Harvest Farmers Market part of program benefiting low-income families, farmers

NEWS RELEASE

5/16/2024

Double Up Food Bucks offers match program for SNAP participants

The Harvest Farmers Market will continue to offer the Double Up Food Bucks program, a healthy food incentive program that helps low-income families eat more healthy food and supports local farmers. The Harvest Farmers Market is every Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. at 1325 E. Cloud Street in the Emmanuel Church parking lot.

SNAP participants who shop at the Harvest Farmers Market can swipe their EBT cards to get tokens to use for food purchases. Through the Double Up program, SNAP participants receive a matching number of Double Up Food Bucks tokens for free, up to $25 per day. This doubles the amount of dollars they can spend on healthy food at the market. The SNAP tokens can be used to buy any SNAP eligible items at the market, and the matching free Double Up Food Bucks tokens can be used for any fresh fruits and vegetables. The Double Up tokens can be used any time at the market through October 31, 2024 market season. 

"Through the Double Up Food Bucks program, we're not just nourishing bodies, but nurturing communities. By incentivizing fresh produce purchases, we're fostering healthier eating habits, supporting local farmers, and strengthening our local economy. It's a win-win-win that's sowing the seeds of a brighter, healthier future for Salina, Kansas." said Kirsty Hartley. The Harvest Farmers Market is a family-friendly place where people connect with the farmers who grow their food, try new foods and learn new cooking techniques, and set lifelong habits of eating and loving fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Double Up Food Bucks is funded by grants totaling 12.5-million-dollars from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a division of the USDA in addition to generous gifts from the Kansas Health Foundation, Health Forward Foundation, the Hall Family Foundation, the Marion & Henry Bloch Foundation and Blue KC. This year, the program is offered at more than 160 locations, including over 70 farmers markets, farm stands, and mobile markets, and 90 grocery stores throughout Kansas and Missouri.

Double Up Heartland is a collaboration led by the Mid-America Regional Council; Cultivate Kansas City; Kansas State Research & Extension; West Central MO Community Action Agency; University of Missouri Extension, and the University of Kansas Medical Center. More information is available online at www.DoubleUpHeartland.org.

Local Food Works Foundation, P.O. Box 2357 Salina, KS 67402, www.localfoodworksfoundation.org, localfoodworksfoundation@gmail.com

CONTACTS: Kirsty Hartley, President, Local Food Works Foundation, Salina, KS