What is the Double Up Food Bucks Program in WNY
Cheryl Bilinski, Local Food Systems Specialist, Farm to School Lead
Harvest New York
June 19, 2014
In partnership with lead agency, Field and Fork Network, Harvest NY has forged a national partnership with Fair Food Network to pilot their highly successful program, Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), in Western NY farmers markets. Using philanthropic funds and existing infrastructure -- farmers markets and EBT - the mechanism SNAP recipients use to receive their benefits -- DUFB matches SNAP purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets up to $20 per visit, to be used on fresh fruit and vegetables grown in NYS. Double Up Food Bucks operates for 16-18 weeks during the peak harvest season, June - October.
The program aims to meet 3 goals:
1) Improve access to and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income families
2) Grow the local economy by supporting purchases from local farmers
3) Inform public policy so that incentives for purchasing healthy foods are built in as part of government-funded nutrition benefits.
This program began in Michigan and was hugely successful. For more information about the history of the program and its movement in Western New York, visit the Field & Fork Network website.
This program has been made possible through the generous support of the John R. Oishei Foundation, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the First Niagara Foundation and Univera Healthcare.
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