27 projects include Growing Power, Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, Uncommon Good...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced $4.8 million in funding for 27 grants to local organizations to build community food systems and fight hunger and food insecurity for FY 2011. The awards were made by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Community Food Projects program. Grants ranged from $25,000 to $300,000. Growing Power, urban farming expert Will Allen's Milwaukee, WI project, received $250;000; First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Chicago branch of the project last fall during the Let's Move! Food Desert Summit. The award-winning projects also include a teen-run community kitchen incubator, faith-based community food assessments, a program to help indigenous people return to healthful eating, and a youth-led food security movement.
"Hunger remains an important issue in the United States. Last year, 17.2 million households faced food insecurity—meaning they lacked consistent access to adequate food," said Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon. "The grants supported by the Community Food Projects empower local organizations to respond to food and nutrition needs in their own communities."
Community Food Projects have been funded in nearly 350 communities in 48 states in the program's 15-year history.
The primary goals of the Community Food Projects program are to (1) meet the food needs of low-income individuals; (2) increase the food self-reliance of low-income communities; (3) promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm and nutrition issues; and (4) meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs, including needs relating to infrastructure improvement and development, planning for long-term solutions and the creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.
Fiscal Year 2011 awards include:
Juneau Cooperative Christian Ministry, Juneau, Alaska, $93,825
International Sonoran Desert Alliance, Ajo, Ariz., $163,807
Developing Innovations in Navajo Education, Inc., Flagstaff, Ariz., $116,863
Uncommon Good, Claremont, Calif., $300,000
North Oxnard United Methodist Church, Oxnard, Calif., $24,884
Urban Tilth, Richmond, Calif., $300,000
North Coast Opportunities, Inc., Ukiah, Calif.; $300,000
Las Animas Helping Hands, Las Animas, Colo, $25,000
Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, Honolulu, Hawaii, $25, 000
Matthew 25 Ministry Hub, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, $25,000
Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, Kansas City, Kansas, $124,587
Good Shepherd Food-Bank, Auburn, Maine, $25,000
Cultivating Community, Portland, Maine, $300,000
United Teen Equality Center, Lowell, Mass., $297,767
Regional Environmental Council, Worcester, Mass., $300,000
Youth Farm and Market Project, Minneapolis, Minn., $299,660
Rio Puerco Alliance, Santa Fe, N.M., $25,000
Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford Stuyvesant History, Brooklyn, N.Y., $197,500
PathStone Community Improvement of Newburgh, Newburgh, N.Y., $25,000
Why Hunger, New York City, N.Y., $250,000
Community Food Security Coalition, Portland, Ore, $250,000
Friends of Zenger Farm, Portland, Ore., $187,860
Urban Tree Connection, Philadelphia, Pa., $300,000
Women's Community Revitalization Project, Philadelphia, Pa., $269,317
Staunton Creative Community Fund, Inc., Staunton, Va., $25,000
Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman Community Center, Madison, Wis., $298,930
Growing Power, Milwaukee, Wis., $250,000
More information on USDA hunger efforts...
USDA's Household Food Security in the United States, 2010 report found that the percentage of very low food security declined from 5.7 percent of households in 2009 to 5.4 percent in 2010. The USDA study indicates that in 2010, 17.2 million households in America had difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of resources. The number of food insecure households in 2010 was relatively consistent with statistics released in 2008 and 2009.
The report also indicates that 59 percent of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest nutrition assistance programs near the time of the survey. In fiscal year 2010, these programs provided much needed food assistance to millions of individuals, children and families in need:
In an average month of fiscal year 2011, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provided benefits to 44.7 million people in the United States.
In fiscal year 2011, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provided meals to an average of 31.8 million children each school day.
In fiscal year 2011, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) served an average 9 million participants.
Food insecurity rates were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the current federal poverty line ($22,350 for a family of four), households with children headed by single women or single men, and black and Hispanic households. Food insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas than in suburban areas and other outlying areas around large cities.
Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people's daily lives and the nation's future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.
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