Double Up Food Bucks, a Michigan program that provides those using food assistance benefits with additional produce, could receive an upgrade through a federal bill introduced by Congressman Dan Kildee. Kildee’s GusNIP Expansion Act, introduced along with Republican Congressman Rick Crawford, would increase funding and remove barriers to allow more people to benefit from nutrition assistance programs across the country.
The GusNIP nutrition assistance programs expand the purchasing power of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to purchase produce from local grocery stores and farmers markets. Local funding for programs like Double Up Food Bucks receive a 50-50 match from the Federal government, but with Kildee’s bill that match would change to 80% Federal and 20% local. This means local funds would leverage more federal dollars and increase funding for the programs.
The program also benefits local farmers that sell at farmers markets or to small grocery stores that sell local produce. Kildee explained that the expanded program would ensure a more predictable market, which leads to less waste.
Source: ourmidland.com