Dufb nevada community expansion project will take place in 9 locations in clark county in southern nevada, 6 locations in washoe county and 1 location in lyon county in northern nevada

Clark county, which is comprised largely of the LAS vegas valley, makes up over 70% of the state's population, northern nevada makes up 25% while moapa valley is a sparsely populated rural town. One in six southern nevadans, or more than 305,000 people, struggle with hunger. During the 2017-2019 school year, more than 68% of the students attending clark county school district, the fifth largest school district in the country, were enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs and 59% of students were enrolled in northern nevada. Over 175,000 people within these two counties do not have supermarkets within 2 miles of their residence, the criteria for living in a food desert. The number of families in clark county that rely on snap benefits has increased dramatically over the past few years. Clark county communities have been negatively impacted by the national economic recession. According to local data, nearly 50% of snap participants are children 18 years of age and younger, and 12% are seniors, both potentially vulnerable populations relative to access to healthy food. The median income range is $19,000 per year and the average snap benefit in nevada in 2019 for a food-insecure family was $253 per month, which is not enough to adequately feed a family nutritious meals. One of the needs to be addressed by the project is access to fruits and vegetables. Those living in a food desert often have inadequate options to obtain fruits and vegetables, and consequently may have difficulty meeting the dietary guidelines. This includes recommendations for an increase in total vegetable intake from all vegetable subgroups, in nutrient-dense forms, and an increase in the variety of different fruits and vegetables consumed over time. Because southern nevada is a desert and not known as an agricultural OASIS, many of our residents are not aware of farmers markets available to offer fresh, locally or regionally produced produce. Many snap participants are unaware that they can redeem their snap benefits at a local farmer's market and there is a false perception that the farmers' markets cater only to the affluent and that the cost of produce at the farmers' markets is higher than that of produce purchased from a local grocery store. A southern nevada health department community food assessment was conducted and compared the cost of produce from vendors at a local farmers market to the cost of produce in several local grocery stores and found that the cost of produce at the farmers markets was comparable to or, in many cases, less than at a local grocery store. In the farmers' markets that are currently offering EBT, snap-redemption rates, while showing slight increases in the past two years, are not being maximized largely in part due to lack of promotion and awareness of the availability of the service. The proximity of many markets to low-income areas and recognized food deserts in clark county make them convenient and accessible locations for low-income and snap-participants to use their benefits to purchase affordable, healthy and regionally grown produce and other agricultural products.