The Farmers Market at Saracen Landing in Pine Bluff is a part of the Double Up Food Bucks program recently announced by the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention.
“We were a pilot for this program last year,” Trudy Redus, Saracen Landing marketing and communications manager, said in a news release. “We are receiving funding for this program now.”
“We are affiliated with Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP). We are a growing healthy community (Jefferson County Growing Healthy Community),” she said.
The Double Up Food Bucks program matches SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps) spent at participating sites, with additional funds that can be spent on locally grown fruits and vegetables. So if a family spends $10 in SNAP benefits at a farmers market, they get an additional $10 to buy more Arkansas grown fruits and vegetables, according to a press release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $94,000 to the ArCOP to launch this healthy food incentive program in 19 farmers markets across the state, bringing more fresh produce to low-income residents while supporting local farmers. The grant was matched with $25,000 from the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program and other local support totaling more than $116,000, according to the release.
The Pine Bluff farmers market is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Details: 536-0920.