The Fair Food Network has boosted its Double Up Food Bucks Michigan program for eligible economically disadvantaged shoppers to earn up to $20-a-day to buy fruits and vegetables, instead of the previous $10, effective Oct.1.
Participants will also be able to spend any amount that they have cumulatively earned through the program within 90 days, a change from the previous $10-a-day spending limit.
“We are now able to meet the number one request from our community of participants to allow Michigan families to earn and spend more of their Double Up Food Bucks benefits so they can put more healthy food on the table,” said Fair Food Network CEO Kate Krauss. “This change will make a meaningful difference for those using SNAP and Double Up to supplement their monthly food budget to bring home healthy food.”
Double Up Food Bucks was piloted by Fair Food Network in Detroit in 2009 and it has since become a national model for nutrition incentive programs. The program provides SNAP participants with a dollar-for-dollar match when they buy fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and grocery stores.
Double Up Food Bucks is offered in more than 240 locations across Michigan, including the Midland Area Farmers Market and Family Fare on Saginaw Road in Midland.
From Aug. 1, 2022 to Jan. 22, 2023, Fair Food Network established a temporary pause for Double Up Food Bucks on program earning at participating grocery stores across the state – excluding all Double Up Flint locations. This temporary pause allowed Double Up to sustain available program funding. The program ended its temporary pause in January and offered the program with a new spending cap of $10 a day, rather than $20 a day in previous years.
The program is funded by a combination of state, federal, and philanthropic dollars. In June, the State of Michigan increased its funding for Double Up Food Bucks through the passage of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget, including $4.9 million over the remainder of fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
“Fair Food Network’s greatest goal is to improve healthy food access and choice for families who are economically disadvantaged while supporting farmers and food retailers involved in nutrition incentive programs and produce prescription programs in Michigan and across the country,” Krauss said.