A program that doubles the purchasing power of Nebraskans who rely on SNAP and EBT benefits has grown from a few Lincoln locations to over 25 sites across 15 Nebraska communities.
Double Up Food Bucks, a national nutrition incentive program, matches what SNAP participants spend on fresh fruits and vegetables up to $20 per day.
“Since 2017, at the inception of this program, over 4,000 families have been able to spend more than $1.9 million on fresh fruits and vegetables using Double Up Food Bucks,” said Tara Dunker, Double Up Food Bucks coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The program works by allowing participants to use their EBT card to purchase tokens or spending credits to use at participating grocery stores, farmers markets and community supported agriculture farms. The program then matches that amount in paper checks redeemable at locally owned grocery stores and farmers' markets. Chain retailers like Walmart and Hy-Vee do not qualify.
Double Up Food Bucks originally started in Detroit, Michigan, in 2009 before expanding to states across the country. Nebraska’s chapter started in 2017, when Nebraska Extension partnered with No More Empty Pots, a North Omaha nonprofit focused on improving food security and sustainable agriculture.
The program started with a couple of sites in Lincoln. It now operates over 25 locations in urban areas like Lincoln and Omaha, and rural communities including Valentine, Red Cloud, Alliance and McCook.
Although the program is coordinated through UNL, the university does not directly fund it. Instead, Double Up Food Bucks operates on a combination of federal grants and support from private and health sector partners, including Medica Insurance, CHI Health and Children’s Nebraska.
The program recently received new federal funding through the USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, which funds nutrition incentive programs in Nebraska and other states nationwide. The funding will allow the program to maintain its current 25 sites and expand to other new locations starting in 2027, just as the program reaches its 10-year anniversary.
Despite the newly acquired funding, Dunker said costs still remain the biggest challenge.
“We’re not immune to the cost of living increasing,” Dunker said. “Since this is directly tied to grocery store purchases, and we know that groceries have only gotten more expensive in recent years, it just makes this program even more costly.”
To be eligible, vendors must already accept SNAP and EBT. As the program looks to expand, new sites will be selected through an application and scoring process. Communities that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services identifies as having higher levels of need will be given priority consideration.
The programs’ choice of only allowing locally owned stores and farmers’ markets is deliberate. Dunker said the goal is not only to improve nutrition security among low-income Nebraska families, but to strengthen the local food economy at the same time.
“Our aim is to just make sure that we’re promoting food security, nutrition security among Nebraska families so that they can eat healthier on a limited budget,” Dunker said.
For families already using SNAP benefits, participation requires no additional enrollment. A full list of participating location is available online.