A program which lets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients stretch their benefits has expanded to include frozen produce.
The Double Up Food Bucks program is a state initiative where SNAP recipients receive a dollar-to-dollar match on purchases of fresh food up to $20 a day. The program, entering its third year, is funded by $2 million in state dollars and a matching amount in federal funds. This year, it also received $880,000 from the city, which came from a pool of federal COVID relief dollars.
Through the city partnership, frozen produce will be included in the eligible products, with a match of up to $5 per day.
The city awarded the program’s administrator, the nonprofit Field and Fork Network, $880,000 as part of a set of grants given to innovative food programs. Mayor Malik Evans said the frozen food program is one part of the approach for making affordable, healthy food available to the city’s most disenfranchised.
“Adding frozen foods to an already amazing program like Double Up Food Bucks, along with these other city-driven initiatives, demonstrates our dedication to ensuring that all residents have access to nutritious, affordable foods,” Evans said.
The program is available through dozens of locations around Rochester, including FoodLink’s curbside markets and the Tops Friendly Markets on Upper Falls Boulevard and West Avenue in Rochester, and East Ridge Road in Irondequoit. A map of participating locations is available on the Field and Fork Network's website.
“Many members of our community live with food insecurity,” said Assemblymember Sarah Clark, D-Rochester. “The Double Up Food Bucks program is a lifeline, providing additional funds for SNAP purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables. Expanding the program to frozen fruit and vegetables is only going to increase access to healthy foods for participants who face additional challenges traveling to the right store or need food items to last longer at home.”
Evans said the city will be evaluating the usage of the frozen food program’s pilot run, and evaluate further funding based on its findings.
