V.I. farmers will have a new income stream and Virgin Islanders struggling to get by on food stamps will have more access to more wholesome, fresh, local produce if legislation being proposed by Sen. Clarence Payne becomes law.
Payne said in a statement Thursday that this recently submitted draft legislation would have the government give technical assistance to farmers to help them accept electronic benefit transfer payments from Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program food stamp cards. Human Services and the Agriculture Department would publicize the program to SNAP recipients.
Payne did not mention where funding would come from or how much it would cost and the government is in the midst of a fiscal crisis, leaving open the question of whether funding is available.
Similar programs are in place in many states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting the use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets to increase consumption of high quality fresh fruits and vegetables. (See related links)
According to Payne, this program has the potential to benefit not just food stamp recipients, fishermen and farmers, but the overall health and economic wellbeing of residents.
"There are over 32,000 people in the territory, making up nearly a third of our population, who receive food stamp benefits that total over $57 million per year," Payne said. "However, those benefits can only be used for electronic payments and, thus, local residents cannot use these benefits to purchase fresh food from local fishermen and farmers. This effectively prevents a large portion of our people from being able to get fresh food and it also deprives local producers of a $60 million market," he said.
Helping farmers take food stamp payments will improve overall health in the community by making it easier to get fresh local food, Payne said, adding that it will "help to stimulate agricultural production and foster the increased circulation of currency within the local economy."
Families will be helped by making it easier for those on limited budgets to buy better food, he suggested.
"Anyone who has tried to feed a family on a limited budget can tell you that unfortunately it is usually cheaper to fill a shopping cart with fatty processed foods than with fresh, healthy food," he said. "If we are really serious about improving the health of our community we must transform that reality and make fresh food more available and affordable for all segments of our population," Payne said.
The legislation is currently in draft form, as BR no. 13-0074. It is awaiting final drafting and assignment to committee.
