Sumter farm receives grant to improve access to healthy food - Sumter Item

Twenty-three grantees received financial and technical assistance through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative's inaugural grants program, and Sumter's very own Rogers Vegetable Farm was one of those grantees.

Ten projects received a total of $1.4 million in financial assistance, and an additional 13 projects received a total of $400,000 in technical assistance awards.

With the grant, Rogers Vegetable Farm has a Mobile Market Project whose goal is to provide access to fruits and vegetables for those receiving SNAP benefits in Lee and Sumter counties.

"Rogers Vegetable Farm has been beneficial to our small and rural community. Most of our library patrons didn't know that they could use their SNAP/EBT benefits at the farmers market," said Brenda Brisbon, librarian at Lee County Public Library, in a news release. "This has allowed them to purchase fresh produce on a weekly basis."

Grantees who applied for financial and technical assistance for their fresh food retail projects were selected through a competitive process.

More than 240 applicants from 46 states, territories and the District of Columbia applied for the grants.

The Rogers Vegetable Farm Mobile Market will provide better access to fresh, locally grown healthier food options and employment opportunities for community members with the grant.

The mobile market will stop at community sites and health care centers and partner with local organizations to offer cooking demonstrations as well.

Reinvestment Fund administered the inaugural funding for healthy food retail projects to expand access to healthy foods in underserved rural and urban areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities.

"Access to healthy food is about more than making sure all Americans have easy access to nutritious, affordable food - it is also about strengthening local economies and community infrastructure," said Don Hinkle-Brown, president and CEO of Reinvestment Fund, in a news release. "The response to this funding opportunity is indicative of the immense need and the innovative approaches communities are undertaking to support equitable access to fresh, healthy food for everyone."

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