Federal Grant to Expand Healthy Eating Program

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A $3.9 million grant to expand the number of farmers’ markets that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits, was awarded to the State of California. 
The Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant is the largest in the country and was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to a new program in the California Department of Agriculture. 
“We are thrilled to be selected for a federal FINI award,” CDFA Secretary Karen Ross said in an Ecology Center press release. “The program is a triple win for California – it supports the health of our low-income shoppers, our farmers, and the local economy.” 
Known as the California Nutrition Incentive Program, it builds on a program by the nonprofit organization, Ecology Center, known as Market Match, which allows SNAP shoppers to spend their benefits at farmers’ markets and earn vouchers to buy more healthy food. 
“The State’s contribution to CNIP gives the program an incredible bump,” Ecology Center Food and Farming Director Carle Brinkman said in the release. “Through CNIP, we will be bringing Market Match to 25 new farmers markets, and going deeper into high-need areas like Riverside County and rural areas like Siskiyou and Del Norte counties.” 
In San Diego county there are several locations in the Market Match program like: Linda Vista Farmers’ Market, Pacific Beach Tuesday CFM, North Park Thursday Market, City Heights Certified Farmers’ Market, Little Italy Mercato CFM and Downtown El Cajon Farmers’ Market. 
Each market offers a different voucher amount per visit. 
“I feel as though the more people realize they can use their EBT benefits at the farmers’ market, the healthier the community can be as a whole,” Kenji Lockett, a Market Match shopper from El Cajon, said in the release.

Author

Andrea Lopez Villafana