City is matching SNAP dollars to fill bellies

New Yorkers receiving SNAP benefits can earn a dollar for every dollar they spend on some fruits, vegetables and beans under a new city program.

For every $1 of fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits, vegetables and beans spent at certain supermarkets, low-income residents in the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program will receive a matching dollar on a loyalty card they can use to purchase more eligible produce — up to $50 a day.

More than 1,850 people have already enrolled in the “Get the Good Stuff” program and collected more than $45,000 in incentives at three Fine Fare Supermarkets in Queens and the Bronx since the initiative’s “soft launch” in June. The city is exploring an expansion to other stores in 2020.

More than 1.5 million people — nearly one in five New Yorkers — are SNAP participants.

“‘Get the Good Stuff’ can double the produce budget of New York’s SNAP participants,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in a statement. It “makes it easier for New Yorkers to put nutritious food on the table.”

Eligible foods include fresh produce and frozen fruits and vegetables without added sugar, salt or fat. The program also covers canned fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils without added sugar, salt or fat, as well as dried beans and lentils.

SNAP participants can sign up at a customer service desk at participating stores. Matchable dollars on loyalty cards can be used on their next purchase of eligible foods.