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Studies found that farmers’ markets allowing SNAP recipients to use part of their benefits to buy fresh produce with Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards increases purchase of these foods. So it follows that if SNAP users could double the amount of benefits they could use at the market, they might buy even more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Many farmers’ markets across the country are trying these “double-up” programs, and markets in Green Bay are the latest.
Called the Double Your Bucks program, Green Bay’s version doubles the first $10 people can spend weekly on fresh produce, at each farmers market participating. A handful of markets in the area have had EBT capabilities for over two years, but this is the first time customers using the machines have been able to double their spending power.
One reason, according to this news report, that the Double Your Bucks program was put into place, was to get low-income families to the markets, a place they often avoid because they assume they can’t afford produce there.
Karen Early, a nutrition educator with the Brown County UW-Extension office, says the county has 14,000 households that qualify for nutrition assistance each month. The Double Your Bucks program is intended to give those people greater access to affordable, fresh, healthy foods.
15% of SNAP users are Latinos, and the Double Your Bucks program is one way Latino families can ensure that their kids are getting the fresh, healthy food they need.
By The Numbers
1
Supermarket
for every Latino neighborhood, compared to 3 for every non-Latino neighborhood
