Nourish Knoxville’s Double Up Food Bucks program enters third season

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -Nourish Knoxville’s Double Up Food Bucks program has entered its third season of providing free match funding for SNAP and P-EBT users to purchase healthy, local produce across East Tennessee.

Customers who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can swipe their EBT or P-EBT cards at the market to match up to $20 per day in Double Up tokens to be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables.

A family that spends $10 in their SNAP benefits will receive an additional $10 in Double Up tokens to spend at the market for fresh produce.

“With Double Up Food Bucks, federal nutrition dollars work harder—simultaneously reducing hunger and supporting healthier diets for SNAP households, while also supporting farmers,” says Charlotte Tolley, Nourish Knoxville Executive Director.

In 2020, the program grew more than 100 percent over 2019 and distributed almost $30,000 in Double Up tokens to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables to 1,500 SNAP and P-EBT customers.

“Research shows that for every $1 invested in healthy food incentive programs, we can see up to $3 in economic activity generated statewide, meaning last year our program generated an estimated $88,047 in economic impact,” said Kimberly Pettigrew, Nourish Knoxville’s Local Food Initiative Coordinator.

For a complete list of markets and farm stores that participate in Double Up in East Tennessee, visit nourishknoxville.org/programs/snap/.

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