Gourmet News

USDA Proposes Rule Requiring Wider Access to Healthy Food

Published February 16, 2016

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon has announced a proposed rule designed to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increased access to healthy foods by requiring stores that accept SNAP to stock a wider array of food choices.

“USDA is committed to expanding access for SNAP participants to the types of foods that are important to a healthy diet,” Concannon said. “This proposed rule ensures that retailers who accept SNAP benefits offer a variety of products to support healthy choices for those participating in the program.”

The 2014 Farm Bill required USDA to develop regulations to ensure that stores that accept SNAP offer a broader variety of healthy food choices. The stocking provisions in the proposed rule would require SNAP-authorized retail establishments to offer a larger inventory and variety of healthy food options so that recipients have access to more healthy food choices. SNAP retailers would be required to offer seven varieties of qualifying foods in four staple food groups for sale on a continuous basis, along with perishable foods in at least three of the four staple food groups. The staple foods groups are dairy products; breads and cereals; meats, poultry and fish; and fruits and vegetables. In addition, the proposal calls for retailers to stock at least six units within each variety, leading to a total of at least 168 required food items per store.

This proposed rule is one of many ways USDA is working to expand access to healthy foods for SNAP recipients. USDA has piloted the use of incentives to purchase healthy foods at point of sale in various venues, including farmers markets and small groceries where the incentive provided for additional purchase of local produce. The 2014 farm bill provided $100 million for Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants to expand this effort, which USDA awarded to grantees in the spring and fall of 2015. USDA has also worked to increase SNAP participants’ access to farmers markets and direct marketing farmers, resulting in over 6,000 authorized locations – an eight-fold increase since the beginning of this administration.

USDA is working to ensure that access to food retailers is not hindered for SNAP participants as a result of this rule. Comments and suggestions on the proposed rule are encouraged to help USDA determine when, where, and if any flexibility should be provided to prevent reductions in SNAP client food access.

The proposed rule also underscores USDA’s authority under the Food and Nutrition Act to publicly disclose information about SNAP retailers disqualified or sanctioned for program violations. Information to be disclosed under provisions of the proposed rule would be limited to the name and address of the store, the owners’ and officers’ names, and the nature of the violation for which the retailer was sanctioned.
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“SNAP violations are a serious matter,” Concannon said. “Public disclosure of this information is intended to serve as a deterrent against retailer fraud. The information would provide the public with insight into the integrity of these businesses and individuals.”

As the nation’s first line of defense against hunger, SNAP helps put food on the table for millions of low income families and individuals every month and is critical in the fight against hunger. SNAP is a vital supplement to the monthly food budgets of about 45 million low-income individuals. Nearly half of SNAP participants are children, 10 percent are elderly and more than 40 percent of recipients live in households with earnings.

SNAP plays an important role in reducing both poverty and food insecurity in the United States—especially among children. SNAP is an effective and efficient health intervention for low-income families with a positive impact on children beginning before birth and lasting beyond childhood years, improving health, education, and economic outcomes. Over 260,000 retailers nationwide are currently authorized to redeem SNAP benefits.

Comments on the proposed rule will be received for 60 (calendar) days dating from February 16. For more information see the Federal Register Notice.

Natural Grocers to Open Coppell Store on March 8

Published February 15, 2016

Natural Grocers will open a store in Coppell, Texas, on Tuesday, March 8. The store, which opens at 8 a.m., is located at 120 S. Denton Tap Road. This will be Natural Grocers’ 15th location in Texas.

Natural Grocers will provide the Coppell community with fresh produce that is exclusively USDA Certified Organic, as well as other healthy, affordable, organic and natural products. You need to include buy viagra cheap watermelon, eggs, oysters, bananas, figs, pumpkin seeds, fish, almonds, spinach and broccoli in your daily diet. A daily intake cheap viagra australia of multivitamins can help regulate various processes in a pet’s body such as bone fractures, not taking an x-ray could put patients at risk for further injury if I treated them with a standard chiropractic manipulation. Training scholarships aren’t the sole way to obtain college funding. viagra levitra By law they are not required to have so many failsafes and are just looking to get inside your wallet or pocketbook and see how much they can take Apcalis Tadalafil Jelly. cialis free sample The store will feature a mix of national brands and a selection of locally produced products from Texas in a small, neighborhood market environment. The Coppell store will also feature a Nutritional Health Coach and offer free nutrition education classes to the public. Natural Grocers Coppell will be openseven days a week.

New World Pasta Brands Earn Non-GMO Project Verification

Published February 15, 2016

In response to consumers’ desire to make more informed choices about whether to eat foods which are made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), New World Pasta Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, announced that its brands: American Beauty®, San Giorgio®, Ronzoni®, Creamette®, Prince® and Skinner® have earned NonGMO Project Verification on their most popular pasta products.

“Today’s consumer is demanding transparency in food labels. Simply put, consumers want to know not just what’s in their food but also where it comes from,” said Paul Galvani, Senior Vice President of Marketing for New World Pasta. “We are proud to be leading the way in the pasta category by earning Non-GMO Project Verification.”

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The pasta brands from which New World Pasta formed are built upon a firm commitment to quality and value. The brands began as family-run companies, some more than a century old, and the principles that helped garner their intense customer loyalty are the same principles that guide New World Pasta today.