Fresh Food Initiative

Fresh Food Funding Initiatives to battle poor nutrition across our nation will soon come to Washington State with your help. According to a nationwide Food Atlas (www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas), obesity in Spokane County occurs in 27 of 100 residents.
A recent webinar on Fresh Food Initiatives was hosted by Natalie Tauzin of the Spokane Regional Health District.
Initiatives to provide investment projects for more fresh food in communities have been funded by private investors, supermarkets, community agencies and government agencies wanting to see the best bang for the buck for healthy communities with more fresh food. "Food Deserts" of the USA are shrinking with projects such as the New Day Pennsylvania, re-growing grocery stores in devastated New Orleans, Greengrow urban farms, Farmers' Markets and Green Cart street vendors to bring fresh food to communities, increasing neighborhood good health, jobs, and economic investment.
Interested grocery retailers want to improve fresh food access with an stable financial base, increased business security, and an incremental decrease in financing assistance.
Working with The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) [ http://www.trfund.com/ ], which applies capital investment funding for maximum social and economic benefit,, The Food Trust [ http://www.thefoodtrust.org/ ] partnered to develop community food financing initiatives with government and community organizations.
National organizations such as CDFI, NAACP, Am Assn Public Health, Am Heart Association, WIC, Local Initiative Support Corp agree that improved community health results in increased income and increased economic stimulus.
Current national policy will improve fresh food financing INVESTMENT for under-served communities using private and government funding. The U.S. House of Representatives have approved 2011 budget funding for United States Department of Agriculture, United States Health & Human Services, and the U.S Treasury to provide grants, loans, and technical assistance for more states and their communities to begin their own Fresh Food Initiatives. The Federal budget's Fresh Food Initiatives require Senate approval in August.. The proposed funding would include new supermarkets in needy communities, job training, new equipment, public food markets, etc. by grants and loans.
More information is available at: http://www.policylink.org/
In Spokane County, a Food Access Coalition has been started. Second Harvest, the regional food bank, will have more information soon: http://www.2harvest.org/

When will Washington State provide a Fresh Food Initiative Investment Fund? When will residents, merchants, and organizations of Deer Park benefit from the Fresh Food Initiative?

What can Deer Park In Progress do now? A community garden may be one of the ways to produce fresh food for the area of Deer Park!

Starting a "Community Garden -Spring 2011"
meeting will be posted to the blog.

References: Fresh Food Funding Intiatives: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/02/20100219a.html
National Fresh Food Financing Initiative (12-01-2009)http://www.thefoodtrust.org/catalog/resource.detail.php?product_id=168
Publication: Giang, T., A. Karpyn, H. B. Laurison, A. Hillier, and R. D. Perry. (2008). Closing the Grocery Gap in Underserved Communities: The Creation of the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 14(3): 272–279.


Report by Christine Clark, Director of Partnerships Deer Park In Progress
(A WSU Extension Horizons Organization to Reduce Poverty)
P O Box 1045
Deer Park WA 99006
1-866-898-2768
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