LEAP for Local Food celebrates USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement of $31.5-million granted through the Food Insecurity Nutrition Program (FINI). National nonprofit Wholesome Wave received a $3.77-million FINI grant, of which LEAP, as a subgrantee, will receive $134,000 over three years through this award, which will be used to support increased access to fruits and vegetables for the food insecure in the Roanoke Valley and also bring additional market sales to small and mid-sized farmers in the region.
“LEAP’s SNAP Double Value Program has been in operation at LEAP Community Markets since 2011 and has seen substantial benefit to both customers and vendors. The FINI grant will allow LEAP to expand our program and reach more residents throughout the Roanoke Valley,” says LEAP Executive Director Maureen McNamara Best.
Since 2009, LEAP for Local Food has been committed to nurturing healthy communities and resilient local food systems. The grant issued to LEAP will increase affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables for SNAP consumers in the Roanoke Valley and it will also continue to support local agriculture and food producers over the three-year grant period.
“In effort to streamline the application process, the City of Salem partnered with LEAP to receive the FINI Grant. Similar to LEAP markets, the funding will facilitate efforts to expand the SNAP Double Value Program at the Salem Farmers Market and improve area citizens’ access to fresh, local foods. This type of partnership and cooperation amongst local farmers markets not only helps support local agriculture, but also enhances participation in the healthy community initiatives developing throughout the Valley. It is a collaboration that the City of Salem is excited to be part of and one which we look forward to developing further,” says Laura Reilly, manager of the City of Salem Farmers Market.
LEAP received this award as a subgrantee on a larger $3.77-million grant, which Wholesome Wave obtained from the USDA to support their national network of nutrition incentive partners. LEAP is one of 32 community-based organizations that will join Wholesome Wave in this Large-Scale FINI Project. Wholesome Wave’s network is a robust community of innovation and learning, linking incentive programs through uniform data collection and evaluation to support the expansion and adoption of incentives through policy. Wholesome Wave’s project is one of many that received support as part of the total $31.5-million granted by USDA in this cycle.
With the award from Wholesome Wave, LEAP will support incentive programs at five community farmers markets and the LEAP Mobile Market, which will be making five stops per week in 2015. LEAP operates the Grandin Village Community Market, West End Community Market, and LEAP Mobile Market. The grant will also support Lick Run Urban Farm and Public Market, Catawba Valley Farmers Market, and the City of Salem Farmers Market.
“We are thrilled to be working with such a diverse and competent group of incentive operators across the nation. This network brings together organizations ranging from a flourishing farmers market group to a large scale nonprofit, capitalizing on the grassroots expertise of community leaders, while also building regional and national impact that allows us to enact the kind of large-scale policy change we see in legislation like FINI,” says Wholesome Wave founder and CEO, Michel Nischan.
For more information about LEAP, call Brittany DeKnight, 540-427-7281.
