WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) at present introduced an funding of $59.4 million to assist the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program’s (GusNIP) Produce Prescription and Nutrition Incentive applications designed to encourage households and people to eat extra healthfully by growing entry to recent fruit and veggies. This funding delivers on a dedication made within the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to enhance entry to wholesome and reasonably priced meals.

Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, visited the Takoma Park Silver Spring (TPSS) Co-op in Takoma Park, Maryland. Crossroads Community Food Network in partnership with TPSS is receiving funding beneath this program to launch “Year-Round Fresh Checks” to develop entry to reasonably priced recent fruit and veggies within the Takoma/Langley Crossroads group, a primarily immigrant neighborhood simply outdoors Washington, D.C. Over the course of the challenge, it’s anticipated that 3,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers will spend $450,000, which can be matched with $450,000 in incentives ($250,000 from federal funds and $200,000 from state and native matching {dollars}).

“Partners such as Crossroads Community Food Network, Inc., are invaluable for USDA’s nutrition security efforts,” stated Jacobs-Young. “By understanding the lived experiences of their community, they help deliver USDA programs into the hands of the people who need them most.”

GusNIP applications attempt to enhance dietary well being by elevated consumption of recent produce, enhance particular person and family meals safety, and scale back well being care use and related prices. GusNIP Nutrition Incentive applications present incentives on the level of buy amongst income-eligible customers taking part in USDA’s SNAP and income-eligible customers taking part in different USDA diet help applications. Produce Prescriptions leverage medical help applications to supply “prescriptions” from a well being care supplier for recent fruit and veggies.

“Since its creation in 2019, GusNIP projects have increased access to healthy foods, and this investment serves to ensure that even more consumers can provide fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their families,” stated Dr. Dionne Toombs, Acting Director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the entity administering the awards. “In fact, as a result of additional funding provided through the American Rescue Plan Act, NIFA is expanding our reach to many first-time program applicants from underrepresented communities nationwide.”

Forty-three awards make up a $20.7 million Produce Prescription Program investment by USDA’s American Rescue Plan funding for the GusNIP program. Among the 43 FY22 Produce Prescription Program proposals awarded, 95% are first-time candidates to the GusNIP Produce Prescription Program, and 60% are new entries to NIFA total. In addition, $38.7 million will assist eight GusNIP Nutrition Incentive projects.

In addition to Crossroads Community Food Network, Inc., examples of tasks receiving funding embrace:

• The Keya Foundation, Inc., in Timber Lake, South Dakota’s Produce Prescription Program will serve the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The challenge will tackle a urgent want in American Indian communities to extend fruit and vegetable consumption and promote optimum cardio-metabolic well being for households with school-aged youngsters.
• Kahuku Medical Center in Kahuku, Hawaii, goals to fill the hole in accessibility and affordability of nutritious, domestically grown fruit and veggies for low-income people in danger for, or identified with, a nutrition-related persistent situation utilizing a collaborative strategy to enhance well being outcomes amongst these at biggest threat, whereas increasing native meals producers’ financial alternatives and agricultural infrastructure.
• The Farmers Market Fund in Portland, Oregon, will develop its Double up Food Bucks program to extra retailers, enabling SNAP members to extend their purchases of native fruit and veggies. Participants at 80 farmers markets, 10 farm stands, 45 grocery shops and 40 Community Supported Agriculture fashions in 34 of Oregon’s 36 counties will obtain a dollar-for-dollar incentive on the level of buy in 2023 and 2024.

By bringing collectively stakeholders from varied components of the meals and well being care methods, GusNIP tasks assist foster understanding to enhance the well being and diet standing of taking part households, facilitate progress in underrepresented communities, and gather and combination knowledge to determine and enhance finest practices on a broad scale.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy offers a roadmap of actions the federal authorities will take to finish starvation and scale back diet-related ailments by 2030 – all whereas lowering disparities. The National Strategy was launched at the side of the primary White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans every day in so many optimistic methods. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is remodeling America’s meals system with a better give attention to extra resilient native and regional meals manufacturing, fairer markets for all producers, guaranteeing entry to secure, wholesome and nutritious meals in all communities, constructing new markets and streams of earnings for farmers and producers utilizing climate-smart meals and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to fairness throughout the Department by eradicating systemic limitations and constructing a workforce extra consultant of America. To be taught extra, go to www.usda.gov.

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