BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Double Up Food Bucks Program which benefits SNAP customers, local farmers and markets is back. It is available from July 1 through October 31.
This program is administered by the Field & Fork Network and is meant to make local food accessible to low-income families while Western New York farmers and markets see a direct investment.
“It’s like an ATM. They come in and say I want $20 off of my EBT card. We’ll give them $10 in SNAP tokens and up to $20 a day we’ll match,” says Tom Lowe, a project director of Field & Fork Network. “And that’s a silver token that we give out at the farmers market. So for up to $20 a day, they can get $20 extra dollars from the double up program.”
Some farmers say they’re seeing the impact of what this program can do.
“They’re able to budget their money and know that they had to double up to help stretch their food budget,” says Sheri Senek, a farmer at Senek Farms. “I know my customers have been really grateful for that.”
A SNAP recipient can also purchase healthy treats.
“The farmer's fruit doesn't have the pesticides and other stuff that we don’t know that others use,” says Rachael Dominguez, an owner of Emily’s Corner Diner. “But it’s straight from Buffalo and everything is incredibly fresh and we have a strawberry banana budding and the strawberries are amazingly refreshing.”
Click here to find the times, locations, and days of the farmer markets.
Below are 16 farmer markets that are participating:
- Groundwork Market Garden Farm Stand
- Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market
- Farmers Market at D'youville
- Westside Farmers Market
- Clinton Bailey Farmers Market
- Downtown Buffalo Country Market
- Providence Farm Collective Farmers Market
- MAP - MAP Farmhouse
- Delevan Grider Farmers Market
- Niagara Falls City Market
- Lockport Farmers Market
- North Tonawanda Farmers Market
- Carlberg Farm Produce
- Jamestown Public Market
- Dunkirk Farmers Market
- Fredonia Farmers Market
