Newswise — The following statement from Jill Birnbaum, Executive Director, Voices for Healthy Kids, was released on July 1, 2015 in support of a new financing program established in Alabama to support access to healthier foods.
“We applaud Governor Bentley, Lt. Governor Kay Ivey, State Sen. Majority Leader Greg Reed, State Rep. James Buskey and the Alabama Legislature for enacting the Alabama Healthy Food Financing Act and beginning to build a much needed infrastructure to help bring healthy food closer to home for more than a million Alabamians. By creating a statewide healthy food financing initiative, Alabama took a big step forward in its effort to address a complex public health crisis – limited access to healthy food in many communities statewide.
The initiative will incentivize grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to develop in communities that have limited access to healthy food. It is good for public health, businesses and families. To ensure the viability of this initiative, we encourage state leaders to pursue diverse funding sources. A key to the success of programs in other states has been the dedicated funding stream established through public and private partners committed to improving the health and economies of local communities. We remain committed to seeing that all Alabama families have access to healthy food.”
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