Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters
Last year, SNAP helped put healthy food on tables of 44 million Americans.
August 9, 2017
3 Min Read
moodboard/Thinkstock
USDA's Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive will provide 32 grants totaling $16.8 million to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants increase their fruit and vegetable purchases.
The program is operated by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
“These grants help provide low income families with the resources they need to consume more nutritious food. Last year, SNAP helped put healthy food on the tables of at least 44 million Americans, including 19 million children,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “This builds on the successes of health-related incentives, with many of the projects being conducted at farmers markets. At the same time, we’re also helping to strengthen local and regional food systems.”
FINI is a joint program between NIFA and USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees SNAP and is responsible for evaluating the impact of the variety of types of incentive programs that are deployed by FINI grantees. The program brings together stakeholders from different parts of the national food system to improve the nutrition and health status of SNAP households. The awards under FINI represent a variety of projects, including relatively small pilot projects, multi-year community-based projects, and larger-scale multi-year projects.
Grants being announced, by state, include:
FINI Pilot Projects (up to $100,000, not to exceed 1 year):
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Oakland, California, $76,697
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, Sacramento, California, $63,494
The Kenny Family Foundation, Wilmington, Delaware, $45,000
Presence Health, Chicago, Illinois, $100,000
Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, Des Moines, Iowa, $99,587
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Red Lake Nation, Minnesota, $78,188
Capacity Builders, Inc., Farmington, New Mexico, $26,478
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, $99,997
Janus Youth Programs, Inc., Portland, Oregon, $94,566
Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development Council, Johnson City, Tennessee, $94,211
Richmond City Health District, Richmond, Virginia, $98,108
Multi-year community-based projects (up to $500,000, not to exceed 4 years):
Community Services Unlimited Inc., Los Angeles, California, $500,000
Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, Woodland, California, $500,000
FRESHFARM Markets, Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, $250,000
Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta, Georgia, $250,000
The Food Basket, Inc., Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, $500,000
Heritage Ranch Inc., Honaunau, Hawaii, $500,000
VNA Health Care, Aurora, Illinois, $488,090
The Experimental Station: 6100 Blackstone, Chicago, Illinois, $487,197
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation, Whitesburg, Kentucky, $307,916
Crossroads Community Food Network, Inc., Takoma Park, Maryland, $112,403
Together We Can, North Las Vegas, Nevada, $500,000
The Fortune Society, Inc., New York City, New York, $498,000
Reinvestment Partners, Durham, North Carolina, $398,960
Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, Youngstown, Ohio, $498,880
Nurture Nature Center, Easton, Pennsylvania, $267,394
Rhode Island Public Health Institute, Providence, Rhode Island, $299,844
Grow Food d/b/a Viva Farms, Mount Vernon, Washington, $488,758
Multi-year large-scale projects ($500,000 or greater, not to exceed 4 years):
California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, California, $3,944,573
Community Farm Alliance, Inc., Berea, Kentucky, $602,159
Fair Food Network, Ann Arbor, Michigan, $3,500,000
The Food Trust, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $987,500
Among the grant recipients this year, The Experimental Station 61St Street , located in an underserved neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, will increase the affordability of fruits and vegetables sold in Illinois Farmers Markets for Illinois SNAP clients. The project aims to expand the SNAP Double Coupon Program incentive to an additional 80 Illinois Farmers Markets and direct-to-consumer venues. Currently, the project has funded almost 90 farmers markets and direct-to-consumer venues statewide and facilitated thousands of SNAP shoppers to purchase almost $500,000 of additional fresh and healthy foods with the Double Value Coupon incentives. More than 22,000 low-income Illinois residents will benefit from affordable access to the region’s freshest fruits, vegetables and other healthy goods.
Source: USDA
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
Recommended
Aug 27 - Aug 29, 2024
Aug 27 - Aug 29, 2024
The nation’s largest outdoor farm event that annually hosts over 600 exhibitors from around the world.
LEARN MORE