Program puts more food on New Yorkers’ tables
At the end of February, the federal government ended the boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits put in place during the COVID -19 pandemic. Every SNAP household — almost 3 million New Yorkers — is losing, on average, $150 per month. A family of four receiving maximum SNAP benefits will see a $289 decrease in monthly benefits.
A survey of food-insecure New Yorkers found that only about half of SNAP participants agreed that even the enhanced pandemic benefits were enough. As one respondent put it, “I get food stamps, but with inflation, I just don’t have enough to last all month. I only eat once a day, and try to stretch the food out. I can’t afford fresh vegetables and fruit.”
One way that SNAP recipients can stretch their food dollars is by taking advantage of healthy food incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks NY. The program partners with grocery stores, corner stores, and farmers markets in areas of high need to expand access to affordable, healthy food. SNAP recipients use their benefits and receive a matching value of dollars to spend on fresh produce. Double Up matches your fruit and vegetable purchases dollar for dollar, up to $20 a day. Approximately 42,000 New Yorkers across the state use the program.
Double Up Food Bucks NY gives families the purchasing power to choose healthy alternatives that meet their dietary or culturally appropriate food needs. Healthy food incentives have been shown to lead to an increase in SNAP recipients’ purchasing of fruits and vegetables, and a decrease in their purchasing of emptycalorie foods such like cookies, chips and candy.
The program also supports local farms and economies. More than 400 New York state farmers and 220 farmers mar
kets, grocery stores, and corner stores participate. The dollars involved are equally impressive: $4.9 million in SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks dollars have been spent in New York state since 2015.
According to a study by Colorado State University, healthy food incentive programs lead to powerful returns on investment: For every dollar spent in New York state with Double Up, $2.20 goes back into local economies.
Double Up has been successful in securing additional U.S. Department of Agriculture matching support and, in 2022, for the first time, a $2 million appropriation from New York state to expand the program. Through this leveraged funding, Double Up will reach approximately 140,000 new SNAP recipients in 45 counties in New York state and distribute $4.3 million in produce.
However, we need the state to support Double Up Food Bucks NY again this year. With SNAP benefits cut, inflation hovering around 7 percent, and food costs at an all-time high, food-insecure New Yorkers need greater access to programs like these. Now is the time to invest more, not to pull back. A continued state investment in Double Up will allow the program to be expanded into more locations, including grocery stores, located in areas of great need.
Too many New York families are struggling, and too little is being done to help them as the problem gets worse. Programs like Double Up Food Bucks NY are a win for families, a win for farmers and a win for the economy.