Near the beginning of the month, the nonprofit Gainesville-based Florida Organic Growers became a recipient of the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program.
The new program, part of the 2014 Farm Bill, supports projects focused on increasing produce consumption among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients through point-of-purchase incentives.
Florida Organic Growers' proposal, called Fresh Access Bucks, allows SNAP cardholders to buy fruits and vegetables at local farmers' markets, as well as double their food dollars. Recipients who spend $10 on Florida-grown produce, for example, receive an extra $10 to spend on more veggies or fruits.
"It was a multi-year, broad-based effort to get to this day and we are thankful for the partners who stood by us," said Marty Mesh, Florida Organic Growers executive director, in a news release.
Fresh Access Bucks plans to serve 50 markets over a three-year period throughout the state of Florida. The Sunday Market at Tampa's Sweetwater Organic Community Farm and the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market are among the 21 participants already on board.
In addition to giving more than 18,000 SNAP recipients access to fresh and affordable produce, the project will increase farmer revenue by $2.1 million, according to the release.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2015.