{"id":17714,"date":"2023-03-08T11:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T16:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=17714"},"modified":"2023-03-08T11:05:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T16:05:56","slug":"sens-ossoff-ernst-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-access-to-fresh-fruits-vegetables-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-ernst-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-access-to-fresh-fruits-vegetables-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Sens. Ossoff, Ernst Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Access to Fresh Fruits & Vegetables for Kids<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan bill strengthens WIC Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia currently runs one of the largest and most utilized Farmers\u2019 Market Programs in the country, helping Georgia kids access locally grown food<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. \u2014<\/strong> U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to improve access for Georgia kids to fresh produce grown by Georgia farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Ossoff and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Farm Fresh Food for Families Act<\/em> to help families in Georgia and nationwide access freshly grown food at farmers markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill would strengthen and modernize the WIC Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program for families who receive nutrition support through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildhood nutrition is the foundation of a healthy life, but too many Georgia kids lack access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said. <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m bringing Republicans and Democrats together to help kids access fresh food and support farmers in Georgia and nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis bipartisan legislation expands opportunities for families to bring healthy meals to their kitchen table! When we can support our farmers, farmers\u2019 markets, and increase access to healthy, nutritious choices for our kids and young families, it\u2019s a win-win,\u201d said Sen. Ernst, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis bill is a crucial and necessary step for improving the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and increasing access to fresh and healthy foods. These improvements will further forge partnerships between farmers and WIC families and return investment directly to the local farm economy,\u201d said Dr. Jamila Taylor, President & CEO of the National WIC Association (NWA). <\/strong>\u201cWith the success we have seen with technological innovations at farmers markets in multiple states, it is paramount that we streamline FMNP processes and adopt new technologies so that more states can join the program and more families can access healthy foods. We want to thank Sens. Ossoff and Ernst for their leadership on helping to improve the health of our nation and look forward to advocating for the passage of this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics commends U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Joni Ernst for introducing the Farm Fresh Food for Families Act<\/em>,\u201d said registered dietitian nutritionist Ellen R. Shanley, MBA, RDN, CDN, FAND, the 2022-2023 president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. <\/strong>\u201cBy ensuring access to healthful, fresh, local food for families with low incomes who are most affected by disproportionate rates of chronic illnesses, and by supporting local farmers, this important legislation will have a tremendous impact on communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program is a vital and innovative program that connects low-income families directly with farmers who sell at markets. As the first program to make this connection, and the first-time produce was included in the WIC basket, the program has influenced a whole wave of federal nutrition programs that have come since. WIC FMNP continues to provide millions of servings of fruits and vegetables to low-income families and millions of dollars in sales directly to American farmers. The proposed changes in the Farm Fresh Food for Families Act will help the program to be even more effective,\u201d said Ben Feldman, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Fiscal Year 2019, the WIC Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program benefitted more than 15,000 farmers, 2,400 farmers\u2019 markets, and 2,150 road stands nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff continues to fight for Georgia\u2019s families and farmers. Last year, Sen. Ossoff worked to pass the bipartisan Kids Eat Local Act<\/em> to enable more Georgia farmers to sell their produce to schools<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read the bipartisan Farm Fresh Food for Families Act<\/em>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan bill strengthens WIC Farmers\u2019 Market Nutrition Program Georgia currently runs one of the largest and most utilized Farmers\u2019 Market Programs in the country, helping Georgia kids access locally grown food Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to improve access for Georgia kids to fresh produce grown by Georgia farmers. […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17714","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/17714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/17714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17716,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/17714\/revisions\/17716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}