What Happened?
Baltimore and many major cities across the country are adopting new efforts to supplement federal food stamp programs that are experiencing significant cuts. Baltimore is teaming up with local grocers to provide struggling families with an extra $10 a week to help pay for food.
The Goal
Baltimore officials have partnered with Apples and Oranges Fresh Market to create the Bonus Bucks program that provides extra funds for loyal shoppers who also participate in the federal food stamps program. When a shopper spends $5 they will double the value to spend on food stamp-eligible food at the participating local farmers market.
The effort is made possible through a private grant, and is accompanied by a series of classes and advisory sessions to teach at-risk populations how to select healthy, nutritious grocery items while staying within a tight budget.
The program is one of many nationwide, as cities scramble to maintain support for struggling families amid $11 billion in cuts to federal food stamp programs. In Baltimore alone, 30 percent of shoppers use food stamps and will likely need assistance with the holidays right around the corner.
Maryland Fights Hunger
The Baltimore Bonus Bucks effort is among several being rolled out in Maryland through its Hunger Solutions project. The goal of the initiative is to stretch federal food stamp benefits further for participating families through the end of the year, while increasing the customer base for local providers and extending accessibility of fresh foods to low-income communities.
The Maryland Hunger Solutions campaign works collaboratively with the Baltimore Office of Sustainability to fight hunger and improve nutrition statewide. By leveraging federal nutrition supports, the Hunger Solutions initiatives work to increase access to healthy foods to enhance learning, productivity and overall residential well-being. By making nutritious shopping more readily available, local farmers markets and grocers can enjoy and increase in sales as well.
The Maryland Hunger Solutions project partners with local vendors who are able to establish and EBT token system while also participating in the federal food stamps programs. The hunger-fighting process includes:
- Customers with the EBT or debit/credit card swipe their cards at a participating market and enter the amount of money they want to spend on food
- Customers are awarded the desired amount of money on their EBT or debit/credit card
- Money received in the form of tokens can be used to purchase EBT-eligible foods or other goods
- Vendors record the number of tokens received from customers using EBT or debit/credit cards
- Managers issue reimbursement checks based on each market’s protocol
When establishing a hunger-fighting program locally, governments must secure funds from private organizations as certain government grants cannot be used for the initiatives. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, Specialty Crop Block Grant, private Wholesome Wave Foundation grant funds and other local foundation awards can be used for the programs.
Fresh Pickings
Gov1 has stayed abreast of the latest efforts to increase accessibility to local produce including the development of urban farming programs and the implementation of electronic food stamps.