Fre$h Savings, a new food incentive program to encourage the purchase of fruits and vegetables, will launch this spring at the Rutherford County Farmers Market on May 13.
When a SNAP customer uses a SNAP benefit card (food stamps) and spends $10, they will receive $10 in free tokens for use for fresh fruits and vegetables. A shopper can actually double their SNAP benefits at the Farmers Market by spending $10 over and over and receiving the Fre$h Savings tokens.
“Plus, it puts money back into the local community and the pockets of the vendors at the farmers markets,” said Maria Parham, Fre$h Savings Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Tennessee.
All of the food vendors at the Rutherford County Farmers Market, which is open from 7 a.m.–noon on Tuesdays and Fridays and located at 315 John R. Rice Blvd., will accept SNAP benefits for their produce, Parham said.
Additionally, the Nolensville Farmers Market will launch the program on May 21.
The AARP Foundation received a $3.3 million grant from the USDA to implement and evaluate a SNAP incentive program with Kroger Stores and farmers markets in Tennessee and Mississippi. The program, which holds the potential to be replicable in communities across the nation, will encourage SNAP recipients to purchase more fruits and vegetables with their benefits by offering matching incentives.
The AARP will also offer guided tours at select Kroger locations, including tips for making healthy choices that are smart for your budget. Check aarpfoundation.org/freshsavings for information on where and when tours will be available.
To learn more about the Fre$h Savings program in Tennessee, contact Maria Parham at mparham@aarp.org.
While I understand the benefits of the SNAP program and appreciate its value, I do not understand why the underprivileged and the overly wealthy seem to get all of the assistance. What happened to fairness and treating everyone equally. Everyone is yelling equality in all of these other issues, why not this one? If those receiving assistance can get more help from the government, why cant everyone? My money would also allow the government money to put more funds into the local community. Is my money not good enough? I try to eat healthy and it is expensive to do so. Government money would help my family also.
Comment May 10, 2016 @ 8:00 am
Will this incentive also be available at the Farmer’s Market on the square?
Comment May 10, 2016 @ 9:00 am
The program is intended to encourage snap users to buy healthier food options. Statistically lower income families are less informed about better nutritional choices. This will also benefit SNAP users who are trying to stretch out a set amount of money to last all month to feed their family.
Comment May 15, 2016 @ 11:39 am