OWASSO, OKLAHOMA – The Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program will provide a financial incentive for Oklahoma families that receive SNAP benefits to increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption.
Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant to the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa (CSC) to increase fruit and vegetable consumption through the Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program. The purpose of the FINI program is to help low-income families participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp program, to receive additional resources to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. The DUO program will provide SNAP recipients the opportunity to stretch their food dollars by matching up to $20 of SNAP benefits per day at participating farmers’ markets to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, or food bearing plants that were grown in Oklahoma. This program is administered by CSC with support provided by a number of community foundations and service organizations. The Owasso Farmers Market located at 8300 N. Owasso Expressway and open on Saturdays 8:00am – 12:00pm will be one of nine markets across the state participating during the first year. Additional farmers’ markets will participate in the program during the second year of funding.
Owasso Farmers’ Market Financial Director Linda Sullivan said, “Last time we had double up for fruits and vegetables, one of our customers came up to the Market Manager’s booth and said “Thank you so much. I’m going back to work next week and will no longer have SNAP. The additional matching dollars helped us so much in our time of need between jobs”. This touched my heart because we knew we were helping people that truly needed assistance and that were helping themselves as well.”
The participating Oklahoma farmers’ markets invite you to taste the difference beginning July 1, 2016.
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends daily consumption of a variety of vegetables and fruits, especially whole fresh fruits. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011 Oklahoma adults had the second lowest consumption of fruits and the eighth lowest consumption of vegetables in the US. USDA recognized that low-income Americans who receive SNAP benefits do not have sufficient access and resources to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables and developed the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program to encourage fresh fruit and vegetable consumption and support local agriculture. As of February 2016 over 600,000 Oklahomans (approximately 15% of the population) receive SNAP benefits. The vast majority of SNAP beneficiaries are children, seniors, or people with chronic disabilities. This program will enable them to improve their diet with more fresh fruits and vegetables. Each market day, the DUO program will match the value of SNAP purchases made at the participating farmers’ markets dollar-for-dollar to spend on fresh Oklahoma-grown produce. There is a $20 maximum per market day. The Community Service Council anticipates that a large proportion of Oklahoma families will benefit from the program, since approximately one-third of Oklahoma SNAP recipients reside in the areas served by the participating farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets provide quality, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Taste the difference at a participating farmers’ market. www.doubleupoklahoma.org
