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Posted by gplotkin | March 8th, 2010

In a previous post, we explored a new Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program that helps low-income mothers buy more fresh produce at farmers markets. The new coupons are known as WIC Fruit and Vegetable Cash Value Vouchers, or FVC. This second post in the series looks at benefits of a similar nutrition assistance program already in place–the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)–and yet more stumbling blocks in implementation of such programs.

First, the good news.

According to a report by the Community Food Security Coalition based on USDA numbers, 2.3 million WIC participants received farmers market benefits in 2008, spending about $20 million. During that year, 16,016 farmers and 3,367 farmers markets were authorized to accept FMNP coupons. The USDA awarded grants to each state, amounting to $301,302 for D.C. in 2009, while Maryland received $341,338 (Virginia received $291,212 in 2008, but declined to participate last year).

Also according to the report, evaluation of the program in Washington state showed that WIC recipients who used vouchers increased their knowledge and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and planned to keep coming to farmers markets in the future. Several D.C.-area markets–including the Crossroads market in Takoma Park and three of the markets run by FRESHFARM Markets–established very popular grant-funded “double dollar” programs, which matched the value of vouchers, increasing shoppers’ buying power and farmers’ income.

This works out for everyone–at least until bureaucracy or lack of participation get in the way.

Liz Falk, the former manager of WIC and food stamp programs for FRESHFARM Markets, says she saw very little in the way of advertising for the WIC FMNP. D.C.’s WIC administrators and the Department of Health could not — or would not — devote much funding to develop and distribute marketing materials, and different agencies were reluctant even to add each others’ information to existing materials. The situation will likely hold true for the FVC program.

More worrisome still: Falk says that “red tape is covering so much of what’s possible with these programs.”

The program’s certification process itself is problematic. As our first post mentioned, D.C. offers just one training for farmers who want to participate in the WIC FMNP, Senior FMNP, and FVC programs. (It’s set for this Wednesday, March 10 in Greenbelt, MD, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

By contrast Maryland offers multiple trainings on 13 different dates in Greenbelt, Annapolis, Hagerstown, Baltimore, and Denton. Each lasts an hour–from 10 to 11 a.m. or 1 to 2 p.m.

Posted by gplotkin | February 26th, 2010

A revamped Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program — which provides low-income single mothers with cash value vouchers good for fruits and vegetables — will soon include a farmers market component. This is a promising opportunity.

But the program is currently designed in ways that will create tension with recipients, farmers, and administrators.

As of October 1, 2009, the USDA required all states to implement the new WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). Through FMNP, WIC recipients can use the $6 to $15 monthly Fruit and Vegetable Cash Value Vouchers (or CVVs) just like cash to purchase a wide range of produce (PDF). (Check out a nice, clear explanation of the benefits here). The revised program will increase the voucher value for pregnant, breastfeeding, and partially breastfeeding women from $8 to $10 per month. And when the new market season rolls around, recipients can also use the vouchers at farmers markets. The previous WIC program, by contrast, provided only $30 worth of coupons for the entire May-through-November market season. It’s a significant increase.

But each state has the choice of whether to train and authorize farmers to accept those CVVs. Both Maryland and D.C. have opted in to the program. Virginia, on the other hand, recently canceled it.

Maryland has given the program every chance to succeed by including a variety of training options for farmers (including at market, and using trainers who have worked extensively with farmers market vendors). It will be pretty easy for farmers to become registered for the program, as the state will provide multiple trainings in different locations — and each only an hour-long.

D.C.’s Department of Health, by contrast, will offer only one training (on March 10th). It’s an all day training, and it’s in Greenbelt, MD.

The arrangement has raised concerns among market coordinators and healthy food advocates alike. This is a program with proven positive results for both WIC recipients and farmers, and yet for farmers to participate in the District, they have only one chance to attend all-day training — in the middle of a critical season.

The District has other options for facilitating participation in the program. For instance, Maryland will recognize the registration of farmers who undergo the D.C. training — freeing farmers up to sell across state and district lines. As of now, D.C. has expressed no such interest in a reciprocal arrangement.

Posted by gplotkin | February 10th, 2010

Snowpocalypse Note: Miriam’s Kitchen will continue to be open for breakfast (6:30 – 8am) and dinner (4:45 – 5:45pm) regardless of snow for the rest of the week.  Anyone seeking help is welcome at Miriam’s (2401 Virginia Avenue, NW) Monday through Friday.

After a much-anticipated wait, Miriam’s Kitchen — the Foggy Bottom soup kitchen made famous by a visit from Michelle Obama last winter — is now officially open for dinner. Since its founding in 1983, Miriam’s has served breakfast to tens of thousands of homeless Washingtonians, and is now expanding its services to help feed even more of the city’s needy residents.

A couple Fridays ago, I stopped by Miriam’s to observe the new dinner program. From the chatter I heard coming from the dining room tables set up around the room, I’d say the program has been a success so far.

Posted by gplotkin | January 14th, 2010

Even though I’ve lived in Washington, DC for more than five years now and have tried to become knowledgeable about the food scene in the city, last weekend was my first trip the Maine Avenue Fish Market, also referred to as “The Wharf” by many locals.

While the market is certainly not a secret — its been a neighborhood favorite for more than two centuries — to tourists it’s virtually unknown, and even most transplanted DC residents have no idea there’s a fresh fish market located conspicuously under an I-395 overpass, just blocks from the Capitol.

Posted by gplotkin | December 2nd, 2009

With hunger spreading across America at levels unseen since the Great Depression — and with low-income urban communities continuing to be disproportionately affected by a lack of access to healthy food — many are asking questions about the best way to reach communities without adequate food sources. One option that has been tried in many places, including Washington, DC, is to use tax incentives to lure companies into seemingly “less desirable” neighborhoods.

However, many questions remain about how effective these types of incentives really are. My answer is: it depends on how and where they are applied.

Currently in DC, a decade-old tax incentive that was originally intended to encourage new supermarkets to open in the city’s most economically depressed neighborhoods is drawing criticism from groups like the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. The City Council recently passed legislation (introduced by Jim Graham) to extend this tax break to Ellwood Thompson’s, a high-end organic grocery store that is moving into the rapidly-gentrifying Columbia Heights neighborhood.

With a Giant supermarket a block away and a food section in the neighboring Target Superstore, this wouldn’t seem to honor the original intention for the tax incentive to increase access to healthy food in DC’s poorest neighborhoods. Ten years ago (when the incentive was first authorized and the current development boom in DC was in its infancy), Columbia Heights and similar neighborhoods would have indeed been considered food deserts. But as we all know, a lot has changed in DC since then. Meanwhile, DCFPI pointed out that the tax incentive has largely been ineffective at stimulating new groceries in areas that remain underserved. 

But we can look to another example of a city offering this kind of incentive: the recently-passed Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) initiative in New York City. In addition to tax breaks, the FRESH initiative offers companies zoning incentives (i.e. not requiring as much parking as other retail stores are mandated to have) to move into approved FRESH neighborhoods.

Because the New York model is based on newer data and reflects current food needs (rather than the needs of neighborhoods ten years ago, like in DC), there is a great opportunity for these incentives to benefit the communities they are intended for.

If incentives are going to be continued here in DC, the geographic restrictions that govern which communities receive these benefits must be changed to reflect current economic conditions in the city.

Some organizations in DC are already working on an alternative to having grocery stores be the sole purveyor of fresh produce. For example, DC Hunger Solutions’ Healthy Corner Store Initiative is providing assistance to corner stores in Wards 7 and 8 to help them begin carrying farm fresh fruits and vegetables, thus increasing access to healthy food for some of the city’s neediest residents.

But it seems like the real question we need to answer here in DC is what will it take to bring full-service grocery stores — let alone an Ellwood Thompson — to Barry Farms or Anacostia? It seems as though incentives that have been offered by the DC government for the last decade haven’t been enough. Time to find a new solution.