SitemapCongressman Tim Ryan today announces the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) announcement of $498,880 to encourage Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants in Youngstown, Ohio to
purchase healthy foods.
In December of 2016, Ryan urged the USDA National
Institutes of Food and Agriculture to approve Youngstown Neighborhood
Development Corporation’s proposal. Read more here.
“I was proud that the Youngstown Neighborhood Development
Corporation was awarded this important funding to help bring nutritious and
healthy food to Youngstown families in need. SNAP is a program that works, and
is deserving of more support. This funding will provide incentives for people
to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and help provide farmers with a local market
to sell their products. Healthy foods
should be available to every one of our children, and I promise to continue to
use my position to fight to ensure that we are not leaving anyone behind,” said
Congressman Tim Ryan.
"This project, entitled Eating for Health in the
Mahoning Valley, will increase food access in the Mahoning Valley by broadening
funding to help SNAP/EBT customers purchase fresh produce at 6 farmers markets
and local food outlets and will also expand the Mercy Health Fruit and
Vegetable Prescription Program. The 4 year project is being significantly
supported by Mercy Health Foundation and includes over 15 project partners
working together to support families while increasing revenues to local
farmers," said Liberty Avila, Land Reuse Director at Youngstown Neighborhood
Development Corporation.
This money was awarded as a part of a larger $16.8 million
investment by the USDA to be distributed through 32 grants to help SNAP
participants increase their purchases of fruits and vegetables. The program is operated by the USDA National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The funding comes from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI)
program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The awards represent a wide variety
of projects, including small pilot projects, multi-year community-based projects, and larger-scale multi-year projects. Last year, SNAP helped put
healthy food on the tables of at least 44 million Americans, including 19
million children. To read the full press release from Congressman Tim Ryan's website, click here.