$48,940 awarded to South Dakota State University - Extension
March 11, 2024 // Beyond Idea Grants, Grants
South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) recently awarded a $48,940 Beyond Idea Grant (BIG) to South Dakota State University - Extension. Funding will support access to locally grown, organic produce for South Dakotans who struggle to make ends meet and face food insecurity. This will provide added measures to prevent, manage, and treat diet-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers.
"This grant will assist two small-scale produce farms in Spearfish, SD (Budding Moon Farm and Cycle Farm) in implementing and expanding a produce prescription program that will provide subsidized community-supported agriculture (CSA) share to community members facing food insecurity and diet-related chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. This program will simultaneously increase community members’ access to nutritious, organic fruits and vegetables and support local farmers in the northern Black Hills,” says Geb Bastian, Assistant Professor & Extension Nutrition and Health State Specialist, SDSU Extension.
This program will be achieved through a program called "produce prescription" (PRx), a collaboration between healthcare and food systems. Patients will be screened by a participating healthcare provider for program eligibility. Eligible patients then receive a "produce voucher" that they can use to enroll in a subsidized community-supported agriculture (CSA) share at a participating farm. This will allow the patient to receive weekly boxes of fresh, organic, local produce at no cost.
“We are incredibly happy to partner with SDSU – Extension on the PRx program. While fostering healthier eating habits through partnerships between community health clinics and farmers’ markets, this will also provide economic incentives and nutritional education to encourage making healthy food choices,” says Ginger Niemann, SDCF Senior Program Officer.
SDCF is a public non-profit organization established in 1987. SDCF, with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen administers 1,200 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually. The Foundation distributed nearly $31 million in grants in 2023 which made a tremendous difference in communities statewide. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. If you have a specific cause you would like to support or would prefer to give for the general good of our state, please visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/giving to learn more or call 1-800-888-1842.