In fact, to ensure the involvement of low-income individuals, FFN and lead partners are already working with direct service providers such as food banks, senior centers, and health care facilities in target communities to identify SNAP recipients who can aid in community outreach, in-store education, and on "field trips" to participating locations.Our overarching project goal is to test and evaluate methods designed to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers participating in SNAP by providing incentives at point of purchase using effective, efficient, and innovative benefit redemption technologies.Intended outcomes of the Double Up program thus far are clear: in 2016 alone, Double Up resulted in $4.4+ million in SNAP plus Double Up sales to low-income families and 3,380 farmers across the country.
In some cases, paid or volunteer workers from within the low-income community will help plan, implement, and evaluate the program. These lead partners will, in turn, work with local supporting partners to assist with program functions. Lead partners in each state will work closely with Double Up staff to ensure proper program implementation. Our staff is experienced in assisting partnering organizations in diverse locations to carry out all aspects of the program successfully. We have selected these states as our targets for this project due to the strong working relationships we have cultivated with leaders in each.FFN manages the Double Up program centrally. The organization's history in expanding and innovating within Double Up has laid the groundwork for this ambitious but achievable project aimed at rural and urban communities in Alabama, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Texas. It has since grown to be one of the leading SNAP incentive programs in the nation. Specifically, we will:Implement technologically advanced incentive systems in 34 grocery stores in five states,Initiate a SNAP incentive program via a mobile market serving six communities in Alabama,Participate in groundbreaking online SNAP + incentive ordering and delivery systems in Alabama and New Jersey,Build local food supply chains for participating locations,Activate community outreach partnerships with SNAP-Ed and food banks in all five states to expand awareness and reach of the Double Up program, andInitiate the program in farmers markets in areas where it does not yet operate robustly in 17 Alabama and Texas communities, 10 of which are located in StrikeForce CommunitiesFFN initiated Double Up in Michigan in 2009. FFN believes that solving these problems for the majority of SNAP recipients requires grocery store participation thus, the evaluation of the activities of the project will inform the development of a national model for efficiently and effectively implementing grocery store-based SNAP incentive programs. The specific technologies we propose to implement will vary according to existing technology at participating sites.The needs to be addressed in these communities are rooted in entrenched healthy food access problems. In locations where SNAP incentives do not yet have a foothold, we are working to initiate and/or strengthen Double Up in farmers markets. In each state, FFN is collaborating with a champion-a core partner ready to implement all aspects of the Double Up program in multiple locations. Fair Food Network (FFN) proposes implementing innovative, technologically advanced SNAP incentive systems in grocery stores-often the only fresh produce retailers in their towns-in Alabama, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Texas. In 2016 alone, Double Up resulted in $4.4 million in SNAP plus incentive sales to low-income families and benefitted 3,380 farmers.The FINI Large Scale Project will expand and further Double Up to serve 52 new communities across five states. Double Up is a proven successful SNAP incentive program that operates using a variety of technologically advanced systems in more than 575 retail locations across 23 states, including grocery stores in 13 states.
Non Technical Summary Fair Food Network's Double Up (Double Up) program works to solve pervasive food access problems in diverse communities across the country.