The Farm Bill Reauthorization and SNAP: Providing Beneficiary Access to Vitamin D3

Let’s update the nutrition programs in the Farm Bill to allow SNAP participants to purchase certain Vitamin D supplements and improve family health!

Our partnership of organizations and companies, which includes INFRA, the Organic & Natural Health Association, Naomi Whittel Brands, Nordic Naturals, Natural Grocers, and SENPA, and the Council of Holistic Health Educators, is launching a national vitamin D Congressional advocacy effort to request Congress make a change to the Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps.

Vitamin D3 is needed by virtually every cell in the body, It acts as a protector and regulator of all cell types, tissues, and organs, and it is able to enhance the functioning of each system of the body to help keep us healthy. A deficit in vitamin D can lead to impairment or disease in each of these systems – from brittle bones to heart disease, cancer, and dementia.  Research indicates that achieving a vitamin D of level of 40ng/ml can reduce pre-term birth by 60%, and also reduce the risk of cancer by 65%. The only way to know your vitamin D3 level is to test on a regular basis, something nearly every health care professional is willing to do.