Fresh Access Bucks (FAB) will continue for another four years, thanks to a $4.9 million award to Feeding Florida. The program helps low-income communities get affordable fruits and vegetables by matching Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/EBT spent at farmers markets, farm stands, CSAs and other grocers.
“The FAB program provides us matching funds so that when anyone uses their SNAP benefits at our markets, we provide them with an equal amount in free Florida-grown fruits and veggies,” says Art Friedrich of Urban Oasis Project. “We use a color-coded token system at farmers markets. Orange tokens are good for any SNAP-eligible foods at the market (even from other vendors), while green tokens are good just for Florida produce.”
Traditionally, Friedrich says, food stamps were an enormous part of farmers markets until 1992, when they went digital, with no provision for farmers markets that couldn't connect with a phone line. “After 15 years of this exclusion, many people realized the need and ability to change the story and bring all those people and dollars back into the small farm economy represented at farmers markets. This makes healthy food more accessible to the marginalized communities that are affected the most by poor food options, as well as promoting small sustainable farming.”
Buying more fruit and vegetables is expected to lower obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the U.S., reports Feeding Florida. SNAP nutrition incentives like FAB can also be cost effective, potentially saving $1.21 billion in healthcare costs by providing greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The benefits would likely accumulate among demographic groups who have been traditionally missed by healthcare-based interventions.
FAB has been essential to Urban Oasis Project’s success and mission, says Friedrich. “FAB was actually created partially in response to the work that UOP had already been doing, accepting and doubling SNAP benefits at markets to make a more broadly accessible food movement that also generates more revenue for small farmers,” he says. “Last year when the pandemic struck, I immediately advocated that we no longer have a $40/day doubling maximum, so people could do all their shopping at once, conveniently. This was wildly popular when adopted across the state, and kept low-income and the many suddenly-jobless people well fed, as well as directing over $100,000 to local farms just through Urban Oasis Project alone in 2020.”
Urban Oasis Project farmers markets are located at South Miami City Hall and Legion Park in Miami on Saturdays, Vizcaya Village on Sunday and the Arsht Center on Monday.
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