As the country continues to recognize this week as National Farmers’ Market Week, CDFA celebrates its California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), which helps low-income Californians access nutritious California-grown fresh produce at Certified Farmers’ Markets.
CNIP provides increased funding support for shoppers using nutrition benefits for the purchase of fruits and vegetables at participating Certified Farmers’ Markets and retail outlets. For every benefit dollar spent, shoppers receive an additional CNIP dollar via programs like CNIP grantee Ecology Center’s “Market Match”– discussed in the video below -– that can be spent on fruits and vegetables at the market.
Market Match incentives are currently available at 253 California Certified Markets. More $44.5 million in incentives were spent on California-grown fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets and small retailers from 2017 into this year.
CNIP is part of CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork, committed to helping all Californians access healthy and nutritious California-grown food.