By Amanda Li, Junior Policy Associate
A recent article published by JAMA Internal Medicine shows an association between the increased consumption of the foods that are financially supported by the government and greater cardiometabolic risks.
This association is not unexpected, if we look at the seven main commodities that our country’s agriculture policies focus on financing: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, dairy, and livestock. Very little money is spent subsidizing fruits and vegetables.
With such a small amount dedicated to healthier eating options, DASH-NY is working on efforts to increase spending on fresh, healthy, locally produced foods within New York. DASH-NY’s efforts include:
- A recent budget win of $300,000 to expand reimbursements for schools in the North Country to procure fresh, healthy food from local farmers.
- $350,000 of grants to provide New York’s public schools funding for new scratch-cooking equipment, technical assistance, and school nutrition service staff training.
- Actively supporting and advocating for local Farmers Markets. Farmers markets strengthen local farm business and regional economies, provide greater access to fresh, healthy produce, and create healthier, more connected communities.
New York’s Farmers Markets have seen increased financial support over the past several years. In 2012, the state’s FreshConnect program received $300,000 in grants, and in 2016 the city’s Health Bucks program received $3.37 million in funding from the USDA. Although this funding is a step in the right direction, the combined spending on FreshConnect and Health Bucks is still an incredibly small percentage of the $16 billion spent on payouts for the government-supported foods commodities that are increasing our cardiometabolic risks.
DASH-NY continues to support funding for local procurement of healthy foods through programs like Farm to School, Health Bucks and Fresh Connect.