City Green Inc

Food Insecurity Touches More Than 750,000 New Jerseyans, and as the Pandemic Lingers, This Number Continues to Increase. the Lack of Access to Healthy Food Is a Public Health Concern That Results in High Incidences of Diabetes, Heart Disease and Obesity. in Particular, Obesity Has Grown at a Rapid Rate Nationwide - Two in Every Three Adults and One-third of Children Ages 6 to 19 Are Obese or Overweight. in New Jersey, the Obesity Rate Has Increased From 20.3 Percent in 2004 to 27.7% in 2017. NJ Also Has the Second-highest Rate of Obesity Nationally Among Low-income 2- to 4-YEAR-OLDS, at 16.6 Percent. (trust for AMERICA'S Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2014). Further,there Are Over 750,000 NJ Residents Who Receive Snap Benefits Each Month, and the State Has an Overall Poverty Rate of 9.2%. More Than 64% of Snap Participants Are Families With Children. Almost 47% of Snap Participants Are in Families With Members Who Are Elderly or Who Have Disabilities, and Almost 44% Arein Working Families (usda Snap Data).the Need for Improving Consumption of Healthy Food for Low-income New Jerseyans Is Evident in Public Health Statistics, and Key Barriers to Connecting Consumers to Producers Are Affordability and Accessibility.city GREEN'S Garden State Good Food Program Tackles These Barriers Head on. in Operation Since 2011, the GSGF Is a Statewide Nutrition Incentive Program That Equips a Network of New Jersey Farmers Markets, Farm Stands, and Grocery Storeswith the Funding, Training, and Tools They Need to Provide a Dollar-for-dollar Match to New Jersey Snap Shoppers So They Can Purchase Twice as Many Fruits and Vegetables. Every Time a Customer Spends $1 of Their Snap Benefits at Any Participating Market, They Receive an Additional $1 in "good Food Bucks" for More Fresh Produce.research Shows That Nutrition Incentive Programs Like the Garden State Good Food Program Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Purchases Among Snap Recipients, Provide Additional Revenue and an Increased Customer Base for Local Farmers, Stimulate Local Economic Growth, and Build Strong Connections Between Rural Producers and Urban Consumers.through This Federal Funding Opportunity, City Green Will Unify and Expand the GSGF Nutrition Incentive Programto 40SNAP Authorized Farmers Markets and Supermarkets Across 12-15 NJ Counties, Thereby REACHING22,000 NJ Snap Participants, Increasingthe Purchase of Fruits and Vegetables by Snap Participants, and Increasingproducer-to-consumer Market Opportunities for NJ Farmers. Over the 3-YEAR Project Period, City Greenwill Recruit New Fresh Produce Retailers, Fund Nutrition Incentives, Provide Dedicated Training and Operation Support to Retailers, Collect and Report Data on Program Beneficiaries Andincentive Redemptions, and Deliver Statewide Promotion and Local Outreachto Consumers. the Project Will Beenhanced by the Good Food Ambassador Pilot Program, a Peer-to-peer Outreach Program That Highlights the Voices and Experiences of NJ Snap Recipients Toinform the Direction of the GSGF Program, Andthat Connects Community Members With GSGF Retailers and Nutrition Education.the Garden State Good Food Program Creates Linkages Between Farmers and Low-income Consumers,and Ultimately Works Toward an Environmental Change Where Fresh, Local Food Is Affordable and Accessible to All New Jersey Households.