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USDA taps NGA Foundation for produce incentive grant

NGA’s nonprofit arm to provide training, tech help to retailers

Russell Redman

June 12, 2020

2 Min Read
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GusNIP provides SNAP participants and low-income customers experiencing diet-related health conditions with incentives to step up their purchase of fruit and vegetables at food retailers.YinYang_iStock_Getty_Images_Plus

The National Grocers Association Foundation has been named as a sub-awardee for a federal contract to provide training and technical assistance to retailers implementing produce incentive and prescription projects.

The NGA Foundation said yesterday that its Technical Assistance Center will be tasked with collecting information on the incentive instruments in now use, their advantages and disadvantages and the costs involved in each. The center also will share best practices for implementation to facilitate adoption at retail.

Besides the NGA Foundation, the effort includes a coalition of partners, led by the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) and Fair Food Network, and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), formerly known as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program (FINI).

GusNIP provides Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants and low-income customers experiencing diet-related health conditions with incentives to step up their purchase of fruit and vegetables at food retailers and farmers markets. Through the GusNIP, incentives and prescriptions are offered in various methods at the point of purchase, and retailers are reimbursed for the cost of the incentives and prescriptions they redeem by grantee organizations.

Related:NGA, United Fresh partner to maintain fresh produce supply

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“We’re pleased to have been chosen as a partner in this initiative and to have built a strong team to lead to this important nutrition incentive effort,” Greg Ferrara (left), president of the NGA Foundation and president and CEO of NGA, said in a statement. 

The NGA Foundation noted that it has hired dedicated staff and expert consultants to establish the Technical Assistance Center and support training and technical assistance services. Team members include Ted Mason as project director; Chelsea Matzen as project manager; Patrick Jones as project assistant; and Kate Fitzgerald, Tim O’Connor and Jimmy Wright as consultant project consultants.

“Supermarkets serve an integral role in their communities by providing a wide variety of affordable fresh and high-quality food items,” Ferrara added. “Many NGA retailer members have found that programs that deliver nutrition education to make healthy food choices, combined with customer incentives are an important resource for SNAP customers that can have a positive impact on their lives.”

NGA said GusNIP, formerly known as FINI, was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to support projects that incentivize the purchase of fruit and vegetables for consumers participating in SNAP. The program is a joint effort between the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The 2018 Farm Bill permanently reauthorized GusNIP and provides $250 million in funding from 2019 to 2023.

Related:USDA increases monthly SNAP benefits by 40%

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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