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Double Up Food Bucks: A win for Colorado’s families, farmers & communities

Nourish Colorado strengthens connections with and between farms, ranches, and communities so that all Coloradans have equitable access to fresh, nutritious foods. For more information, please visit nourishcolorado.org.

The Double Up Food Bucks program doubles the value of federal nutrition (SNAP or food stamps) benefits spent at participating markets and food retail stores, helping people bring home more healthy fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers. The wins are three-fold: more families have access to fruits and vegetables, local farmers gain new customers, and more food dollars stay in the local economy. Watch a story about Double Up on NBC Nightly News.

History

Over the past seven plus years, at least a dozen farmers markets across Colorado have been offering some type of double voucher or incentive program for SNAP participants. All of these programs have incentivized the purchase of locally-grown fruits and vegetables.

One example from Colorado comes from the Boulder County Farmers Market, which has administered the Harvest Bucks program at multiple markets in Boulder County. Boulder SNAP participant survey results show that more than 86 percent of Harvest Bucks participants reported increasing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and 89 percent reported increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables consumed.

Colorado is modeling this program after the Double Up Food Bucks program initiated by the Fair Food Network in Michigan. The Double Up program began at five farmers markets in Detroit in 2009 and has since grown to more than 150 sites across Michigan and has become a model for communities nationwide. Double Up also expanded to grocery stores in 2013 in one of the first pilots in the nation.

In five years, it has benefited more than 300,000 low-income families who receive SNAP benefits and 1,000 farmers across the country. Double Up has also been at the forefront of innovations in healthy food incentives including spearheading new transaction systems at farmers markets and grocery stores.

The Double Up Model

Double Up is the first statewide incentive program in Colorado to be rolled out with a uniform design, central administration, and local implementation. Similar programs have already proven to be successful in rural, urban, and suburban communities alike across the state. The program is rooted in partnerships—both with local partners and key statewide efforts.

The 2014 Farm Bill included $100 million over five years to support the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grants program, a new national healthy produce effort informed by Double Up’s strong track record in Michigan.

Fair Food Network has translated the Double Up program into a toolkit and is now working with partners from Arizona to Oklahoma to Colorado bring this successful model to more communities. Learn more about Double Up programs nationwide.

Evaluation Summary

Click here for the 2021 Double Up Food Bucks Colorado (Double Up) Evaluation Summary. This report presents a summary of the experiences of Double Up vendors and SNAP customers in the program’s year 2021.

If you would like to download a copy of the full evaluation report, which offers a better understanding of the of the benefits and challenges partners faced in implementing the program, please fill out the form.

 

Colorado SNAP Listening Sessions

Click here to view our Colorado SNAP listening sessions engagement tools and learn more about this outreach project.

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