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Fresh food for the poor
Paterson's office emails over this bit of good news: WIC - Women, infants and children - recipients can now use their checks or electronic debit cards at their local farmers market.
Governor David A. Paterson today announced that participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program can now use their monthly checks at New York farmers’ markets to purchase eligible fresh produce. New York is the first state in the nation to allow the use of WIC checks for fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets.
“Making farmers’ market produce available to WIC recipients is good for New York’s families and New York’s farmers. There are not enough healthy food options in many urban and rural communities throughout the State and that lack of affordable, nutritious food is hurting the health of New Yorkers,” said Governor Paterson. “This program will expand access to healthy food for some of the most vulnerable women, infants and children across the State.”
A pilot program conducted in 2006 by the Department of Health showed that WIC participants prefer fresh produce over canned or frozen products when fresh is available. In New York, approximately 520,000 women, infants and children participate in the WIC program every month. The program received approximately $420 million in funding from the federal United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) this year and is administered by the New York State Department of Health’s Division of Nutrition.
Paterson's initiative nicely addresses the baleful question of food deserts, and isn't going to cost the state a dime, This is good stuff - more, please.
