect during markup that they will offer an amendment to try to bring back all the funding that was covered in H.R.1," Garcia Polanco explained. "Because, especially for farmers or consumers on SNAP, it helps them eat and access affordable food, and it helps farmers access that federal funding to the markets."

SNAP helps more than 42 million Americans afford groceries nationwide. In Pennsylvania, about one in six residents relies on the program, with more than 1.8 million people enrolled as of December 2025, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Garcia Polanco stressed her group is urging people across the state to contact Pennsylvania lawmakers and push for a new Farm Bill proposal providing greater support for young farmers of color. She added they are suggesting lawmakers vote "no" on the current proposal and call for other amendments to the bill.

"Right now we're encouraging amendments on a local food procurement program so that program is actually funded," Garcia Polanco pointed out. "Or a land access, marketing and capital program, so that when it gets authorized and funded in the markup, and restoring SNAP."

The current Farm Bill has not been fully updated since 2018. It technically expired in 2023 but Congress has kept it going with short-term extensions, currently scheduled to end Sept. 30.