Philip Korman: HIP funding must be restored

If I told you that our state runs the only program in the country that targets hunger and health by making fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers accessible to families on SNAP, you might feel proud of that fact. And if I shared that this Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) is championed by the House, the Senate and the governor, across both political parties, because of its tremendous success in addressing many issues, you might feel the glow of the shared values of commerce and community.

But this budget year, the administration requested $25 million to continue to foot the bill for $40 of local produce per month for the smallest households. The Legislature has allocated only $15 million. So, the administration announced draconian cuts of at least 50% for every household that uses HIP, starting Dec. 1. Are we going to let an extraordinary program that provides healthy food to hundreds of thousands of people and invests needed funds into the local farming economy be axed in half?

The governor and the Legislature need to solve this before Dec. 1, and not unleash this “holiday gift” on families and farmers. It has already been a difficult year for families with higher food prices and for farm businesses that are still struggling to recover from last year’s floods.

Call the governor and your state legislators now and request $10 million more for HIP. For other ways to be involved in the Campaign to Fund HIP, go to mafoodsystem.org or to CISA’s website, buylocalfood.org.

Philip Korman

Former CISA executive director, Florence