What do you do if you're the federal government and you learn that fruits and vegetables are actually good for low-income families? If you guessed "nothing," well, I guess I can't blame you. This time, however, the feds reacted with lightning efficiency to assist the poor and hungry. It's another example of a disturbing trend toward actual helpfulness that's been emanating from the USDA over the past two decades.
Our own state of Florida, though, is another matter.
The USDA's Women, Infant and Children (or WIC) program has provided food assistance targeted at "low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, non-breastfeeding postpartum women, infants and children up to 5 years of age who are at nutritional risk" since the 1970s. Recently, though, WIC has been criticized for the lack of fresh-food options it allows participants to purchase, relying on milk, eggs, cheese and breakfast cereal to feed America's underprivileged youth, thanks to "scientific dietary underpinnings." Until last month, the only fruits and veggies permitted were carrots for breast-feeding mothers.
In December, the USDA changed its mind. Next month, states can implement an addition to the program that allows WIC participants to spend up to $8 a month of their benefit on fruits and vegetables. That's not $8 of additional money, mind you, just a new category on the roster of governmentally acceptable foodstuffs. Thankfully, most WIC participants receive additional benefits through alternatives like the USDA's Food Stamps Program.
All of this comes on the heels of a UCLA study that followed three groups of WIC participants: one given an extra $10 in coupons per week for local farmers' markets, one given $10 for fruits and vegetables at the supermarket, and a control group that received coupons for nonfood items. The results, after six months:
• The supermarket group consumed one and a half more daily servings of fruits and vegetables than the control group.
• The farmers' market group consumed three more servings than the control group.
Anyone who spends time at farmers' markets can guess at the reasons behind this result: The produce is fresher and tastes better; people value products more when they have a chance to shake the hands that grew the food and hear the story behind their cucumber; and dedicating a special trip just to forage for one type of food increases the value of that food in the minds of consumers. No matter your income level — farmers' markets are persuasive.
The government views WIC benefits primarily as a way to encourage and educate proper nutrition, and it looks like sending participants to farmers' markets would be an exceptionally efficient way to do just that. Problem is, it's up to the states who implement the program to determine where participants can spend their benefit.
Around these parts, it'll be a while before the WIC changes are implemented, and it's unlikely that trips to farmers' markets will be at the forefront of Florida's nutrition reforms.
According to the Florida Department of Health, although states are allowed to add veggies to the WIC roster starting in February, they have until August 2009 before it's required. A spokesman for the DOH said that there is no timeline for implementation yet, although they expect vendor training and certification to take a while. They also haven't decided whether they will allow farmers' markets to accept WIC coupons. Considering Florida's track record when it comes to supporting farmers' markets, don't start counting your local, organic carrots too soon.
In this respect, we're way behind the feds. Even before that UCLA study, they were starting to get behind the local produce movement. There is a section on the USDA website featuring success stories about the use of food stamp EBT cards at farmers' markets. As of last year, 24 states had pilot projects in which food stamp clients can swipe their cards at farmers' markets to get tokens or scrip valid at individual vendors. In 2006, Texas had $135,000 worth of food stamps redeemed at farmers' markets; Washington had over 20 markets accepting food stamps. Florida wasn't listed, and a quick call to the Department of Children and Families confirms it — no farmers' markets in Florida accept EBT cards.
There's also an existing WIC initiative — the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, begun in 1992 — that provides money to moms and kids to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets. It's not really meant to be a big boost to participants' grocery budgets. Instead, the program's goal is educating low-income families about the concept of local produce.
Florida is barely on board. In 2007, the state received less federal money for the FMNP than 22 other states and districts, including places like Washington, D.C., and Iowa. The FMNP coupons Florida does distribute are authorized in only 17 of 67 Florida counties.
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee are not on the list.
"We didn't start the program until 1998," explains Florida Department of Agriculture marketing representative Carl Penn, "and there has not been much additional money to expand." According to Penn, the USDA has cut federal contributions to the program for the past three years. "I really don't see any expansion taking place in the near future," he says.
Strike three, Florida. Slow implementation of vital WIC reforms? Check. Keeping food stamps away from local farmers? Check. Meager participation in the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program? Check. It looks like it will be quite some time before the low-income women, infants and children in our area will be given an opportunity to enjoy the bounty of Florida's harvest.
This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 5, 2008.