BELFAST, Maine _ A Maine farming advocacy group will launch a program this summer, designed to put more locally grown fruits and vegetables into the shopping baskets of low income Mainers.
"It's kind of a win win for everybody," says Ellen Sabina, Outreach Director of Maine Farmland Trust. "Our low income neighbors have greater access to healthy fresh food and our farmers are benefiting from this expanded customer base."
The program is funded by a $250 thousand dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a USDA push to encourage those using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to put more of their benefits toward fresh produce.
"We do recognize that local food is more expensive than what you can get at Walmart." says Sabina. But, she says, cash-strapped Mainers do want to buy local products grown just around the corner. "They want to feed their families really great, healthy fresh food."
Sabina says the group plans to offer incentives of up to 25% on locally produced fruit and vegetables, at eleven retailers around the state, for the two-year grant period, starting this summer.
The funds come from the USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
