Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the food basket (TFB) launched DA…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the food basket (TFB) launched DA BUX in 2017 as a pilot snap nutrition incentive programin hawaii county. Since its statewide expansion in 2020 to all four counties, DA BUX has been available year-round, offering a 50% discount on hawaii grown fruits and vegetables (FV) for snap households. While DA BUX has expanded rapidly since our pilot, several assessments surveying snap participants show there are several barriers to participation. The following project goals and objectives were strategically crafted to respond to snap participant feedback. Goal 1-access: increase snap participant access to affordable hawaii grown fruits and vegetables by (1) expanding DA BUX to 19 new food retailers, and (2) supporting food hubs to accept snap payment online. Goal 2-awareness: increase purchasing of hawaii grown fruits and vegetables among snap participants by increasing promotion and awareness of DA BUX through implementing (1) new online cashier training modules, and (2) a snap-participant informed public marketing campaign. Goal 3-usage: increase consumption of hawaii grown fruits and vegetables available through DA BUX by delivering free farm-to-table, nutrition education through (1) distribution of culturally-relevant, child nutrition education activity books, and (2) delivery of NA kuke opio cooking classes. TFB is uniquely positioned to execute a successful project as we are working with community-based partners to achieve each project objective, including snap participants, our state snap agency, hawaii good food alliance, and university of hawaii snap-ED program. The outcomes achieved from this project aim to enhance the long-term viability of DA BUX implementation.