MAJOR GUSNIP GRANT FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FOOD SYSTEM | NESAWG

In early August, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced a $4.6 million grant award to Farm Fresh Rhode Island to expand its work increasing access to fresh, locally grown foods across New England. The GusNIP (Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, formerly known as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program, or FINI) grant to Farm Fresh RI is the largest of 24 grants totaling $21M awarded nationwide by the USDA this summer.

The grant will help the nonprofit farm and food access organization’s existing Bonus Bucks nutrition incentives program provide an impressive 100% match for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) users at select Rhode Island farmers markets, CSAs, and farm stands — doubling the purchasing power of low-income Rhode Islanders to buy more nutritious foods and re-investing those federal dollars into the Rhode Island economy by directly supporting local growers and food businesses. Even more impressive, the grant will benefit the entire New England region by empowering Farm Fresh RI to support nutrition incentives programs offered by Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as well, through the creation of the New England Nutrition Incentive Collaborative (NENIC). 

For many people across New England, nutrition incentives make the critical difference in being able to shop for fresh food at farmers markets. In 2017, 29 weekly farmers markets in Rhode Island accepted SNAP, impacting sales for 78 farms and 65 locally owned food producers. At these markets in 2018, Rhode Islanders spent over  $137,546 in SNAP, which went to local food businesses, and $125,878 in Bonus Bucks nutrition incentives to families enrolled in SNAP and WIC programs in Rhode Island. With this GusNIP grant, the NENIC expects to reach over 20,000 consumers at over 250 outlets across New England.

 Read more in How State and Federal Programs Support Farmers, Fishermen, Food Entrepreneurs and Consumers in the Northeast.