Sen. Ingwersen to introduce legislation to enhance support for nutrition programs
AUGUSTA — When the 132nd Maine Legislature reconvenes in January, Sen. Ingwersen will introduce legislation to ensure that Maine’s nutrition incentive programs, like Harvest Bucks and SNAP, are not solely dependent upon federal match funding. “An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives,” was approved for introduction in the Legislature’s Second Regular Session by a majority of the Legislative Council in an October 23 meeting.
“Among the worst of the impacts of the federal government shutdown is the impending loss of SNAP benefits for the entire month of November,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “When Washington is consumed by its own dysfunction and gridlock, which is what we are witnessing now, we have to look out for our neighbors and ensure that Mainers can continue to feed Mainers. As proposed, this bill would take a step toward protecting Mainers from going hungry when politicians play games.”
Sen. Ingwersen’s bill intends to ensure that Maine’s Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives, which supports programs like Maine Harvest Bucks, is not restricted from seeking funding sources outside of the federal government.
In September, Maine Harvest Bucks cut its benefit in half because the federal government paused a nutrition grant totaling nearly half a million dollars. Typically, the program offers a one-to-one match in a bonus voucher for every dollar spent at farmers markets. Since September, for every $2 in SNAP/EBT someone spends, the program has provided $1 — instead of $2 — in Maine Harvest Bucks vouchers for fresh fruit, vegetables or seedlings.
Another bill from Sen. Ingwersen that is currently making its way through the Legislature, LD 468, seeks to provide an additional $1.2 million per year to the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutritional Incentives. As part of the budget negotiation process, $600,000 of on-going funding was included in the State’s two-year budget, and increase proposed by LD 468 has been carried over to the Second Regular Session.
New legislation in the Second Regular Session of the Maine Legislature must be approved for introduction by the Legislative Council, which is made up of the Democratic and Republican leaders in the Maine Senate and House of Representatives.
The Legislature is set to reconvene for the Second Regular Session on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
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