Category: Community Partnerships

Improving Food Security & Increasing Access to Fresh Produce on Syracuse’s Historic 15th Ward

Double Up Food Bucks NY launches at Toomey Abbott Market

Syracuse, NY – November 16, 2023: Field & Fork Network is pleased to announce the launch of Double Up Food Bucks NY at Toomey Abbott Market. The Double Up incentive program increases food security and improves nutrition security by offering SNAP shoppers a $1 for $1 match on purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables, up to $20 per day. Field & Fork Network worked closely with Syracuse Housing Authority (SHA) and Syracuse Onondaga Food System Alliance (SOFSA) to identify a retail store location that would have the greatest benefit for residents.

Toomey Abbott Market presented an invaluable opportunity to enhance fresh produce accessibility for seniors & individuals with disabilities, who often face the biggest barriers to food access. Located below Toomey Abbott Towers, a 300 apartment SHA high-rise, Toomey Abbott Market offers convenient access to essential groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables. For the many senior and disabled residents without access to reliable aid or transportation, Toomey Abbott Market is their only grocery option.

“The successful launch of our program at Toomey Abbott Market would not be possible without the partnership and dedication of SHA. Their social workers received specialized training, empowering them to address inquiries and collect program sign-ups from clients directly. SHA’s proactive approach and consistent support has ensured countless residents’ ability to put healthy food on the table,” said Josh McGuire, Double Up Food Bucks NY Program Director.

Senator Rachel May said, “Good nutrition is the basis for a long and fulfilling life; however, for those in need, lack of access and affordability make it challenging to eat healthy fruits and veggies. Double Up Food Bucks is an excellent program helping bridge the divide between some in our community and a nutritious lifestyle. I was happy to advocate for this excellent nonprofit program during the budget process. I’m excited that it’s expanding and will now be available at the Toomey Abbott Market, right in the place where many seniors live, ensuring they have access to healthy food. I look forward to Double Up Food Bucks’ success in this new location and its continuing expansion in Syracuse.”

Assemblyman Magnarelli said, “The launch of Double Up Food Bucks at Toomey Abbott Market demonstrates the close partnership of the Field & Fork Network and Syracuse Housing Authority. The program fills a need of the residents of Toomey Abbott Towers. Without this opportunity for the residents of Toomey Abbott to purchase fresh produce under this cost-saving program, the disparities of a food desert would continue to widen. I commend both agencies for recognizing this critical need and for bringing this program directly to the door of the residents of Toomey Abbott, who will benefit greatly from its presence.”

Syracuse Housing Authority said, “Many of our residents at Syracuse Housing Authority are on a fixed income and with the ever rising cost of daily necessities such as food our residents are having a hard time getting by. The Double Up Food Bucks program has positively impacted so many of our residents lives by allowing them to stretch their dollar and be able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Our residents on the west side have been taking advantage of the Double Up Food Bucks program at Brady Market and our Resident Support Services Team were committed to supporting and expanding the Double Up Food Bucks program to reach even more residents. Toomey Abbott Market now participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program allows even more of our residents to utilize the program and eat healthy.”

“In the historic shadow of Interstate 81 – a symbol of past community upheaval – the Toomey Abbott Market stands as a testament to our commitment to acknowledging and rectifying historical disparities,” said Maura Ackerman, Director of the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance. “The Double Up Food Bucks Program not only revitalizes this space but empowers our community economically, ensuring access to fresh, healthy food becomes a right, not a privilege.”

The impact of DUFBNY on individuals’ food security is significant; with each SNAP purchase, program users can earn up to $20 a day to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables. This helps participants stretch their food budgets and put healthy food on the table.

How the Program Works:

Anyone with SNAP is eligible, simply sign up for a Double Up Food Bucks card at Toomey Abbott and start earning. Participants can also earn and spend their Double Up Food Bucks at Brady Market located on Gifford St.
Each SNAP dollar spent at the store equates to a dollar for fresh produce, up to $20 per day
Double Up Food Bucks never expire, allowing the program to work flexibly and meet individual needs.

Jay Patel, Toomey Abbott Market Owner said, “My name is Jay Patel, and I have been the owner of Toomey Abbott Market since 2007. I am glad we can partake in the Double Up Food Bucks program, as it allows many of our customers to make healthy choices. This program enables us to stock more fresh fruits and vegetables from local vendors for customers to pick from. We started the program on September 25th, and ever since then, we have seen a significant increase in fresh produce sales. We have had about 236 signups and 1600 transactions, which goes on to show that the initiative has been well-received by our customers. I am happy to see that this program encourages customers to make healthier choices by implementing healthy food into their diets, leading to overall health improvement. The Double Up Food Bucks program allows people to eat healthy despite the hardships they face due to increased living costs. This program is a great investment in our community’s long-term well-being.”

Toomey Abbott is located at 1213 Almond St, in Syracuse. The store is open Monday-Saturday from 9am-8pm. Double Up Food Bucks NY also operates at Brady Market, Syracuse Co-op, Brady Farm Stand, and the Burt Street Farm Market. To learn more, visit: www.doubleupnys.com

Double Up Food Bucks NY Pilots With Tops Friendly Markets Making Fresh Local Food More Affordable

Field & Fork Network is proud to announce an exciting partnership with Tops Friendly Markets to pilot their Double Up Food Bucks NY program at two Tops locations: 1275 Jefferson Ave in Buffalo, NY, and the 1000 Portage Road in Niagara Falls, NY. This innovative program aims to increase access to fresh produce and make it more affordable for individuals with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by providing a $1 for $1 match on produce purchases (up to $5 per day).

New York GusNIP Project Leading Way Nation’s First Automated Integration of a Nutrition Incentive + SNAP Online

Field & Fork Network, a New York State nonprofit that connects communities to innovative solutions that foster a sustainable food system, and, Grocerist, which makes e-commerce profitable for grocers with the first and only grocery-specific e-commerce solution built on Shopify, announced today that they have partnered to make New York non-profit The Hub on the Hill the first grocer in the nation to roll out an automated online solution for Double Up Food Bucks NY. Double Up Food Bucks NY helps SNAP recipients stretch their benefits by matching SNAP dollars spent on fresh fruits and vegetables, doubling their impact. The program is available in 25 states, and this is the first automated, scalable solution that other grocers can leverage to make local healthy foods more affordable and accessible.

“Food prices are escalating rapidly, and the Double Up Food Bucks program is a fantastic resource for increasing SNAP recipients’ access to fresh, healthy foods,” said Jeff Anders, Co-founder and CEO of Grocerist. “We’re proud to be working with Field & Fork Network on this important project, which provides a national model for how to implement nutrition incentives and SNAP together online.”

The Hub on the Hill (the Hub) is known for applying innovative technology to benefit its customers. In January, the Hub worked with Grocerist and partner Forage to become the first food hub in the nation to accept SNAP EBT payments online. Now, SNAP recipients shopping online at the Hub will see Double Up Food Bucks NY automatically applied to their online account for their produce purchases -immediately redeemable for discounts on any future produce purchases.

Food insecurity rates across the North Country, which encompasses a geographically large and rural part of the state, are around 13%; significantly higher than the statewide rate of 9.6%, and accessing fresh food is even harder in rural communities where there may not be a grocery store for 30 miles. “When we launched SNAP Online, we knew that was just the first step,” said Lindsay Willemain, Executive Director of The Hub on the Hill. “Getting Double Up Food Bucks NY online was an obvious next one and being able to use this incentive-and take advantage of the Hub’s home delivery service-will help make fresh foods accessible and affordable. With the end of SNAP emergency allotments, it feels even more important to have this incentive available to our customers now.”

“Healthy food incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks NY are great for families, grocers and our local communities,” said Lisa French, Co-founder and Executive Director of Field & Fork Network. “When families save money on food, they can use it for other needs. These reinvestments in communities also help our local economies. We’re excited to roll this out with The Hub on the Hill and Grocerist, because e-commerce is becoming an important avenue for increasing access to healthy food in our communities.”

“The needs of poor and working people have historically been left out of the local food movement. For the Hub to realize its mission to support and strengthen the local food system here in the North Country, it must consider the needs of everyone involved in that food system—consumers and producers alike. Programs like the Double Up match program area powerful way to achieve this. People using SNAP are able to stretch their benefits twice as far on fruits and vegetables while the farmers who grew them are still making the full amount. This makes a real difference in this moment of increased food prices, increased costs of production, and the simultaneous decrease in SNAP allowances,” said a Hub Customer and SNAP Shopper.

Grocerist and Field & Fork Network are already actively working to identify other New York grocers for similar projects, helping them implement both SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks programs online.

The National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center), a partner of the Nutrition Incentive Hub, provided technical assistance services for this project. “While nutrition incentive programs are beneficial to customers and local communities, they are advantageous to the stores operating them as well, but independent grocers don’t always have the resources required to extend these programs online,” said Josh Anderegg, project director for the NGAF TA Center. “The food distribution system is incredibly complex, however, working together, such as in the case with Grocerist, Field & Fork Network, and Hub on the Hill,to provide an automated model can help to make important incentive programs easy and scalable for customers and retailers to participate in across the nation.”

“This innovative collaboration is making it easier for New Yorkers to access fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables while increasing the purchasing power of their SNAP benefits,” said Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Daniel W. Tietz. “We are grateful to Field & Fork Network, Hub on the Hill, and Grocerist for making this happen and look forward to this model being replicated across the state as it can benefit additional SNAP recipients, retailers and communities.”

“The partnership between Field & Fork Network, Hub on the Hill, and Grocerist is an exciting innovation that makes locally grown fruits and vegetables more affordable through the Double Up Food Bucks program and more accessible by offering online SNAP purchasing and home delivery to low-income residents in rural communities,” said Erica Raml, Director of Technical Assistance & Innovation, Nutrition Incentive Hub.

All SNAP recipients are eligible for the Double Up Food Bucks NY program -to learn more, visit www.doubleupnys.com.

About Hub on the Hill

The Hub on the Hill is a nonprofit food hub working to strengthen local supply chains, expand access to nutritious, local food and create regenerative systems in order to support the land and people that help sustain us all. The Hub delivers farm fresh, local food to the doorsteps of individuals, retailers, and institutions like schools from the Canadian Border to the Capital Region every week. https://www.thehubonthehill.org/

About Double Up Food Bucks NY

Double Up Food Bucks is a nationwide nutrition incentive model, administered by Field & Fork Network, servicing millions of low-income SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) users with a dollar-for-dollar match to increase affordability and access to fresh healthy foods at farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, mobile markets, and grocery stores. In New York State, Double Up has contributed to 5.2 million pounds of healthy food sales to over 100,000 customers, at more than 220 sites spanning 29 counties. To learn more about Double Up Food Bucks and a complete list of participating sites, please visit the program website and social media sites, or call 1-800-682-5016. www.doubleupnys.com

About National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center

The NGA Foundation is the 501(c)3 nonprofit arm of the National Grocers Association. The Foundation provides independent retailers with tools to develop more effective recruiting programs, enhance retention efforts and bolster professional leadership development opportunities for employers. One program of NGAF is the grant funded Technical Assistance Center which provides education and resources on nutrition incentive projects, particularly those funded through the USDA Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). For more information, visit www.ngafoundation.org

About Grocerist

Grocerist makes e-commerce profitable for grocers, with the first and only grocery-specific e-commerce solution built on Shopify, the world’s largest e-commerce platform. Grocerist gives merchants an e-commerce store at their own URL with all the functionality offered by their largest competitors, pick/pack technology that reduces store operating costs, a national delivery partner, control over pickup/delivery fees, low credit-card processing fees, white-glove guidance through the online SNAP application, and ongoing email, search and social media marketing support. Grocerist’s mission is to help the independent grocer use online to drive profit -both online and in-store. Learn more at www.grocerist.com

For a complete list of participating Double Up sites and hours of operation, visit www.doubleupnys.com/location

Cornell’s Action Research Collaborative (ARC) is partnering with Field & Fork Network to evaluate the impact of the Double Up Food Bucks NY program on families that experience food insecurity in New York.

The Double Up Food Bucks NY program, launched in 2014, is the only statewide nutrition incentive program that provides a dollar-for-dollar match on each purchase of fresh produce for New York Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. The program also creates new economic opportunities for small and mid-sized New York farmers, since retailers offering Double Up Food Bucks are required to provide a certain percentage of locally sourced produce.

Generating sustainable solutions to food insecurity is one of ARC’s priorities, according to Tashara M. Leak, assistant professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (College of Human Ecology) and co-director of ARC. Leak’s research and ARC’s partnership with Field & Fork Network will also continue its mission of supporting action research projects that bring together researchers, community members and policymakers.

“Double Up is a proven intervention to addressing food insecurity and alleviating the burden of purchasing high-cost produce on more than 40,000 families in upstate New York. Also, more than ever, underserved New Yorkers need access to healthy food options to improve nutrition and health.” says Leak, who is co-principal investigator on the project.

At first, Field & Fork Network launched Double Up Food Bucks NY at just seven farmers markets across the western New York region. Now, with the help of several partners and community organizations, Field & Fork Network has expanded Double Up Food Bucks NY to serve 29 counties through farmer’s markets and stands, co-ops, and even retail locations. With a total of $8.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant and private funding, Double Up Food Bucks NY has reached over 100,000 SNAP shoppers and their families and supplied more than $2.1 million to underserved NY families.

“At our core we’ve always wanted to look for new innovative ideas on how to improve the food system,” says Lisa French, co-founder and executive director of Field & Fork Network. “When we were introduced to Double Up Food Bucks in 2013, we knew this was a program worth bringing to our community. Rarely do you encounter a program that has benefits for so many: low-income consumers can afford more healthy nutritious foods, local farmers see more money in their pockets, and more federal food assistance dollars go back into the local economy. With ARC, we have the opportunity to better understand our program’s impact across the state.”

Field & Fork Network credits its many partners, such as the American Heart Association (AHA), for the program’s success. In 2020, the need for nutrition programs that decrease barriers to affordability and accessibility became even more apparent. COVID-19 greatly exacerbated issues of food insecurity—particularly for the state’s already vulnerable residents—due to rising levels of unemployment, school closures and general food and supply shortages. The program demand nearly doubled in 2020 and has seen steady growth since.

Now, the program has potential to reach 27 percent of new SNAP customers outside of New York City by 2026. To achieve this, Field & Fork Network and ARC’s Evaluation Unit are exploring innovative ways to increase program participation and leverage additional federal funding. It is estimated that Double Up Food Bucks NY will be able to quadruple the number of people served in New York state with continued federal support.

The Action Research Collaborative’s Evaluation Unit specializes in collecting data to evaluate the impact of initiatives. The Evaluation Unit, led by ARC’s co-directors, and supported by two postdoctoral fellows, Zeynab Jouzi and Ibukun Owoputi, and a research coordinator, will conduct interviews with Double Up NY stakeholders to better understand the landscape for SNAP recipients and farmers in the state to measure the success of Double Up’s implementation and identify new opportunities for growth.

“Growing the Double Up program to serve more New Yorkers requires a more holistic understanding of the actors in the food system—SNAP recipients, farmers, grocers—and how they are all affected by different elements of the system,” says Neil Lewis, Jr., assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and ARC co-director. “The Action Research Collaborative’s partnership with Field & Fork Network will help to grow our collective knowledge about the factors that affect food insecurity in New York State, and grow that knowledge in ways that can be translated into action to improve food security in our state. We hope our collaboration will decrease the barriers to purchasing fresh, local produce through innovative methods that especially ease the burden for low-income families.”