With a hint of fall in the air you may be thinking it's too late to take in the advantages of area farmers markets. But most of them are open through the end of October and that's good news for the rising number of people using Double Up Food Bucks.
The program makes more locally grown product available to those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits using a Bridge Card. And Chris Broadbent, Farmers Market coordinator for the
People's Food Co-op, says use of Double Up Food Bucks is up at all participating local farmers markets.
The local program is in the second year of a three-year pilot that has been developed by the
Fair Food Network. The 100 Mile Market at the Food Co-op and the Bank Street Market in Kalamazoo both are part of the program. (The Douglass Market, which also participates, has closed for the season.)
The way it works is that for every $2 in food stamps spent on fresh food at participating farmers markets, Bridge Card holder receive $2 worth of bonus tokens, which can be used to buy fresh Michigan-grown produce. They can receive up to $20 in tokens per visit.
The tokens are then exchanged for Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables. Growers who receive the
Double Up Food Bucks tokens return them and are reimbursed with cash in an equivalent amount.
The program also is bringing people to the markets. Broadbent says when SNAP participant are asked if the availability of Double Up Food Bucks is one of the reasons they are shopping at the market "80 percent say yes to that question."
This year, the program brought in 668 first time customers and 1,700 transactions by new users, Broadbent says. Participating families used federal food assistance dollars and matching Double Up Food Buck tokens to purchase $54,000 in locally grown produce.
In 2012, more than 75 farmers markets are participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program across Michigan, two in Ohio, and an additional 25 locations now honor Double Up Food Bucks. The program is funded locally by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation.
"What's great about this is how many smiles it brings at the farmers market," Broadbent says. "People feel good about being able to eat better food at a value they can afford."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Chris Broadbent, People's Food Co-op
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