Double Up in Flint

Now used by more than half the city’s SNAP households to bring home more healthy food

One of the best ways to support the children and families of Flint, Michigan for years to come is to ensure good nutrition.

In 2016 we expanded our Double Up Food Bucks program in Flint to reach more residents with the healthy foods needed to limit lead absorption stemming from the city’s water crisis.

From Dr. Mona who sounded the alarm about elevated blood lead levels among Flint’s children to local hip-hop artist Mama Sol, hear directly from Flint residents and local partners about this work. See the rest of the videos we produced as part of our citywide marketing campaign.

Since then we have seen an extraordinary increase in program use: Today Double Up is reaching more than half of Flint’s SNAP households up from nine percent before the 2016 expansion. To date, residents have brought home more than $1.4 million worth of healthy food in combined SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks.

Key to the program’s success has been year-round availability and innovative technology that allows residents to carry earned Double Up Food Bucks on a loyalty card. This first-of-its-kind technology—developed by a local Flint company—has led to high redemption rates of 97 percent of incentive dollars used by residents to bring home more fresh produce.

We’ve also led a robust marketing campaign that continues to help spread the word via traditional advertising, social media campaigns, in-store marketing, and on the ground community engagement.

See Double Up in action in Flint.

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“In Flint, Double Up has gone from being a really smart idea, to being an absolute necessity.”

– Dan Kildee
United States Congressman
Michigan’s 5th District