This week the fourth season of Utah Double Up Food Bucks is launching at farmers’ markets and farm stands across the state of Utah.
Double Up Food Bucks is a nutrition incentive program that helps low-income families take home affordable fresh fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers. The program works by matching federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP, formerly food stamps) dollar-for-dollar, up to ten dollars per market day at participating farmers’ markets, farm stands, and mobile markets. The matched benefits, known as Double Up Food Bucks, can be used to purchase Utah-grown fruits and vegetables.
Double Up Food Bucks is a win-win-win for everyone. The program improves people’s access to healthy food, supports Utah farmers with new customers and more income, and strengthens communities by keeping food dollars circulating in the local economy.
This season over twenty farmers’ markets and farm stands will participate in Double Up Food Bucks, in eleven counties statewide. Most of the markets are situated along the Wasatch Front, with locations in Logan, Brigham City, Ogden, Syracuse, Kaysville, Salt Lake City, Orem, Provo, Spanish Fork, and Springville, among others. Markets in Park City, Tooele, Cedar City, St. George and Moab are also participating.
The 2018 Double Up Food Bucks season runs August through October. Information on the program and a list of participating market locations can be found at www.DoubleUpUtah.org or by calling toll-free 800-453-3663.
More information
Utahns Against Hunger estimates that over 2,000 SNAP households (more than 6,000 individuals) benefited from Utah’s Double Up program in 2017. Programs like Double Up have helped increase the amount of SNAP benefits spent at Utah farmers’ markets by over 140 percent since 2012. Read our 2017 program impact report to learn more.
Utahns Against Hunger worked with a number of partners to bring Double Up Food Bucks to Utah in 2015, and we managed the program for the first three seasons. Double Up is currently managed by Urban Food Connections of Utah and the Utah Department of Health, with support from Utahns Against Hunger and other community partners (the Utah Department of Workforce Services, USU Extension, Get Healthy Utah).
Program funders for the 2018 Double Up season include UBS, Get Healthy Utah, and the Utah Department of Health.