5 Sustainable Food Trends to Watch in 2010: #4 National Fresh Food Financing Initiative
Here we are at the fourth installment of my five-part series on the top sustainable food trends to watch in 2010; the topic of the day is the National Fresh Food Financing Initiative (NFFFI), a program designed to improve access to fresh, healthy food and quality employment in low-income neighborhoods.
Modeled after the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a public-private partnership that has been successful in creating jobs and expanding access to fresh food in inner-city Philadelphia, the NFFFI will aim to address the fact that 27 million Americans live without access to fresh food on a daily basis. Children living in these food deserts grow up eating few fresh fruits and vegetables; in many cases their school lunches are the healthiest food they get, and that is hardly comforting.
A bi-partisan group of representatives in the US House led by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) recently introduced a resolution in support of a NFFFI, which Change.org members have supported using our online petition. The resolution is only the first step, however; a bill creating the NFFFI will be introduced in the Senate in early 2010. Senators will need to hear vocal support of this initiative to see how important it is to their constituents, so keeping an eye on this and acting when the time is right is critical.
Stay tuned for trend #5 tomorrow.
Photo courtesy of stock.xchng







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