Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that USDA has awarded $31.5 million in funding to local, state and national organizations to support programs that help participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables.
Vilsack said, "Encouraging low income families to put more healthy food in their grocery baskets is part of USDA's ongoing commitment to improving the diet and health of all Americans." Vilsack continued, "These creative community partnerships also benefit regional food producers and local economies along with SNAP participants."
USDA is funding projects in 26 states for up to 4 years, using funds from FY2014 and FY2015. USDA will issue a separate request for applications in FY16, and in subsequent years. Fiscal year 2014 and 2015 awards are:
Pilot projects (up to $100,000, not to exceed 1 year):
- Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services, Woodland, Calif., $100,000
- Heritage Ranch, Inc., Honaunau, Hawaii, $100,000
- Backyard Harvest, Inc., Moscow, Idaho, $10,695
- City of Aurora, Aurora, Ill., $30,000
- Forsyth Farmers' Market, Inc., Savannah, Ga., $50,000
- Blue Grass Community Foundation, Lexington, Ky., $47,250
- Lower Phalen Creek Project, Saint Paul, Minn., $45,230
- Vermont Farm-to-School, Inc., Newport, V.T., $93,750
- New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, Santa Fe, N.M., $99,999
- Santa Fe Community Foundation, Santa Fe, N.M., $100,000
- Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services, Greensboro, N.C., $99,987
- Chester County Food Bank, Exton, Pa., $76,543
- Nurture Nature Center, Easton, Pa., $56,918
- Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pa., $46,442
- Rhode Island Public Health Institute, Providence, R.I., $100,000
- San Antonio Food Bank, San Antonio, Texas, $100,000
Multi-year community-based projects (up to $500,000, not to exceed 4 years):
- Mandela Marketplace, Inc., Oakland, Calif., $422,500
- Market Umbrella, New Orleans, La., $378,326
- Maine Farmland Trust, Belfast, Maine, $249,816
- Farmers Market Fund, Portland, Ore., $499,172
- The Food Trust, Philadelphia, Pa., $500,000
- Utahns Against Hunger, Salt Lake City, Utah, $247,038
- Opportunity Council, Bellingham, Wash., $301,658
Multi-year large-scale projects ($500,000 or greater, not to exceed 4 years):
- Ecology Center, Berkeley, Calif., $3,704,287
- Wholesome Wave Foundation Charitable Ventures, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., $3,775,700
- AARP Foundation, Washington, D.C., $3,306,224
- Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers, Gainesville, Fla., $1,937,179
- Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, Boston, Mass., $3,401,384
- Fair Food Network, Ann Arbor, Mich., $5,171,779
- International Rescue Committee, Inc., New York, N.Y., $564,231
- Washington State Department of Health, Tumwater, Wash., $5,859,307
Descriptions of the funded projects are available on the NIFA website.
Latest from Produce Grower
- WUR extends Gerben Messelink’s professorship in biological pest control in partnership with Biobest and Interpolis
- Closing the loop
- The Growth Industry Episode 8: From NFL guard to expert gardener with Chuck Hutchison
- Raise a glass (bottle)
- From farm kid to Ph.D.
- Do consumers trust produce growers?
- The modern grocery shopper
- Beyond a burst of optimism
