We were excited and honored to receive a $646,781 grant from the USDA to support the “Georgia Fresh for Less” program! These funds will match Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—dollar for dollar—for fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and farms, making it affordable for SNAP consumers to build healthy shopping and eating habits.
We were the only nonprofit within the State of Georgia to receive the USDA’s Nutrition Incentive Grant, and were 1 of 3 nonprofits within the Southeast to receive this grant.
The award is part of The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s investment of $69 million to address critical food and nutrition security needs of low-income communities enduring the pandemic, enhance the resilience of food and healthcare systems impacted by the pandemic, and maximize funds reaching participants.
“Bolstering nutrition security is one of our top goals in this Administration. The awards we are announcing today will help households in communities across the country – many hard-hit by the pandemic and the resulting economic challenges – be better equipped to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables. The organizations receiving this funding have demonstrated their ability to support vulnerable Americans with timely and impactful relief during this ongoing crisis,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“Wholesome Wave Georgia is proud to receive this tremendous vote of confidence in our program from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA is a critical partner to stakeholders across Georgia and our nation to ensure that communities have consistent, reliable access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food. This grant allows our nonprofit to serve more of Georgia’s food-insecure families with greater access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food choices from Georgia’s small, independent producers,” said Will Sellers, Wholesome Wave Georgia’s Executive Director.
Founded in 2009, the Georgia Fresh For Less program matches every SNAP dollar—dollar for dollar, up to $50—with money for fruits and vegetables every time a customer shops at a partner farm, market, or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share.
Every SNAP dollar spent at a Georgia Fresh For Less partner farm or market becomes two dollars for the shopper and the farmer. When you spend $10, you get $20 worth of fresh, local food. In our current food systems, approximately 20 cents of every SNAP dollar spent on food goes to American farmers. When customers are able to shop with SNAP at farmers markets and farms through the Georgia Fresh for Less program, 100% of those SNAP dollars go directly to the farmer themselves.
