About this episode
Fruits and vegetables are often not the first thing many SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants buy. Produce can be more expensive, and when you are trying to stretch food dollars to feed hungry kids (children make up almost 40% of all SNAP users), processed foods often fills more bellies.A program implemented in Iowa called Double Up Food Bucks helps stretch SNAP dollars by doubling the money spent on fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s a federally funded program active in Iowa for ten years now, and the federal and private funds spent on the program have successfully put more produce on the table.Yet also ten years old is the fight to get the state of Iowa to also contribute to the program. This year, the legislature is being asked to contribute $1 million of its $9.7 billion budget on the program, a contribution that would also be matched by the federal government.Thanks for reading At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast! Please subscribe to receive new episodes right to your inbox.It makes sense for Iowa to support the program. Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) not only helps get produce into the homes of people on SNAP, it also supports local farmers. DUFB can be used at farmers markets or on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes purchased directly from farms. In several states, locally grown food has remained the focus, even as budgets have doubled. It is also good for Iowa’s economy—people who use it free up funds to spend on other important Iowa-owned businesses.Listen to this week’s episode of At the Iowa Farm Table to learn more about Double Up Food Bucks, the people who use the program, and why and how it helps get more fruits and vegetables into the hands of those who need it most.If you like this post, please “like” it! Comments are always encouraged too.VoicesNoah Stein—SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks participantJazzmine Brooks—Healthy Incentives Director at Iowa Healthiest StatePaige Chickering—Iowa State Manager for Save the Children Action NetworkNatalie Estrem—Market and Programs Supervisor at LSI Global GreensResourcesOnly 1 in 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits or VegetablesHealthy Incentives Pilot Final Evaluation Report
