For the past nine years, the nonprofit Produce Perks has supported more than 150 farms, markets and grocers in Ohio.
The program offers a dollar-for-dollar match on health foods for families and individuals utilizing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
But the food purchase assistance program is threatened by the termination of more than $5 million in funding for the program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"It doesn't have an immediate impact on the operation of the Produce Perks program," said Tevis Foreman, the executive director of Produce Perks Midwest. "We are able to utilize other funding sources to continue to support the Produced Perks Program and those that we serve throughout the state. However, it could have long-term implications to the sustainability and operation of program."
The USDA announced the cuts in April — a move that could prevent low-come families from purchasing healthy foods at local outlets such as Gem City Market, Dots Market, Second Street Market and more, according to Jalisa Robinson, Gem City Market's event coordinator.
"It's going to actually hurt a lot of families. You're stripping away access to fresh, affordable produce," Robinson said. "Me personally, I was a recipient of SNAP and EBT and when I first got to Gem City Market, I was heavily in here shopping just for produce because of the Produce Perks program."
She said the program was really beneficial: It helped her save money and eat healthier.
"It's a wonderful program and I would hate to see anything happen to it," Robinson said.
A portion of Produce Perk's funding came from the USDA, through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program award, or GusNIP, a competitive grant program, that has provided over $300 million to more than 250 projects across the nation between 2019 to 2024.
"We applied in 2024 for a GusNIP award and had received it. It was a two-year award at $5.7 million in support of the Produce Perks program," Foreman said.
The community support provided by Produce Perks has been vital for food security and boosting the local economy, he added.
"We support millions of dollars in fruit and vegetable purchases for low-income households throughout the state," he said. "We've supported nearly a million dollars in healthy food purchases, just in greater Dayton alone. It's one of our largest regional beneficiaries of this work."
Foreman said the program will continue to provide assistance to low-income families while also working closely with grant-making foundations throughout Ohio in support of securing further funding to sustain the program.
"We are hopeful and expecting the USDA to release a new GusNIP RFA for this current fiscal year. That has yet to be released," he said. "However, we are certainly internally planning and preparing for a potential new RFA to be released, in which case we will apply for new funding."
In the meantime, Foreman said the Cincinnati nonprofit is working on an appeal to the USDA.
"We are working closely with members of the Ohio delegation within Congress to support and advocate on our behalf and they have been extremely receptive to our appeal and to the support they're providing and the advocacy they're doing to the USDA," Foreman said.
Robinson said she also wants to encourage customers and SNAP recipients to advocate for the protection their access to health foods.
"Call in and make your voice heard and [we're] encouraging people just to work together to make sure that we keep this program because it is super important for our community," she said.
Foreman said cuts to the program's funding can affect the bottom lines of smaller markets.
“In short, it'd have a medium impact on their bottom line, and notably the SNAP customers that they serve and that shop within their respective communities," he said.
Foreman said the goal of this program continues to go beyond incentivizing the purchase and consumption of healthier foods, “to have a direct economic impact within local food economies, to strengthen local food systems and support small-scale agriculture and direct-to-consumer market locations such as the farmers market."
Cutting access to the GusNIP award also impacts the Produce Prescription program, which connects patients with diet-related diseases to providers that write prescriptions for free fruits and veggies.
"I think it's extremely important to address not only household food and nutrition security, but also to reduce the rates of chronic disease, such as diabetes and other nutrition-related illnesses through our Produce Prescription program," Foreman said. "It seeks to incentivize fruit and vegetable purchases for low-income patients, whether they're SNAP beneficiaries or not."
Foreman said he is grateful for the statewide partnerships that have supported the program over the years as they continue to appeal to the USDA, including the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
