Increasing Access to Affordable & Nutritious Food
Take Action to Expand Healthy Nutrition Incentives in Pennsylvania
At this time, we are asking you to call your state Senator and Representative to show support for the PA Food Bucks program and ask them to include $2 Million for a PA Food Bucks program in the budget.
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Hi, my name is ______ and I am calling from (organization or township). If you are leaving a message, be sure to include your address!
I am calling to ask you to fund SNAP incentives in the state budget and support the creation of a PA Food Bucks program because (some sample talking points):
$2 million dollars can help double the impact of existing programming.
State investments in nutrition programs can count towards matching federal grants, allowing grantees to pull down more federal dollars to assist PA residents. (the Federal Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program requires a 50/50 match)
Access to affordable produce is necessary for a healthy and active life. Unfortunately, too many of our neighbors cannot afford these foods and Food Bucks helps make produce more affordable for families.
Food Bucks support healthy food retail, farmers markets and farm stands - directly increasing their revenue while also driving more SNAP shoppers to support farmers directly. Expanding on this model will help more retailers and families across Pennsylvania.
Nutrition incentives have been shown to increase fruit & vegetable intake, which is related to lower health care costs.
I encourage you to work with your leadership to encourage them to include $2 million for the PA Food Bucks program in this year’s budget.
Can’t Call?
Calls are more effective than emails, even if you call after hours and leave a voicemail. But if you can’t make a phone call, you can send an email using our online action tool.
Food Bucks
Food Bucks, a program implemented by The Food Trust, provides SNAP shoppers an extra $2.00 to spend on fruits and veggies for every $5.00 they spend.
In recent years, Food Bucks have enabled Pennsylvanians to purchase an additional $300,000 annually in fruits and vegetables. The program reaches nearly 55,000 households in PA every year.
If PA invested $2 million to support Healthy Food Incentives, we could: double the number of households reached, help families buy more fruits and veggies, and support 25 additional retailers!
Want to know more about your member before you call?
We have a spreadsheet of electeds with their contact info and how they voted or supported nutrition incentives in 2024 as well as the current bill, HB 1096, which has passed the PA House and is now sitting in the Senate’s Agriculture Committee.