NIFA awards $3.2M to Puerto Rico food access programs
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $41.5 million to 38 projects through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), including a project in Puerto Rico.
The grants by NIFA, which operates under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, consist of $36.3 million in 27 Nutrition Incentive Program projects and $5.2 million in 11 Produce Prescription Program projects.
Banco de Alimentos Puerto Rico was awarded some $2.7 million through the Nutrition Incentive Program, starting in fiscal year 2024 and ending in fiscal 2027, and $480,000 through the Produce Prescription Program, running from 2025 to 2028.
The awards “support projects that increase access to healthy foods and improve health outcomes, with specific requirements for health care partnerships and robust data collection/evaluation,” NIFA stated.
GusNIP is a collection of three competitive grant programs that provide funding opportunities to conduct and evaluate projects providing incentives to income-eligible consumers. The program’s goal is to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables, boost prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables, and support services to potential applicants and projects.
The grants are awarded competitively to eligible nonprofits and government agencies through a rigorous process involving public requests for applications (RFAs), detailed proposal reviews by peer experts and alignment with program goals to boost fruit/vegetable purchases by low-income households, focusing on either nutrition incentives or produce prescriptions.
Banco de Alimentos Puerto Rico is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1988 with the purpose of alleviating hunger, improving nutrition and the quality of life of the most vulnerable citizens on the island.
The organization’s headquarters in Carolina comprise 30,600 square feet of storage and 10,000 square feet of offices. It works in partnership with 130 affiliated organizations and volunteers that distribute food throughout Puerto Rico, reaching more than 1.3 million people each year.
The nonprofit’s Amigos que Alimentan (Friends Who Feed) program attracts donations that support thousands of families every month. Donors include individuals as well as numerous local companies and stateside companies operating in Puerto Rico.
USDA NIFA is the extramural funding agency within USDA’s Research, Education and Economics mission area. NIFA groups more than 10,000 scientists, experts and educators at land-grant universities to deliver 70% of the nation’s agricultural research and development. Its investments in agricultural research aim to keep the U.S. on the leading edge of global food production and sustainability.
Nutrition Incentive Program projects develop and evaluate projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by providing incentives at the point of purchase among income-eligible consumers participating in the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands and income-eligible consumers participating in the USDA Nutrition Assistance Program Block Grants in Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.
Produce Prescription Program projects demonstrate and evaluate the impact of fresh fruit and vegetable prescriptions. The goals of the program are to increase procurement and consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce individual and household food insecurity and reduce health care usage and associated costs.
In addition, projects present educational opportunities relating to nutrition to participants and connect the food and healthcare systems.
