Battle Creek will be the next community to be included in a program that helps people eat better.
The Fair Food Network's Double Up Food Bucks program offered at markets in Detroit and Ann Arbor will be made available Sept. 11 in Battle Creek.
The Ann Arbor-based
Fair Food Network secured a $3 million challenge grant from the New York-based Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations Network to take statewide a Detroit pilot program to motivate low-income people to purchase more locally grown fresh produce. The network also has secured $1 million in matching funds from other funders.
The program allows people who spend food stamps on local produce to match every dollar spent at a farmer's market, up to $20 per visit.
For every $2 spent, shoppers receive $2 worth of bonus tokens. The tokens can then be exchanged for Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables.
Growers who receive the Double Up Food Bucks tokens return the tokens and are reimbursed with cash of an equal amount.
Locations where the tokens can be found in the Battle Creek area are: Battle Creek Farmers Market Corner of McCamly and Jackson St., Battle Creek open Wednesdays and Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Bellevue Farmers Market, Washington Park, Bellevue; Thursdays 4 p.m.-7 p.m.; City of Springfield Farmers Market, 503 Military Ave., Springfield, Wednesdays 2 p.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m.–1 p.m.; and the VA Hospital Farmers Market, Parking Lot 18, 5500 Armstrong Rd., Battle Creek Mondays 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
The program grew out of a study that showed people on limited incomes wanted to shop at full-service grocery stores or a mix of different types of food markets. But limited transportation kept them from shopping outside of their neighborhoods.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Oran Hesterman, Fair Food Network
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