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Healthy Food Financing
An innovative publicāprivate partnership is officially up and running in Alabama paving the way to bring fresh food retailers to underserved areas across the state. The Healthy Food Financing Program is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) which will disperse $300,000 in up to $50,000 increments through a statewide application process. The application is now live at www.adeca.alabama.gov and food retailers, including grocers, farmer’s markets, wholesale markets and other fresh food vendors are invited to apply. The deadline for application submissions is December 20, 2017. | Legislative Agenda
Our Legislative Agenda is the Alabama Grocers Association’s number one priority. Every year increased legislation is being proposed that affects our industry. The AGA has a legislative representative in Montgomery who represents the grocery industry’s interests at the state and local levels to ensure that our members are informed and have a strong voice. Weekly legislative reports are sent out for our members during the Legislative Session. We also have extensive relationships with state government agencies and work closely with them on our members’ behalf. These include the Alabama ABC Board, Alabama Department of Public Health/WIC, Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the Alabama Department of Revenue, just to name a few. The AGA also has a political action fund called the SACK PAC which supports legislative candidates who are pro-business and support food industry issues. | e-wic is coming
EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer. WIC EBT is an electronic process where the food benefits are automatically added onto a card, similar to a debit card. This card, which will be known as the e-WIC card, will replace the current paper based delivery system. The Alabama WIC Program spent several years in the planning phase and made the decision to utilize an on-line e-WIC card. Alabama WIC is now entering the implementation phase. The City of Montgomery has been selected as the pilot site. Following a three (3) month pilot we will begin statewide roll out. The pilot is estimated to begin 4th Quarter of 2018 with statewide roll out beginning at the end of the three (3) month pilot. e-WIC will be rolled out in phases by Public Health Areas. |