To get fresh vegetables to people who need them, one city puts its soda tax to work
It's a chilly, winter evening outside the Boulder Public library, with the sun low in the sky. Inside, tucked behind a spiral staircase, a small crowd begins to file into a meeting room.
They are here for a distribution of coupons for the Fruit and Veg Boulder program, run by county health department staff and community groups. These distributions happen every three months – a family of two gets $40 a month in coupons, families of four and up get $80. They can be used pretty much anywhere in town where you can buy fresh produce – from big grocery stores to farm stands.
"On Tuesday, there was a huge line out the door," says Ana Karina Casas Ibarra, of El Centro AMISTAD, a community nonprofit. "They're willing to come in the cold, in the snow for $80 a month of fruits and veggies, which tells you a lot – people are struggling."
This program is part of a growing wave of nutrition incentive projects across the country. The goal is not just to get food to people who can't afford it, but to allow them to buy and choose their own nutritious food. The federal government pays for many of these programs, but they are often supplements for federal benefits that aren't available to everyone, including people who are undocumented. Some places, like Boulder, are generating their own funding through a local soda tax, which has the added benefit of making unhealthy food less appealing.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/15/1224627771/soda-tax-fruit-vegetables-coupons-boulder-colorado
This is a great idea! I can see RepubliKKKans hating it now.....
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