Press Release: Feeding Florida Awarded Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant to Improve Access to Fresh, Local Produce for Florida’s Food Insecure

Feeding Florida, the statewide network of food banks feeding every community every day, has been awarded a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant to expand and build sustainability of Fresh Access Bucks, Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Feeding Florida’s network is committed to ensuring all food insecure individuals have access to a consistent, healthy food supply within their environment—whether that’s through the networks strong charitable infrastructure or retail outlets or through government partnerships.

As the state’s leading voice on hunger, Feeding Florida’s statewide network understands the multiple facets to hunger and maintains connections with food access organizations, government agencies, farmers markets, and retail grocery and convenience stores which provides the ideal synergy to spearhead the management of the next phase of the Fresh Access Bucks program.

“Feeding Florida is excited to enhance the commitment of our network to ensure access to Florida fruits and vegetables to those in need with the expansion  of the Fresh Access Bucks initiative,” said Robin Safley, executive director of Feeding Florida. “Feeding Florida will continue and enhance the efforts that have been started in the farmers markets, while growing this initiative into the retail space with a focus on the local corner store to ensure all food insecure individuals have access to affordable, fresh, locally-sourced produce in their community. Our network is constantly working to build new collaborations and initiatives to ensure Florida’s food insecure have access to a community-focused consistent, healthy food supply to shorten the line so that struggling families can become productive and strong instead of worrying about where their next meal will come from.”

Florida is currently 8^th in the country for child food insecurity and 10^th in the nation for overall food insecurity. Florida is also home to the 2^nd largest fruit and vegetable production in the country. The FINI grant will allow Feeding Florida to address this paradox by building upon the current SNAP operator capacity, expanding the Fresh Access Bucks program reach, improving and maintaining a supportive stakeholder network, and designing a model incentive program for Fresh Access Bucks in grocery stores.

To learn more about Feeding Florida and their efforts to alleviate hunger in Florida, visit www.FeedingFlorida.org.