Read a June 5, 2012, Huffington Post blog entry about the importance of the food stamp program.  

Listen to a June 6, 2012, podcast about the importance of food stamps to the farm bill from American Public Media’s Marketplace.

See The New York Times’ Times Topics page on the farm bill.

The National Agricultural Law Center website includes a resource page on previous farm bills; it also includes some information about the 2012 bill. The law center also posts links to Congressional Research Service reports on the bill.

The USDA also posts information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program online. An April 2012 USDA report says one in seven Americans relies on food stamps; see Page 4 of the report for some historical perspective.

The National Farmers Union works to shape agricultural policy and educate rural leaders, farmers, and ranchers. Its website includes a link to state groups.

Michael Pollan is Knight Professor of Journalism at University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. His books include The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Read an Oct. 9, 2008, column on farm policy that he wrote for The New York Times.

Jennifer Maiser edits the group blog EatLocalChallenge.com.

The Rev. L. Shannon Jung is professor of town and country ministries at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. He has written about rural ministry. His books include  Hunger & Happiness: Feeding the Hungry, Nourishing Our Souls and Food for Life: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating.