Program increases healthy food access for low-income families, supports local farmers
ST. LOUIS, 2017-Jun-21 — /EPR Retail News/ — Through a partnership with Fair Food Network and a grant provided by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), Schnucks is launching Double Up Food Bucks at all 56 of its Missouri stores. This program will start immediately and run as long as local produce is available.
Double Up Food Bucks is a national model for healthy food incentives that doubles the value of SNAP spent on locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, helping low-income families choose healthy fresh foods, while supporting local growers. (SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps.
“When a customer pays for locally grown produce with their SNAP/EBT card, they earn a dollar for dollar match up to $25 per day that they can use for their next purchase of any fresh fruits and vegetables at that or any other Schnucks store in Missouri,” says Schnucks Director of Community Relations Joanie Taylor.
Taylor added that in-store signage will help customers identify which produce products are locally grown.
Double Up Food Bucks Program Director Noah Fulmer says, “Double Up is a win-win-win. Local families bring home and eat more healthy foods, local farmers sell more produce, and the local economy benefits from more money staying in the community.”
To participate in Double Up Food Bucks, SNAP EBT customers can sign up at www.schnucks.com/dufb or they can visit any Schnucks Missouri store.
In addition to Fair Food Network and MARC, other partners include the East West Gateway Council of Governments, Good Natured Family Farms, University of Kansas Medical Center, St. Louis University and the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
About Double Up Food Bucks:
Double Up Food Bucks is a national model for healthy food incentives active in 20+ state across the country. Pioneered by Michigan-based Fair Food Network in 2009, Double Up helps low-income families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables while supporting family farmers and growing local economies. The Double Up Heartland Collaborative is aligning and scaling up healthy food incentive programs across Missouri and Kansas. Partners in this strong, two-state effort will serve more farmers and low-income families with support from USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program alongside local funders. By 2019, Double Up will be in 117 grocery stores and 68 farmers markets, reaching more than 316,000 SNAP recipients across urban and rural communities in both states. Learn more at http://www.doubleupheartland.org/
About Schnucks
Founded in St. Louis in 1939, Schnuck Markets, Inc. is a third-generation, family-owned grocery/pharmacy retailer committed to nourishing people’s lives. The company takes pride in its community partnerships and gives more than $13 million annually in food to food pantries and more than $1.7 million to not-for-profit organizations through the company’s My Schnucks Card program. Schnucks operates 100 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. Privately held, Schnucks employs 14,000 teammates and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Follow Schnucks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/schnucks.
Media Contact:
Paul Simon
314-994-4603
psimon@schnucks.com
Source: Schnucks