SNAP, or supplemental nutrition assistance program, could be getting an upgrade, thanks to District 7 Alderman Khalif Rainey. The north side alderman presented legislation last week that would allow SNAP recipients to have organic vegetable and fruit juices be covered by their SNAP benefits.
Click below to see how this legislation could improve Milwaukee lives.
Corner-Convenience Stores Double As Grocery Stores
For over 10 years, Greenfield Pantry was my grocery store. On 11th and Greenfield, the neon OPEN light was always warm and inviting — a junk food haven and therefore, paradise.
My mother, who was a single mother and worked long, early hours, wasn’t always able to make us breakfast. It was nothing $1 couldn’t fix. Sugar-filled Arizonas and spicy hot cheetohs gave me a heartburn no other breakfast meal could.
This is an experience shared by many inner-city kids on the north and south side of Milwaukee. It was an experience familiar for Alderman Rainey. Knowing this, he created a piece of legislation that could benefit families who growing up in similar circumstances.
While his legislation unanimously passed in the Milwaukee Common Council, Alderman Rainey intends to take this initiative to Congress so that people nationwide can benefit from healthier options.
Maanaan Sabir, who runs The Juice Kitchen with his wife JoAnne, says he’s hoping this legislation can pass. They look forward to the opportunity of providing healthy options and education on health and wellness.
Alderman Rainey and Sabir are also collaborating to bring The Juice Kitchen to The Sherman Phoenix Project, a redevelopment of buildings that were damaged in the Sherman Park riots last summer. The buildings will be converted and will be home to several black-owned business in Milwaukee.