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One state just made farmers markets more affordable. It's good for everyone, even farmers.

With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Jerry Brown funded a $5 million program that supports local farmers and families in need.

It's the kind of good news we don't hear enough about.

In this new program, the California Nutrition Incentives Act will offer discounts on fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets for low-income shoppers receiving federal benefits.


A customer shops for fresh vegetables at a farmers market in San Francisco, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

A similar California-based program called Market Match, which has already rolled out, matches government benefits dollar for dollar to use on fresh produce and may serve as a model for the new California program.

Basically, if a shopper wants to use $5 of their federal benefits, this new program provides $10 in tokens for the shopper to use at local farmers markets.

That's double the amount of money that can used to buy fresh produce and double the amount of fresh produce sold, too. It's a great deal for families and farmers alike.

While the bill was approved by the state legislature last October, it was unclear where the money for the program would come from.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that $100 million in Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grants would be used to fund projects aimed at getting nutrient-rich, affordable foods to people in need.

Shoppers look at produce at the farmers market in Monterey Park, California. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

Quickly, states and nonprofits developed coordinated efforts to apply for the funds. Washington and Massachusetts have already received $6 million and $4 million respectively for their programs. And Market Match received $3.7 million over two years to expand their program, too.

Naturally, California (which has around 700 farmers markets and more than 3.6 million residents in the CalFresh benefits program) wanted in.

And by funding this new $5 million project, California will receive a $5 million match from the USDA, doubling the program's potential impact.

A woman shops for peaches at the Monterey Park Farmers Market. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

Projects like this are a win for everyone.

Local growers and farmers get to connect with and serve more customers.

(Yay, community!)

Uriel Espinoza, left, helps a customer pick out strawberries at a farmers market in San Francisco. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Low-income families using federal benefits can stretch that money a little farther and spend it on local food at an affordable price.

(Yay, delicious meals and strong families!)

A woman shops for peaches at Monterey Park's Farmers Market in Monterey Park, California. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

And every level of government gets the chance to work together for the people and take an active role providing better options for people with limited access to fresh options.

(Yay, good government!)

An organic farmer puts up a sign at the new farmers market in Hollywood. Photo by Sebastian Artz/Getty Images.

For everyone involved, this is the start of something good. Let's keep the good going.

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ACUVUE launches a new campaign to inspire Gen Z to put down their phones and follow their vision

What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

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If you’ve always lived in a world with social media, it can be tough to truly understand how it affects your life. One of the best ways to grasp its impact is to take a break to see what life is like without being tethered to your phone and distracted by a constant stream of notifications.

Knowing when to disconnect is becoming increasingly important as younger people are becoming aware of the adverse effects screen time can have on their eyes. According to Eyesafe Nielsen, adults are now spending 13-plus hours a day on their digital devices, a 35% increase from 2019.1. Many of us now spend more time staring at screens on a given day than we do sleeping which can impact our eye health.

Normally, you blink around 15 times per minute, however, focusing your eyes on computer screens or other digital displays have been shown to reduce your blink rate by up to 60%.2 Reduced blinking can destabilize your eyes’ tear film, causing dry, tired eyes and blurred vision.3

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via UnbreakableMomma/TikTok

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A mom who admitted she packs her 2-year-old a meal when they go out to dinner has started an interesting debate on TikTok about restaurant etiquette and how it applies to young children.

The video posted by Ohio mom, Karlie Smith (unbreakablemomma on TikTok), has received nearly 600,000 views and has over 1,850 comments.

“Call me cheap, call me whatever, but if we’re going out to a restaurant, I’m packing my kid a meal," Smith, 21, said in her post. "I do this for many reasons. On Friday nights, my family and I get together, and tonight, we’re getting food out. My son is not getting food out.”

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These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

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And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

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Man's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' lifeline call to dad is still thrilling 24 years later

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Some moments never get old.

On November 19, 1999, a man named John Carpenter made game show history and quite possibly gave us all the greatest game show moment of all time.

Carpenter was a contestant on the very first season of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” shot in America. Hosted by the late Regis Philbin, the quiz show featured three "lifeline" options to help them with difficult questions, the most popular being able to “Phone-a-Friend.”

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77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

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Carbon monoxide is called a silent killer for a reason. Many people don't realize they're experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning before it's too late. The gas is colorless and odorless and tends to have a sedating effect that causes people to sleep through the fatal poisoning. Having carbon monoxide detectors is one of the most effective ways to identify the gas before it's too late to get out of the house, but not every home has one.

A little girl in Fort Worth, Texas, experienced a terrifying encounter with the deadly gas, but her quick actions saved her entire family. Jaziyah Parker is being held up as a hero after she realized something was wrong with her family members and called for help.

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In a touching, unscripted moment, Drew Barrymore rushes to comfort a crying audience member

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Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Barrymore has consistently starred in hit films and movies that are rewatchable cable-TV staples, such as “Charlie's Angels” (2000), “Never Been Kissed” (1999), “Scream” (1996), “The Wedding Singer” (1998), “50 First Dates” (2004) and “Fever Pitch” (2005).

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