Dear Members of the Franklin County Local Food Concil,
*The information below regards two programs that need our immediate support
for funding in the next Ohio budget.* I apologize for the short notice. We
received this information yesterday afternoon. It takes about five minutes
to read the information before making calls.
Please consider calling the legislators that are listed. These calls never
take more than a minute or two and can make the difference between getting
the funding or not. *They are making amendments to Omnibus today so it is a
timely matter.*
Thanks for your support and any questions you may have. Let me know if you
make the calls, and thanks for your consideration.
Noreen
1. In support of Produce Perks Midwest -
Produce Perks Midwest is an Ohio nonprofit that pioneers solutions to
address inequities within our food system. Our work increases affordable
access to healthy food, supports local farmers, and strengthens local
economies – in our most under-served communities.
Produce Perks, Ohio’s Nutrition Incentive Program empowers low-income
families to eat more fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers
and strengthening local economies.
We help families buy fresh, healthy food from local farmers. This is a
simple yet powerful idea with vast opportunity for impact. Produce Perks
doubles the purchasing power for low-income shoppers – providing a $1 for
$1 match for families and individuals receiving SNAP (formerly known as
food stamps) when spent on healthy foods. Our match can be used to purchase
fruits and vegetables, stretching the SNAP $ for additional healthy foods.
Produce Prescription (PRx) programming connects patients with diet-related
diseases (diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, etc.) to providers that write
prescriptions for free fruits and vegetables. Patients are screened for
food insecurity within their household and providers issue monthly
prescriptions to meet the entire family’s recommended daily servings of
fruits and vegetables. Initially launched in Cuyahoga County in 2013. (
https://produceperks.org/about-us/)
*Please call Representative Russo - 614.466.8012. Here is some background
information for the call. Please tell her **this funding in the budget is
important and you appreciate her support and championship for such
impactful work. *
In 2020, Produce Perks generated appx. $3M in healthy food purchases for
low-income consumers. These dollars are going directly back into local
economies, supporting Ohio farmers and Ohio-owned small business retailers.
- *Produce Prescription (PRx) Program for Maternal Health *—*There is no
funding for PRx in the sub bill. **We are asking for $350K per fiscal
year to continue the work of the PRx Program.*
- *The FY20-21 State Operating Budget appropriated $175,000 per
fiscal year for the PRx Program to address infant mortality **by
providing produce prescription services to low-income, pregnant
Ohioans. *In
partnership with the ODH Bureau of Maternal & Child Health, Produce Perks
worked with diverse healthcare providers in Butler, Mahoning, Montgomery,
Hamilton, Lucas, and Franklin counties to enroll pregnant women
and provide
essential financial resources to purchase fresh fruits & vegetables from
Ohio farmers and Ohio-owned grocery-retailers. *In the first year,
91% of births reached a programmatic goal of at least 37 *weeks*
gestation,
and 95% of births reached the Infant Vitality-PRx birth weight goal of
equal to or greater than 5.5 pounds.* *Of the patients enrolled, 85%
were African American/Latina and the majority receive Medicaid
benefits. *There
are approx. 300 mothers currently enrolled in the PRx Program which
provides for the family through the baby’s first year of life.
This program
produced strong results in its first year and it* is imperative that
this work be continued.*
- *Produce Perks Program Expansion — **There is $250K per fiscal year
through ODJFS’ TANF Block Grant in the sub bill for Produce Perks. We are
asking for $500K per fiscal year for this program.*
- *Produce Perks, Ohio’s Nutrition Incentive Program provides a $1:$1
match for SNAP and P-EBT beneficiaries to purchase fruits and vegetables
from Ohio farmers, farmers markets*,* and small-business retailers. *The
FY20-21 State Operating Budget appropriated $250,000 per fiscal year to
expand Produce Perks services to increase healthy food purchases within
TANF eligible households from Ohio farmers and grocery retailers. *As
a result, Produce Perks generated over $2.2 million in healthy food
purchases by SNAP, P-EBT*,* and TANF households in 2020. **With $1M
from the state, Produce Perks will expand programming to reach 1000+ Ohio
farmers, and over 300 farmers markets and grocery- retailers in
communities
throughout Ohio’s highest-need counties. *This funding will be
matched $1-for-$1 by the federal government through the USDA.
*2. In support of the Healthy Food Finance Ohio (FHHO)*
Our colleague Brittany Boulton at the Finance Fund shared the news below
and requested support in advocacy efforts. It is amazing what a small
number of calls can do. Local Matters has received support from the
Healthy Food for Ohio program, both to complete the original buildout of
our headquarters and more recently for the Veggie Van, which brings fresh
food and staples to neighborhoods lacking access in Columbus. We also
provided leadership in establishing the fund about 7 years ago.
*THE ASK:* If you are moved to voice* support for the only fund that
bolsters fresh food retail and distributors (as opposed to emergency free
food)*, please review the brief notes below, and pick up the phone to call
1-3 of the representatives below (as you see fit based on your location).
You will likely simply leave a message, state who you are (you can include
your job and your LM board affiliation), your county, ask each rep to
restore the $500k over the biennium, and add any detail you see fit. Keep
the location map up for reference if you like, it is inspiring to see the
impact of this program! If you've never done this, and even if you have,
it can feel daunting, but it gets easier, and it is a powerful act of civic
engagement. If you can make calls by the end of the week, great, and this
will also be in our advocacy newsletter.
*BACKGROUND AND CONTACT INFO:*
The Ohio House dropped its version of the sub-bill for the state budget
yesterday and unfortunately did not include funding for Healthy Food for
Ohio. If you are willing and able to lend your voice of support for the
program, your efforts would be so very welcome! You can describe the impact
of the HFFO grant on Local Matters work with Veggie Van, and our other
messaging is simply this:
- *We respectfully ask for restoration of HFFO at the level of $500K
across the upcoming biennium in the House omnibus amendment*
- These dollars are General Revenue Fund (GRF) through ODJFS in line
item 600546
- FCAP has a track record of amplifying the state’s investment by five
- This program is the only program in the state that supports fresh food
access retailers and distributors (as opposed to critically-needed
emergency assistance through TANF and food bank support)
- Ranking Member Crawley (614)466-8010 – was a strong supporter last
cycle
- Rep. Boggs (614)466-1896
- Rep. Jarrells (614)466-5343
- Rep. Russo (614)466-8012
Committee Leadership
- Chair Oelslager (614)752-2438 – Finance Cmte Chair from Stark County;
from Stark County, where we have project StarkFresh (I am asking that
grantee to help us make calls as well)
- Rep. Bill Roemer (614)644-5085 – chaired the subcommittee and was
pleased with how small our ask is and the impact I shared; also from Stark
County
- Rep. Jay Edwards (614)466-2158 – has been a long-time champion,
drafted our amendment language, so thanking him but asking him to help get
us over the finish line in the House
*Noreen Warnock | Co-founder, Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach*
*Local Matters* | 633 Parsons Ave., Columbus, OH 43206
614/204-7758 (C) | *local-matters.org* <http://local-matters.org/>
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*Land Acknowledgement *
Columbus occupies the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Shawnee,
Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, and
Cherokee peoples.
