Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes the City to accept funds from These funds will be used to provide vouchers, redeemable at Williamson Street Grocery Co-op, to purchase fruits and vegetables. Funding through the program will provide vouchers to 150 clients and will be administered from the Northeast Family Medical Clinic. A portion of the funding ($4,420) will be set aside to evaluate the program.
Title
SUBSTITUTE - Accepting a private grant contribution from the Wholesome Wave Foundation Charitable Ventures, Inc (Wholesome Wave) 2016 Nutrition Incentive Support and Innovation Grant program in the amount of $23,120; amending the 2017 Operating Budget of the Mayor’s Office to appropriate the revenue and expenditures associated with the grant; authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to sign an agreement with Wholesome Wave to receive and use these funds and to enter into an MOU with the Williamson Street Grocery Coop for use of these funds within their stores.
Body
WHEREAS 1 in 5 children in Southwest Wisconsin struggles with hunger; and,
WHEREAS hunger can have a devastating impact on health, contributing to poor child development, impaired mental and physical functioning, and chronic disease such as diabetes and high blood pressure; and,
WHEREAS healthcare professionals, when trained to recognize the signs of hunger and poor nutrition, can help to connect patients to food resources, including food assistance programs; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has sought to promote equitable access to healthful food through a range of food system programs including Double Dollars incentives for purchase of fresh produce at farmers markets and the Williamson Street Grocery Co-op (the Co-op); and,
WHEREAS the City has sought to increase the healthful impacts of this incentive program by applying to Wholesome Wave for funds to support a “Fruit and Vegetable Prescription” pilot project entitled, “An FVRx Pilot for Madison’s Northside”; and,
WHEREAS the City has organized a project partnership between the Second Harvest Food Bank’s HungerCare Coalition, whose staff are educating healthcare professionals on the signs of hunger among patients; with the Northeast Family Medical Center (NFMC), whose staff will incorporate food insecurity questions into the clinic’s patient assessments; the Co-op Willy Street Grocery Cooperative, a retail establishment working to make healthful, local food accessible to people with low incomes; and, Public Health Madison Dane County, who will follow FVRx participants and evaluate the project; and,
WHEREAS this project will provide incentive coupons worth $20/month to enable NFMC patients found to be food insecure to purchase fruits and vegetables at the Willy St.Co-op;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to accept grant funds the Wholesome Wave grant funds and enter into an agreement for their use with Wholesome Wave Foundation Charitable Ventures, Inc. for the use of these funds; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the 2017 Adopted Operating Budget of the Mayor’s Office is amended to appropriate $23,120 to reflect the anticipated revenue and expenditure associated with the grant; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Common Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an MOU with the Willy St.Grocery Co-op for use of these funds by eligible customers to purchase fruits and vegetables within their stores.