Specialty Crop Block Grant & Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant Funds to Wholesome Wave & Partners

Improving the access to and affordability of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for underserved communities recently received a $2 million boost from the USDA. The Agricultural Marketing Service announced last week awards under its Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), and two weeks ago under its Specialty Crop Block Grant program (SCBG) – and many of Wholesome Wave’s partners were at the head of the line.

The success our partners earned is a testament for the hard work they put in on their applications for SCBG and FMPP funding. It is particularly exciting that three of our partners (including Wholesome Wave work in CT), who received SCBG grants, were awarded funding for nutrition incentives – not just staff capacity around incentive programs.

Many of the grants will be used in a variety of ways to encourage SNAP clients to redeem their benefits at farmers markets. Twenty years ago, when food stamps were paper coupons and it was a $14 billion program, $82 million was redeemed at farmers markets. Last year, SNAP used swipe cards. It was a $68 billion program and consumers used their EBT card for only $7 million at farmers markets.

A generation has grown up not buying fresh produce at farmers markets. It is the work of our partners that will bring them back.

We’d like to congratulate Roots of Change in CA, CitySeed in CT, Experimental Station in IL, Marketumbrella  in LA, Crossroads Farmers Market in MD, Fair Food in PA, Farm Fresh RI, Adelante Mujeres in OR, Sustainable Food Center in TX, NOFA-VT, Appalachian Sustainable Development and The Farmers Market Co in VA on their successful SCBG applications!
For FMPP, which was announced at the end of last week, congratulations to Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles and Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association in CA, Ward 8 Farmers Market and Columbia Heights Community Marketplace in DC, Roots in the City Market and Human Services Coalition (in collaboration with Wholesome Wave) in FL, The Renaissance Project in New Orleans, Maine Farmland Trust, Greensgrow and City Green in NJ, Sustainable Food Center in TX, Appalachian Sustainable Development and The Farmers Market Co in VA and NOFA-VT. See the full list here