NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community | Page 53

2015 Report to the community Serving Families, Farmers and Local Economies Program doubles funds for local fruits, veggies By Diane Conners Michigan Land Use Institute Nearly 6,400 transactions add up. That’s how many times families with low incomes in our region spent federal and nonprofit food assistance dollars on locally grown food at farmers markets since 2011, according to the latest data from the innovative “Double Up Food Bucks” program. In all, customers who qualify for the SNAP Bridge Card (food stamps) spent nearly $260,000 with regional farmers; and a 2008 study in Seattle indicates that a dollar spent at a farmers market can generate $2.80 for a community’s economy. So “Double Up” may have meant close to $750,000 for our region’s economy, along with healthy food on families’ tables. “Double Up Food Bucks is a blessing,” according to Kathie Maldonado, a Traverse City resident who found herself laid off for three years and needing food assistance for the first time in her life. Double Up, operated by the national nonprofit Fair Food Network in Ann Arbor, doubles the money of customers when they use their SNAP Bridge Card to buy Michigan grown food at farmers markets. The Bridge Card can be used to buy anything it can buy in a grocery store, including milk, eggs, meat, fish—and even Kathie Maldonado was able to double her SNAP Bridge Card assistance with Double Up Food Bucks a Ёѡ