http://youtu.be/JCus-nw_GQ0
The new double up food bucks incentive for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program or SNAP, better known as food stamps, is giving recipients double their money at New Mexico Farmer’s Markets.
SNAP recipients going to the Farmer’s Market can swipe their EBT card and receive wooden tokens to spend on fresh produce. With the double up program they will receive the matching amount in silver tokens to be used on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Volunteer Outreach Coordinator for the Farmer’s and Crafts Market in Las Cruces, Paige Sharp, says $20 at the farmer’s market now goes a longer way than at a supermarket.
“And their good for anything you normally get your EBT for,” Sharp said. “So bread, honey, fruits and vegetables, spices, we can do plant starts at a nursery here, and pastries all throughout the market. And then I match them for another $20 in the silver double up food bucks tokens, those are just good for fruits and vegetables.”
She says since the program went into effect in June, they have seen a large increase in SNAP customers.
“Before the double up food bucks came,” Sharp said. “I was probably going through 5 or 6 customers a day. And now I’m upwards to 45. So, it has really pushed the program, the EBT program significantly and really helped the farmer’s here.”
There is currently no limit on how much a person can receive in double up food bucks at the Las Cruces market. The state of New Mexico has appropriated $400,000 for the double up program, and close to $100,000 was allocated for Southern New Mexico.
Market Manager at the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts market, Duane Mosely, says the double up food bucks also keeps more money in local communities.
“Not only does it bring people down here to spend the food assistance dollars on local produce and local foods,” Mosley said. “But it injects that money into the local economy, where these people are turning around and their also strong supporters of local business. So, while we are seeing $100,000 that can be spent down here that $100,000 is going to turn around into our local economy many times.”
Mosley says the program is also helping SNAP recipients realize that fresh produce at the farmer’s market isn’t always more expensive.
“It’s a common misconception that produce is more expensive at the market,” Mosley said. “That’s actually not necessarily the case. For example, many of our farmers that sell dates, they’re selling them for $3-4 a pound. You go to a supermarket and you are looking at $14 a pound. So, there is a misconception that isn’t always true.”
Mosley says the program is encouraging SNAP recipients to eat healthier, while helping them to strengthen the local economy.
