Nutrition Incentives

DOUBLE UP FOOD BUCKS NUTRITION INCENTIVE HUB

Supporting access to healthy, affordable food.

In the United States, food is one of the largest household expenses, following housing and transportation. Families with limited incomes often spend a significant portion of their budget on food, making it challenging to afford fresh fruits and vegetables. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) is the nation’s most important tool for helping families put food on the table. At $80 billion per year, it represents the largest federal investment in our food and farming systems. Our work supporting nutrition incentives helps families stretch their food dollars while also supporting local farmers and businesses, ensuring more communities have access to fresh, affordable food.

Double Up Food Bucks

Our Double Up Food Bucks program harnesses the power of SNAP to help families bring home more healthy food. When SNAP shoppers go to a participating store or farmers market, they receive a dollar-for-dollar match on the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. The program works in a variety of settings-from community farmers markets and farm stands to local grocery stores-nationwide.

Since 2009, the program has been adopted by partners around the country, improving healthy food access from coast to coast; it continues to show the benefits of nutrition incentives for local farmers, retailers, and the people who need their services.

Interested in learning more about Double Up Food Bucks?

SEE MORE IN OUR IMPACT REPORT A grocery worker in a blue shirt and black apron is smiling while organizing peaches An illustration of a salad leaf and some seeds An illustration of seeds A person standing behind a farm stand full of collard greens while smiling

The Double Up Model

The Double Up program is a triple win: more healthy food for families, better business for farmers, and a boost for local economies. Fair Food Network support has helped to implement Double Up as a uniform, consistent brand in a variety of locations – from community farmers markets to local grocery stores – in 25 states.

A Win for Families, Farmers, and the Local Food Economy

Good For Families
Double Up offers families more ways to purchase the fruits and vegetables they need and want.
Good For Farmers
Double Up boosts business for local farmers, helping them pursue their purpose as well as their profitability.
Good For Local Economies
Double Up ignites local economies by keeping more food dollars in the community.

A woman bagging kale for a customer at the Detroit Farmers Market

Michigan Roots

Double Up was seeded more than a decade ago in our home state of Michigan. What began as a pilot program in collaboration with five farmers markets in Detroit has grown into a national model for nutrition incentives. The program is now a statewide success, available in more than 230 locations across the state.

Double Up is generating big wins for Michigan farmers: in 2024, independent grocers purchased $6.6 million in Michigan produce and more than 1,000 farmers participated in the program at farmers markets. Learn more about the program’s impact on Michigan communities.

VISIT DOUBLE UP MICHIGAN

By the Numbers

SEE MORE IN OUR IMPACT REPORT 188,546

Estimated SNAP households reached in 2024.

54M

Estimated pounds of produce bought with Double Up & SNAP benefits since 2009.

$98M

Total produce bought through Double Up & SNAP benefits since 2009.

The Latest From Double Up

Check out the latest impact results and stories from our Double Up Food Bucks partners across the country.

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Building Trust at the Grocery Store Checkout

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Strengthening Community Connections in Flint, Michigan

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Improving Access to Healthy, Affordable Food in Michigan: Fair Food Network Celebrates 15 Years of Its Double Up Food Bucks Program

Nutrition Incentive Hub

The Nutrition Incentive Hub, created by the GusNIP Training,Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center in 2019, provides training, technical assistance, reporting, and evaluation support to strengthen nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects, as they work to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by project participants.

Led by the Center for Nutrition and Health Impact in partnership with Fair Food Network and a coalition of partners, the Hub is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

A mother and son smiling behind a shelf of kale and hiding a basket of apples at the farmers market An illustration of seeds vimeo-video-thumbnail

Our Work With the Nutrition Incentive Hub

We lead technical assistance and innovation on behalf of the Hub, offering nutrition incentive and produce prescription practitioners with 1-on-1 planning and implementation support, peer learning opportunities through communities of practice and learning cohorts, as well as capacity-building grants, free of charge. We work with hundreds of current and potential GusNIP-funded projects across states, U.S. territories, and tribal nations to evaluate, innovate, and scale their work to reach more people.

We are joined by a coalition of partners in our work, including National Grocers Association Foundation, Farmers Market Coalition, Michigan Farmers Market Association, The Food Trust, and DAISA Enterprises, LLC.

VISIT THE NUTRITION INCENTIVE HUB An illustration of seeds

By the Numbers

VIEW FINDINGS REPORT $107M

Total local economic impact of GusNIP-funded nutrition incentive programs in surrounding communities between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023.

$52M

Nutrition incentives redeemed at local food retail outlets during this time.

4,612

Number of grocery stores, farmers markets, and health clinics that offered nutrition incentives during this time.

The Latest From the Nutrition Incentive Hub

Dig into the Nutrition Incentive Hub Impact Report for the most recent evaluation of the national program, including the finding that participants eat more fruits and vegetables than the average American.

Advocating for Fruit and Vegetable Incentives

Policy advocacy is a key strategy to our approach creating immediate community impact and long-term systems change. In 2018, we proudly served as a platform for local and national organizations championing the expansion of the USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentives Program (GusNIP), ensuring that GusNIP has permanent, mandatory funding, including $250 million over the next five years.

Fast forward to the next Farm Bill, Fair Food Network and our partners in the Alliance for National Nutrition Incentives (ANNI) are advocating to grow support for GusNIP and realize its full potential for supporting families, farmers, and local economies.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GUSNIP ADVOCACY Fruit Veg Incentives - FFN.org Linear-Resources