WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) ) – a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee – announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded Mid-Ohio Foodbank in Grove City $100,000 for a program to help fight food insecurity in the region. Mid-Ohio Foodbank will use these federal funds to support their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Incentive Program with the South Side Roots Market, through which SNAP recipients can use their benefits at the market to purchase healthy foods.

“Too many Ohioans aren’t getting the nutrition they need because they can’t afford healthy foods or they live in areas where fresh produce is not readily available,” Brown said. “This federal funding will ensure that Mid-Ohio Foodbank and South Side Roots Market can continue their important work to end food insecurity by providing families with access to fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious goods.”

Brown has worked to increase assistance for Ohio food banks and to help stamp out food insecurity. In December 2015, Brown’s provision to permanently extend several tax provisions that support charitable giving, food donations, and conservation efforts was included in a tax package that was signed into law.

After his call for the USDA to increase its contributions to ensure food pantries can continue to serve their communities, USDA increased the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) by $50 million. TEFAP is used to supply low-income senior citizens and families with nutritious commodity foods, including canned fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, beans, pasta, peanut butter, rice, and soups. In Aug. 2015, Brown and 22 of his Senate colleagues urged USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to distribute existing funding through TEFAP to purchase additional foods for distribution to food banks in Ohio and across America. Full text of the letter is here.

Brown is also a cosponsor of the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act, bipartisan legislation that would increase access to summer federal child nutrition programs.

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