Everyone is talking about the new dietary guidelines
*Note: this text was originally published on January 22, 2026 in our newsletter and was last updated on May 4.
We know you’ve been seeing the headlines about a new food pyramid. We at Farm2People are reflecting on this change and have been intrigued and inspired by observations made by Michael Dimock of Roots of Change (ROC) and Angela Huffman, the president of Farm Action.
We agree that the “eat real food” directive is conceptually a good one. Eating less processed food and more fruits and vegetables is of course a reliable track to follow towards a healthy lifestyle. I mean, Farm2People is all about bringing produce into metro LA to increase access to nutrient-dense, fresh food (or real food, rather)! So what’s not to love, right?
Well, as both Farm Action and ROC point out, nutrition guidelines don’t exist in a vacuum, and Angela Huffman says that our current farm programs and government procurement policies are not in line with the instructions to eat real food. The government doesn’t offer much support to farmers growing nutritious fruits and vegetables, which are considered “specialty crops,” and instead heavily subsidizes the growing of corn and soy to be used in animal feed, fuel, and additives in highly processed foods. Huffman declares that farmers need to be paid to grow vegetables… which is where Farm2People comes in!
We are first and foremost a farmer-focused nonprofit, dedicated to helping small- and mid-sized farms weather challenges and thrive as small businesses. We do so by paying them full price for the top quality fruits and vegetables they cultivate. We value the work of small growers who farm in ecologically friendly ways, know that they deserve to be paid real money for their hard work – not cents on the dollar – and we want them to be able to keep growing food for a long time. Farm2People knows that farmer support is critical, and it is at the heart of everything we do.
Recent produce box haul from an organic farm partner in SoCal.
But what about people who want to feed their families healthy food but can’t afford to buy produce? We know that the cost of living is going up and many Americans are struggling to afford food, much less fresh vegetables. Michael Dimock points out that the new nutrition “guidelines won’t translate into better health if people can’t afford or access the foods being recommended.” Farm2People’s work is also relevant here. We transport all of the food we purchase from California farms into Greater Los Angeles and work with CBOs and institutions to ensure that our fresh produce makes it into the hands and bellies of underserved and food-insecure Angelenos.
While our takeaway from the reflections of both ROC and Farm Action is that the system needs to change significantly before Americans will be able to succeed with the new food guidelines, the good news is that our work at Farm2People directly addresses these challenges! So have hope, and follow along with our work as 2026 plays out.
(If you want to read the full articles we referenced in this newsletter,
you can find them at Roots of Change and Angela Huffman’s Substack.)
