USDA Invests $69 M to Support Critical Food, Nutrition Security Needs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2021 – Press Releae: The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today an investment of $69 million to address

critical food and nutrition security needs of low-income communities enduring the pandemic, enhance the resilience of food and healthcare systems impacted by the pandemic, and maximize funds reaching participants. This is one of several key steps that USDA is taking to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, so every American has a chance to live a productive life and reach their full potential.

Twenty awards totaling $61.5 million are for Nutrition Incentive Grants, and 15 awards totaling $7.5 million are for Produce Prescription Grants. These grants are all part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program COVID Relief and Response (GusCRR) grants program.

“Bolstering nutrition security is one of our top goals in this Administration. The awards we are announcing today will help households in communities across the country – many hard-hit by the pandemic and the resulting economic challenges – be better equipped to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables. The organizations receiving this funding have demonstrated their ability to support vulnerable Americans with timely and impactful relief during this ongoing crisis,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Examples of organizations funded for Nutrition Incentive Grants include:

Wholesome Wave Georgia for its “Georgia Fresh for Less” program, providing over $3.6 million in fresh, local produce to Georgia’s food-insecure families. ($646,781)
The Food Basket, Inc., Hawai’i Island’s Food Bank, for “DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks” program, pioneering nutrition incentives to increase the purchase of Hawai’i grown produce among SNAP beneficiaries. ($5,000,000)
California Department of Food and Agriculture’s “California Nutrition Incentive Program” will empower state SNAP shoppers to purchase more fresh, healthy foods, increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables, and improve their food security and health outcomes while recovering from the pandemic and economic crisis. ($6,325,464)
Fair Food Network, Michigan will increase the reach and availability of "Double Up Food Bucks" to low-income communities in areas of the state hardest hit by the pandemic, and bring an additional $3.75M in fruits and vegetables to the tables of Michigan families across the two years of this grant. ($4,997,950)
Examples of organizations funded for Produce Prescription Grants include:

Fresh Approach of Concord, California, for its “Trauma-Informed VeggieRX” program to increase access to and consumption of healthy foods among low-income populations. ($129,019)
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation (MCHC) of Whitesburg, Kentucky, for its “MCHC FARMACY” program to provide SNAP participants extra incentives to purchase fresh produce. ($619,681)
Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment Program, Inc., of Gallup, New Mexico, for its “Navajo Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program” to address rising food security needs among Navajo individuals and enhance food and health care systems in the Navajo Region. ($647,027)
Find out more about the impact and public value of NIFA’s research investments online nifa.usda.gov/impacts.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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wnctimes: Marjorie Farrington

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food security as "access by all people at all times to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life." Food insecurity is different than hunger. Food insecurity refers to situations where there is limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally-adequate and safe food, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire such food in socially acceptable ways. Food insecurity exists in a number of forms including food rationing, famine, hunger, malnutrition, poverty, starvation, and unsanitary conditions.