Double Up Food Bucks

Kyle and I are now official members of the Socorro Farmer's Market. Why is this so good you ask? It is because it lets us be involved in amazing programs such as, Double Up Food Bucks.

What is it?

This is a great goverment funded program that encourages people on food assistance to eat healthy and shop locally. For example, someone has a SNAP EBT card, they are able to double up their food bucks when purchasing fruits and veggies from a farmer's market. So, instead of getting $10 to spend at a grocery store, you now have $20 to spend at a farmer's market.

This is a terrific program that helps not only low income families, but also the farmers by encouraging more local purchases. For example, at least half of the purchases made today were from SNAP tokens.

So how does it work? If you are a seller, it's pretty simple. Once you are registered with your market manager, which just involved paying a fee and filing out a form, all you do is accept the tokens for your items, then your market manager will exchange them for a cash or check at the end of the market. Its pretty simple right?

If your a purchaser, all you have to do is swipe you SNAP card at the market manager's stand and they will give you the tokens. It is like when you go to an arcade and exchange your cash for arcade tokens.

The only thing is, the tokens are for $2, and we do not give cash back. In most cases, the farmer and purchaser will be able to negotiate prices to get a fair value.

This program is not available in every state. Please check with your market managers and local farmer's markets to see if you qualify.

For more information, please go to: http://www.doubleupnm.org/