Four Ways a New Farm Bill Can Improve America’s Health

By Dr. Maya Maroto

Congress recently introduced a new Farm Bill, the sweeping legislation that shapes U.S. agricultural and nutrition policy. While the details of the bill are still being negotiated by both the House and Senate, the bill offers an opportunity to reflect on how policies can better support Americans’ metabolic health.

For background, the Farm Bill is a comprehensive law passed roughly every five years that sets national policy for agriculture, food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), rural development, and agricultural research and subsidies. It determines how billions of federal dollars are allocated across food production, nutrition assistance, and conservation programs. The policies outlined in the Farm Bill have a significant influence on the accessibility of food and the health of millions of Americans.

Today, nearly three in four U.S. adults have obesity or are considered overweight, and roughly one in two have high blood pressure. Only one in 15 American adults has optimal cardiometabolic health. These conditions drive up healthcare costs and reduce quality of life. Food policy can either fuel this crisis or help reverse it.

Below, we highlight several ways that the Farm Bill can make real progress in addressing America’s chronic disease crisis.

1. Expand Access to Local Foods

Right now, 57% of adults’ calories—and 67% for kids—come from ultra-processed foods. This is unsurprising, as the U.S. food supply is dominated by ultra-processed foods. They’re often more accessible and more affordable than less processed alternatives. Including an initiative like the Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities Program in a future Farm Bill would increase access to local foods in communities across the United States while supporting local businesses.

This proposed program would support partnerships among local farmers, ranchers, fisheries, and food distributors to increase the availability of local foods, including vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, milk and dairy products, eggs, and poultry. These foods supply high-quality protein, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals that help support metabolic health.

When healthier foods are more accessible and affordable, it’s easier for families to build healthy eating habits that lower their risk of chronic disease.

2. Put Health and Nutrition at the Center of SNAP

Historically, SNAP was established to prevent hunger and malnutrition among low-income Americans. While the program has reduced the burden of food insecurity, federal statute does not explicitly include chronic disease prevention among its stated purposes.

A future Farm Bill should update SNAP’s statutory purpose to clarify that it is a nutrition program designed to help low-income households obtain supplemental food for an active, healthy life that supports the prevention of:

• Diet-related chronic disease, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.
• Disability.
• Premature death.
• Unsustainable healthcare costs.
• The undermining of military readiness.

Updating the program’s purpose accordingly would put nutrition and health aims on equal footing with hunger relief in federal law. It would also set the stage for aligning SNAP benefits with foods that reduce the risk of chronic disease through the use of incentives, which research shows can encourage SNAP participants to purchase healthier foods.

SNAP healthy incentives are extra financial benefits, like coupons or discounts, designed to encourage SNAP participants to choose healthier foods. Currently, only fruits, vegetables (including legumes), whole grains, and dairy foods are eligible for these incentives.

A future Farm Bill should expand the definition of eligible incentive foods to include animal proteins like seafood, meat, and poultry. Protein plays a central role in maintaining muscle mass and regulating blood sugar—and since protein is the most filling macronutrient, it’s an essential part of dietary approaches to managing chronic disease.

Many animal proteins can be more expensive, so making them eligible for SNAP healthy incentives would help ensure all families have access to the full spectrum of healthier foods.

3. Permanently Authorize SNAP Online Grocery Shopping

Established in 2019, the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot allows people who receive SNAP benefits to use them when buying food online at authorized retailers—reflecting how many Americans shop today and expanding access to groceries for households facing barriers to in-person shopping, like those living in rural or remote areas or without access to transportation.

The program has grown significantly in recent years, with hundreds of retailers participating across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Researchers have found that the pilot is associated with healthier food purchases among SNAP participants.

Congress should permanently authorize the program. Doing so would provide stability to states and retailers that have invested in online SNAP infrastructure and ensure Americans can reliably access healthy food, no matter where they live.

4. Require Dietary Guidelines to Address Chronic Disease

For decades, U.S. dietary guidelines have failed to adequately address chronic disease in America.

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans made important progress by introducing an option for individuals with certain chronic diseases to adopt therapeutic low-carb dietary approaches.

To build on that progress, future editions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans should be required to address nutrition-related, common chronic diseases and include nutritional and dietary information relevant to people living with these conditions.

Millions of Americans are living with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, or metabolic syndrome. Our national dietary guidance should reflect this reality and provide practical advice on how to eat to improve metabolic health—supporting both prevention and disease management.

A forward-looking Farm Bill would recognize that agriculture, nutrition, and health policies are inseparable. By aligning federal food programs and guidelines with the realities of chronic disease in America, lawmakers can help shift the country from managing illness to preventing it.

Maya Maroto, EdD, MPH, RD, is executive director of the Coalition for Metabolic Health.

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