CALIFORNIA NUTRITION INCENTIVE PROGRAM - NEW GRANTEES ANNOUNCED

SACRAMENTO – April 30, 2018 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture has awarded $825,543 in grant funding to four organizations as part of the California Nutrition Incentive Program. The funds will be used to help address food insecurity and access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts among low-income Californians while simultaneously supporting and expanding markets for California farmers.
 
The California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) currently offers nutrition incentives to CalFresh customers at over 280 Certified Farmers Markets throughout the state. The grants announced today will expand upon the current program, bringing nutrition incentives to low-income Seniors, WIC families, and CalFresh shoppers at a variety of retail outlets, including neighborhood retail stores, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and Certified Farmers Markets. The incentives are intended to encourage low-income shoppers to purchase healthy food and empower them to increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
 
The new CNIP grantees are:
• Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative
• Mandela Marketplace
• The Ecology Center
• Visalia Farmers’ Market Association
 
To learn more about the new CNIP projects and their efforts to increase access to healthy, California-grown foods, visit the CDFA’s CNIP website.
 
CNIP is administered by CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork, which leads CDFA’s food access work and is made possible through a robust public-private funding structure—including a $3.9 million FINI grant (Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive, from the USDA) supporting the current work at Certified Farmers’ Markets, state general funds, SNAP-Ed (the federally funded nutrition education program for SNAP and SNAP-eligible consumers) funds, and local partner support, including private donations, grants and in-kind contributions. CNIP was created by Assembly Bill 1321, authored by Assembly Member Phil Ting in 2015.

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