Booker as chair of the Senate’s Agriculture Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Bio, and Research
Booker has campaigned for food system reforms during his tenure in the Senate and Mayor of Newark
Washington, DC – US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) will chair the Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Bio and Research Subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture Committee at the 117th Congress. The responsibilities of the subcommittee include overseeing programs related to food and nutrition aid, school meals, non-programmed crops, organic production and research; and more.
Booker said, “Our nation’s food system is fundamentally broken. As large agricultural conglomerates get richer and bigger, our family farmers continue to struggle and tens of millions of families face food insecurity and lack of access to affordable, nutritious food. The COVID-19 public health and economic crisis has exacerbated these systemic inequalities and demonstrated that the interconnected challenges of our food system are a matter of racial, economic and health justice. As chairman of this subcommittee, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to meet these challenges, develop comprehensive solutions to repair our food system, and ensure that all people – from rural communities to cities like the that I call home – have equal access to nutritious, healthy foods. “
Booker was appointed to the Senate Agriculture Committee in January 2021.
As Mayor of Newark, Booker saw firsthand how our broken food system was hurting local residents as much of Newark was essentially “food deserts” with no access to healthy food for communities. He was instrumental in bringing several supermarkets to the area to make it easier for Newarkers to access healthy food. He also directed the creation of community gardens and urban farms.
In the Senate, Booker introduced the Climate Stewardship Act, which aims to double funding for formula and competitive agricultural research. New funds for research to reduce emissions and increase resilience in the agricultural sector, improve soil health and capture more carbon. Booker also introduced the School Food and Nutrition Education Act with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to provide federal funding for projects that train students while connecting them to healthy eating practices, prioritizing schools in neighborhoods with high childhood rates will be diet-related illnesses and those in which 40 percent of students are entitled to free or discounted meals.
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