We are thrilled to announce that the Prescott and Chino Valley Markets will begin participating in Double Up Food Bucks AZ (Double Up AZ) next month. Double Up AZ is a program that allows SNAP recipients to receive additional money to spend on AZ-grown fruits and vegetables when they use their EBT cards at participating farmers markets.
The Double Up AZ program is the result of a $400,000 USDA grant awarded to Pinnacle Prevention of Gilbert. The program is adapted from Fair Food Network and their successful Double Up fruit and vegetable incentive model. Double Up AZ will be implemented in partnership with state and local agencies and community-based organizations at farmers’ markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and through farmer-based community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. Double Up AZ will be launched at sites in Ajo, Ahwatukee, Casa Grande, Chino Valley, Mesa, Phoenix, Prescott, and Scottsdale.
Double Up AZ will provide a $1 for $1 match in SNAP dollars at participating Double Up sites, up to $10 per visit. If a family spends $10 in SNAP dollars at the market, they receive an additional $10 in Double Up Food Bucks to spend on Arizona grown fruits and vegetables. Families bring home $20 worth of healthy food for $10.
This program also benefits local farmers by helping them to gain new customers, sell more produce, and make more money. SNAP participants stimulate economic activity and opportunity within their communities. A dollar spent at a farmers’ market can generate $2.80 for that community’s economy. Right now, less than one percent of SNAP dollars is spent at farmers’ markets in Arizona and with Arizona’s local farmers and growers.
This exciting program will begin at the Prescott and Chino Valley Markets next month. Stay tuned for more details. For more information, visit www.doubleupfoodbucksarizona.org.