USDA nutrition program works to reduce hunger and improve access to healthy foods

In urban, rural and tribal areas across the United States, there are parents and children who need improved access to healthy foods.

People living in areas lacking supermarkets and other food retail outlets often need access to healthy foods and educational efforts to increase their understanding of better nutrition. USDA’s Economic Research Service uses the Food Access Research Atlas to help identify areas of need based on census tracts.

USDA supports multiple programs designed to help communities in need of better nutrition and access to healthy foods. National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Community Food Project Program We work to increase food security in our communities. The program aims to better meet the needs of members of low-income communities by enhancing access to fresher, more nutritious food supplies. Increase the self-reliance of communities in meeting their food needs. Identify specific food and agricultural needs for infrastructure improvement and development. Create marketing activities that benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers. The project encourages long-term planning and builds long-term community capacity to address food and agriculture issues within these communities. These one-time grants are intended to help eligible private nonprofits establish and implement multipurpose community food projects.

another NIFA grant program, Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP)promote understanding to improve health and nutrition among participating households, foster growth in underrepresented communities and regions, and collect and aggregate data to identify and improve best practices at scale. GusNIP consists of three components.

• nutrition incentive program Among income eligible consumers participating in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, by offering incentives at the point of purchase, fruit and vegetable Develop and evaluate projects that increase purchases. Income eligible consumers participating in the USDA Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
• produce prescription program We are conducting projects to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of fresh fruit and vegetable prescriptions to increase fruit and vegetable sourcing and consumption, reduce food insecurity for individuals and households, and reduce healthcare use and related costs. increase.
• Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation and Information Center Cooperation Agreement Providing training, technical assistance, evaluation and information support services to potential applicants, developing nutritional incentive projects, prescription projects, and throughout GusNIP.

With NIFA support, the Cooperative Extension of the Land-grant University System is also working to improve food access across the country. Extension provides informal education and learning activities to people across the country, including those living in urban and suburban areas, as well as farmers and rural residents. It emphasizes bringing the knowledge gained through research directly to people and creating positive change. Contact your state Cooperative Extension office here.

Since 1969, NIFA’s Extended Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has worked to improve nutrition and physical activity in low-income families, especially those with young children. EFNEP works in every state, US Territory, and District of Columbia through its Land-grant Universities’ Extension initiative. EFNEP reaches out to approximately 200,000 resource-limited adults and her 450,000 resource-limited youth in rural and urban communities each year.

The 2014 Farm Bill will create a more equitable food system that will improve access to healthy food in rural underserved areas, create jobs and revitalize low-income communities. To do this, we created the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The goal is to enable these food systems to support the health and economy of underserved communities. HFFI is a public-private partnership managed by the Reinvestment Fund on behalf of USDA’s Rural Development. This grant program is his one-time investment in a food retail or food enterprise project and can help with pre-development, facility development, equipment needs and other capital costs.

The Local Agricultural Markets Program (LAMP) is a program created by the 2018 Farm Bill to support producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and the development and expansion of value-added agricultural products. doing. This Agriculture Marketing Services Program has multiple funding opportunities including Farmers Market Promotion Program, Local Food Promotion Program, Community Food System Partnership Program and Value Added Producer Grants.