Double Up Food Bucks New York Releases 2021 Request for Applications

market application season

Field & Fork Network’s Nutrition Incentive program increases healthy food access for low-income families, supports local farmers

Buffalo, NY – Field & Fork Network is seeking applications for the 2021 Double Up Food Bucks Season. Farmers markets, mobile markets, farm stands, grocery, and small retail sites in New York State that accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) benefits are eligible to apply for the program.

Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) is a national model for healthy food incentive programs that provides individuals and families who use SNAP benefits with a dollar-for-dollar match that encourages the purchase of healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Since piloting DUFB at seven Western New York farmers markets in 2014, Field & Fork Network has expanded the DUFB program into over 150 locations across 23 counties in the state and has served over 22,500 SNAP customers. “The Double Up program is a win-win-win,” said Lisa French, co-founder and executive director of Field & Fork Network. “Low-income families bring home more healthy food, local farmers sell more produce, and more food dollars stay in the local economy.”

Here’s how DUFB works: It matches the value of SNAP dollars spent on locally grown fruits and vegetables, up to $20 per day, providing shoppers with additional dollars to bring home more produce. SNAP users can sign up for the program easily and quickly at any participating location.

As New Yorkers continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the Double Up program can provide low-income consumers with a much-needed way to stretch their food dollars. “Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, more New Yorkers are facing the choice between being hungry and eating healthy every day,” says French. “Bringing the Double Up program into more sites across the state can help eliminate that choice.”

Businesses in the local farming and agriculture sector have seen an influx in customers because of Double Up Food Bucks. The ability for customers to stretch their food dollars with the incentive has driven new customers to Double Up sites and created opportunities for market partners to grow their business. “Creekside [Market] has been a seasonal market since inception [but] DUFB is one of the key reasons we are becoming a year-round grocery store/farm market,” said Alan Butzer, owner of Creekside Market. “The additional sales from DUFB help justify our decision to operate year-round and create jobs.”

Interested sites can find the application and additional information about Double Up Food Bucks on the Double Up New York State website www.doubleupnys.com/getinvolved. Applications must be completed by Friday, April 23, 2021. Eligibility requirements apply.

One-House Budgets Leave Out Vital Support for Sustainable Food Assistance Programs

food banks help to serve those in immediate need but won't sustain a healthy food lifestyle long-term

Field & Fork Network seeking $1 million allocation of funding to support Double Up Food Bucks Nutrition Incentive program

Buffalo, NY – Today, Field & Fork Network voiced its deep disappointment in the omission of funding for the Double Up Food Bucks NYS program in the New York State Senate and Assembly One-House budget proposals passed this week.

The assembly budget proposal includes a $25 million appropriation to support Nourish NY – a state initiative founded by Governor Cuomo at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that provides surplus agricultural products to emergency food organizations at competitive prices. In a time where hunger is escalating at an unprecedented rate, emergency food services provide an essential lifeline for families in need. However, heavily investing exclusively in programs like Nourish NY takes away funding from more sustainable programs that give families more flexible food options that fit their lifestyles and food choices.

“While the Nourish NY program has provided excellent support to struggling NYS farmers and families during the pandemic environment, it is important for the state to lessen the load placed on the emergency food system by investing in nutrition incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks that can lead to long-term improvement in food-insecurity,” said Lisa French, co-founder and executive director of Field & Fork Network.

Field & Fork Network is urging state legislators to consider earmarking $1 million of the $25 million appropriated to Nourish NY to the Double Up Food Bucks NYS program. Double Up Food Bucks (Double Up) is a nutrition incentive program that matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits dollar-for-dollar, on fresh fruit and vegetable purchases at participating farmers markets, mobile markets, small retail, and grocery locations. Since 2014, Double Up has helped to provide access to healthy, affordable produce to over 22,500 customers across New York State, while also supporting over 200+ farmers with increased revenue. Today, Double Up operates in 23 counties across upstate NY—with plans to double its footprint by 2024.

Double Up Food Bucks owes this success in part to the continued support received from a set of diverse partners, like the American Heart Association, that actively advocate on the program’s behalf. “The American Heart Association understands the importance of prioritizing access to healthy food initiatives, especially during the pandemic,” said Caitlin O’Brien, government relations director at American Heart Association. “The Double Up Food Bucks program which was not funded in either of the legislature’s budget bills, is a
commonsense solution. The legislature did appropriate $25 million for the Nourish NY Program, however. This is a good program that provides emergency food assistance, and the Double Up program would be a helpful supplement. If the state took $1 million of the funds allotted to this and invested them in Double Up Food Bucks, that would be an investment in a long-term, sustainable program to help with nutrition insecurity.”

Incentive programs like Double Up meet people where they are in their communities by providing access to more affordable food in existing food retail sites and farmers markets. Double Up addresses major food-insecurity challenges, like access and affordability, by partnering with stores in areas of high need to give people the power to choose their own foods. “Double Up allows SNAP users to purchase foods they want to eat on a long-term basis, rather than having to rely on what is available at a food bank or soup kitchen,” said French. “When families can choose their own foods, they will have an easier time fostering healthy eating habits, changing behaviors, and fitting their diets to their time and cooking capabilities.”

Diversifying solutions to address food insecurity long-term is a more sustainable way to ensure people are empowered with the choice for healthier, obtainable alternatives that conform to their dietary or culturally appropriate food needs. It also gives them the choice of where to buy, which in turn establishes a long-term relationship with local stores and farmers who then expand their customer base and income. This puts food dollars spent back into local economies, leading to a wider economic impact. According to a recent study performed by Colorado State University, healthy food incentive programs lead to powerful returns on investment. The study showed that for every dollar spent in New York State with Double Up, $2.20 goes back into stimulating the local economy. In 2020 alone, Double Up program purchases contributed $500,000 to the NYS economy. Further investment in the program by the state would significantly increase that number. To read the full economic impact study and to learn more about Double Up Food Bucks New York, please visit www.doubleupnys.com/resources.

USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture Awards $4.6 Million to Expand Double Up Food Bucks Program in New York State

Double Up Food Bucks retail partners

Field & Fork Network’s nutrition incentive program benefits families, farmers, and the local economy.

Buffalo, NY – Field & Fork Network announced today that it has been awarded a four-year, $4.6 million federal grant through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), by the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to continue expanding the Double Up Food Bucks nutrition incentive program across New York State.

Double Up Food Bucks matches SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Incentive Program) benefits – dollar for dollar – on fresh fruit and vegetable purchases at participating farmers markets, mobile markets, small retail, and grocery locations.

“The Double Up Food Bucks program is a win-win-win,” said Lisa French, co-founder and Executive Director of Field & Fork Network, which first launched the Double Up program in 2014. “It benefits farmers, puts more healthy food on the tables of low-income families, and stimulates local businesses while keeping federal food dollars circulating in the local economy.”

Since 2014, the Double Up program has served over 16,000 SNAP users at over 100 locations across 24 counties in New York. The GusNIP grant, to be allocated over the next four years, will allow for expansion into 45 counties across the state, as well as further development of technological advances for the program, by 2024. This will provide the resources needed to implement the Double Up program into year-round grocery sites like Lexington Co-op Markets, which just this year adopted the program as the first grocer to do so in upstate NY.

“We are thrilled to be able to continue to work to expand the Double Up program across the state,” said Double Up Food Bucks program manager, Frances McGuire. “As a state, we are facing increased food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding will allow more New York families and communities to have access to fresh, local food at a time when they need it the most.”

This is the third GusNIP (formerly known as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program) federal award granted to Field & Fork Network by NIFA. The funding builds on a tremendous foundation of support provided by Field & Fork Network’s extensive set of partners. The following philanthropic organizations are recognized for their role in making this grant possible through their matched contributions: Adirondack Foundation, Allyn Family Foundation, BlueShield of Northeastern New York Blue Fund, Cloudsplitter Foundation, COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, First Niagara Foundation, Five Star Bank, Garman Family Fund administered by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, The John R. Oishei Foundation, New York State Health Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, The Schenectady Foundation, United Way of the Adirondacks, Western New York Foundation, The Wright Family Foundation, Inc.

To ensure there is quality data on the progress toward the intended outcomes, Field & Fork Network has also partnered with a third-party evaluator, CCNY, Inc., for the lifespan of the GusNIP grant. CCNY will provide data on how well services are provided and how effective the work is at impacting those in need. “Our team is excited to support the important work of Field & Fork’s Double Up Food Bucks Program,” said David Monroe, Director of Evaluation and Analytics with CCNY. “It is a needed service in our community, and we continue to gather data to better understand its impact on New York State families, farmers, and local economies.”

To learn more about Double Up Food Bucks New York and find participating locations near you, please visit the program website at www.doubleupnys.com.

General Motors Awards Field & Fork Network $50,000 to Begin Workforce Development as part of Local Food Action Plan

healthy food healthy people work group

The Healthy Food Healthy People work group aims to end food disparities in the Niagara Falls community through resident-driven action and policy.

Niagara Falls, NY – Field & Fork Network announced today that it has been awarded a $50,000 grant, from General Motors, to propel workforce development and training programming related to the local food system of Niagara Falls. The grant will immediately focus on a planning and piloting phase to provide a better understanding of the needs and interests of local food systems’ employers and potential employees. The project will be nurtured by Healthy Food Healthy People, a work group that is focused on increasing food access by strengthening the local food system.

According to the American Community Survey (2015), the City of Niagara Falls had 18,601 jobs available for a population of 48,896; that is one job for every 2.6 people. One-third of the available jobs pays less than $15,000 per year. The lack of jobs and lack of a living wage presents great challenges for residents in Niagara Falls to provide their families with financial stability and access to healthy meals. Healthy Food Healthy People, a work group established out of the Create A Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative and in partnership with Field & Fork Network, hope to encourage residents to understand the value of, be able to, and choose to eat healthy foods.

When asked about their support for the program, Hal Garling, program officer for GM Corporate Giving, said “General Motors supports the communities where we have operations and with nearby facilities in Western New York and Canada, we are supporting the Field & Fork Network in equipping individuals with essential skills to gain secure employment in a competitive economy while positively impacting the local food system.”

Healthy Food Healthy People, started in 2013, and is comprised of over 35 community organizations and residents who have developed the Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan to affect policy from the street up to government levels. The plan is strategically broken down into four key frameworks – agriculture, economic development, education, and healthy neighborhoods – each with several actionable and resident-driven objectives.

“The Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan has been a resident-guided process and is a resident-driven approach to strengthening the local food system,” said Tom Lowe, project director of the Niagara Falls Local Food Action Plan. “The workforce program, funded by General Motors, will be no different and will be informed by residents and other community stakeholders.”

Healthy Food Healthy People is currently working with Buffalo Moose Group, a local consultant group, to finalize an overarching strategy for moving forward. This process includes resident surveys and focus groups to direct the focus of the implementation process which will result in a strategy road map for the work group. Residents of Niagara Falls are encouraged to get involved now by lending their insights. Participants will be rewarded for their service by being entered into a sweepstakes drawing for one of 12 gift cards valued at $50-$250. The drawing ends February 15th, with winners to be announced on the 19th. To take the survey and read the full Niagara Falls Food Action Plan, please visit http://bit.ly/PRsurvey2021.