A&T to Kick Off Fresh & Local Nutrition Incentive Program on June 5

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 4, 2024) – The Fresh & Local Nutrition Incentive Program, a project led by a multidisciplinary team at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, will kick off its second year Wednesday, June 5.

Offered on most Wednesdays through Aug. 7, the market will provide half-priced Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box options to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants and is open to the entire community.

The market will be open June 5, 12 and 26; July 10, 17 and 24; and Aug. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 112 N. Benbow Road, in the parking lot adjacent to the Dr. Alvin V. Blount Jr. Student Health Center on campus.

Families will have the chance to purchase CSA box options valued at $20 and $30 apiece for $10 and $15 apiece, respectively, with SNAP benefits. Each box will be customized to include a variety of in-season fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers.

The program originally was to start in April, but has been rescheduled to better meet the needs of its clientele.

The Fresh & Local Nutrition Incentive Program is an effort to reduce food insecurity and help people in East Greensboro and Guilford County, North Carolina, enjoy more fruits and vegetables. With about 78,000 people relying on SNAP benefits in Guilford County, the Double EBT bucks initiative allows them to provide their families with healthier choices.

The program continues to recruit, retain and engage 300 to 400 SNAP recipients residing in eastern Greensboro through partnerships with community-based organizations by providing weekly deliveries of CSA boxes containing locally sourced, fresh vegetables and fruits to participants via a partnership with local farmers, offering matching nutrition incentives. 

This project, under the auspices of the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program’s Produce Prescription and Nutrition Incentive, received a $98,948 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture that allows SNAP participants to purchase the CSA boxes at half cost.

Rosalind Dale, Ed.D., vice provost for Engagement and Outreach, who serves as principal investigator for the project, created it with Shewana McSwain, coordinator of the SNAP-Ed with Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T; Yolanda Nicholson, DNP, of Student Health Services; Raymond Samuel, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biology in the College of Science and Technology; and Yudan C. Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of counseling and senior researcher in the College of Education.

To learn more or to sign up for the program, contact McSwain at freshandlocal@ncat.edu or 336-285-4673.