August 4, 2006

Pryce Lauds Federal Nutritional
Program in Columbus

COLUMBUS, OH – Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Columbus) attended the Farmers Market held today on the grounds of the Columbus Public Health Department, and afterward heralded this important federal investment in improving the health and nutritional needs of central Ohioans.

“This is a yet another great example of our federal investment in the well-being of our community,” said Pryce. “The impacts of poor nutrition permeate throughout our society, leading to chronic health problems, obesity, higher health care costs, and work and school absenteeism.”

“While the Farmers Market runs for three Thursdays in August, its emphasis on nutritional education can have a lasting, lifelong impact on people’s diets by helping them make better food choice decisions. I applaud the City of Columbus for taking advantage of this proven federal initiative, and for the thousands of central Ohioans who visited the Farmers Market, congratulations on your wise dietary choices.”

At the event, eligible participants receive an $18 coupon book good toward the purchase of fresh produce.  The funding for the coupon booklets, as well as much of the administrating costs of the local program, come through the USDA’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), and is appropriated annually by Congress. Pryce recently voted in support of the FY 07 Agriculture Appropriations bill (HR 5384), which allocated $20 million to the FMNP.

Facts about the Farmers Market Nutritional Program:

• The program offers some 2.5 million WIC participants special vouchers good toward the purchase of fresh produce.
• The federal government assumes the cost of the first $30 (per participant per year) of each farmers' market voucher, and shares administrative costs (up to 70%) with the states and other political jurisdictions sponsoring the program.
• Nutrition education is provided to FMNP recipients by the state agency, often through an arrangement with the local WIC agency.  These educational arrangements help to encourage FMNP recipients to improve and expand their diets by adding fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as to educate them on how to select, store and prepare the fresh fruits and vegetables bought with their FMNP coupons.
• WIC recipients’ household incomes generally can be no higher than 185% of the federal poverty guidelines -- $24,440 for a family of two or $30,710 for a three-person family.