NY announces $3.4M for poor to buy food at farmers' markets

[hrmjustin]

Written by
Joseph Spector
Albany Bureau Chief

ALBANY — About 215,000 families in New York will be eligible for $24 in checks to buy food at farmers' markets this summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

The state is spending $3.4 million to help low-income women, infants and children buy healthy food at the state's 470 farmers' markets.

“Farmers’ markets help pump money back in to local economies while encouraging New Yorkers to support local agriculture and promote healthy eating,” Cuomo said in a statement.

The check booklets -- six checks each worth $4 -- will be available this month through September for families with children under five whose income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty limit, which is $43,567.

Read more at http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20130613/NEWS10/306130025/NY-announces-3-4M-poor-buy-food-farmers-markets?gcheck=1

[think]

1. Liking this direction

a lot

[hrmjustin]

2. Pataki would never have done this! Glad I voted for him.

[Eleanors38]

3. Sounds like a good move.

[canoeist52]

4. It's a start, but 24 dollars for 5 months seem kind stingy to me. Better than nothing, I guess.

I like the "double your food stamps" at the farmer's market plan better.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Double-Your-Food-Stamps&id=7081020
"Every time you go to a participating farmers market, you will find a booth or a token machine that will exchange your food stamps for wooden coins. These coins can be used to buy any food or food-bearing seeds or plants at the market. The amount you withdraw will be taken from your food stamps account, but for each dollar you exchange into wooden money, you will receive an extra wooden coin, worth $1. That means that you can spend twice as much as you intended or could afford at the market."

[NYC_SKP]

5. What refreshing news. Ordinarily, it would support some corporate food like Pizza Hut and Coke.

At least that's what we often see in School Lunch Programs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/us/school-lunch-proposals-set-off-a-dispute.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.pizzahutmhat.com/kids/school.html