MD Secretary of Ag response to Farm and Families Act

      Posted On: February 12, 2018

Recently, there has been some unfortunate misinformation spread about the Maryland Farms and Families Act that has sought to call into question the Hogan administration’s commitment to Maryland’s farming community. As secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture and a lifelong farmer, I can affirm that our administration is 100 percent committed to this vital community, and would like to clarify some misconceptions about this program.

Feeding Maryland’s hungry and supporting our farmers are certainly two worthy causes that any Marylander would support. The Farms and Families Act was passed by the General Assembly during the 2017 legislative session, creating a program that would match every dollar of federal nutrition benefits spent at farmers markets. While this is an innovative concept on its face, there are a number of factors that must be considered before state funding is allocated to the program.