Double up food bucks will support the health of michiganders by bringing an additional $3.75M in fruits and vegetables to the tables of michigan families across the two years of this grant

Fair Food Network will use this $5 million Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) to support the Double Up Food Bucks program in Michigan from August 2021 through August 2023. At least 75% of the funding will provide direct incentives for low-income households to purchase fruits and vegetables through the Double Up program. Specifically, the funding will be used to meet increased demand for incentives across existing program sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, launch new sites in currently unserved counties, and expand the program's reach in hard-hit areas of the state. Key expected outcomes include 190,000 additional low-income households participating in Double Up and the establishment of at least one new site in each of the 16 counties without an existing location. The award will support the health of Michigan residents by bringing an additional $3.75 million in fruits and vegetables to families across the state.

At least 75% of our total guscrr budget will be used as direct incentives for low-income households to purchase fruits and vegetables. Further, with these funds double up in michigan will continue to meet every priority of the gusnip program.prior to covid-19, we were on target to meet our original gusnip expansion goals, but pandemic-related increases meant that expanding was no longer financially possible. With these funds, we will be able to continue our planned expansion and meet the covid-induced needs in both existing and expanded footprints. To this end, our guscrr goals and objectives are to: (1) meet the increased demand for double up incentives across existing sites by continuing covid-19 program shifts and keeping pace with pandemic-driven incentive spending; (2) bring incentives to families across michigan by launching sites in areas currently unserved by double up; and (3) increase the reach and availability of double up to more families in areas of the state hardest HIT by the covid-19 health and economic fall-out. This will result in:• 190,000 more low-income households participating in double up.• at least one double up site(s) operating in each of the 16 counties without any sites.• an additional 20-30 double up sites launching in high-need, underserved areas.• meijer, INC. Offering double up food bucks in high-need, underserved area(s).