Last week, the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market received an anonymous donation of $30,000 to put toward its Double Market Bucks Program.
The sum was donated by the same anonymous donor who, three years ago, donated the money to launch the Double Market Bucks Program.
The Double Market Bucks Program is an incentive program that encourages support for access to locally grown and nutrient-dense food, according to a June 6 press release from the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.
The program’s goal is to match market purchases with food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to the release. Marketgoers can use SNAP benefits to purchase Market Bucks and use that money to buy healthy, wholesome food.
The 2015 Double Market Bucks Annual Report stated 355 households made more than 1,200 SNAP exchanges in last year’s market season.
IU’s School of Public Health also partnered with the farmers’ market staff last year for a survey of Double Market Bucks Program users. The survey found more than 30 percent of SNAP users would not shop at the market if it weren’t for the program, according to the release.
The survey also revealed SNAP users consumed more fresh fruits and vegetables than non-SNAP users.
The $30,000 gift is projected to last through the 2017 market season, according to the press release.
“In a time when federal support for nutrition assistance programs is volatile, we want to do everything we can here in our town to make our neighbors’ lives less chaotic and uncertain,” Marcia Veldman, the farmers’ market coordinator, said.
Anicka Slachta
