Coloradans who receive food assistance now have another financial incentive to buy produce, but only if they shop at certain local businesses.

The state is one of three piloting new incentives, and will receive $7.9 million by the end of 2027 to offer matching funds for money spent on fruits and vegetables purchased with money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The other states that will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try out the Produce Bonus program are Washington and Louisiana.

Recipients can receive up to $20 in matching funds per transaction, for a maximum of $60 per month. The match is available for money spent on fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, provided they don’t contain added fat, salt or sugar. At farmers markets, recipients can also get matching funds for funds spent on dried beans, fruits and vegetables, provided they don’t have those three added ingredients.

Coloradans who receive food assistance already have some incentives to buy produce, such as Double Up Food Bucks, which are paper coupons they receive when buying fruits and vegetables.

Produce Bonus funds automatically appear on people’s earned benefit transfer cards, so they don’t have to remember paper coupons, said Abby McClelland, director of the food and energy assistance division at the Colorado Department of Human Services.

People can spend their Produce Bonus funds on any foods that SNAP covers, unlike the Double Up funds, which are only good for fruits and vegetables, she said.

Because the cards don’t differentiate funding for produce from other food, states aren’t able to limit how recipients can spend the bonus money, a USDA spokeswoman said.

So far, the only participating Denver location is a single farmers market, and the other locations are concentrated in the upper portion of the Interstate 25 corridor, between Loveland and Wellington. See cdhs.colorado.gov/snap-produce-bonus for a full list.

The department is working to get more retailers involved, though some may have to upgrade their software or card readers to process the rebate funds, McClelland said. They are focusing on locally owned businesses in areas with low access to food and low average incomes, with no immediate plans to bring in chain grocery stores, she said.

“We’re trying to be strategic,” she said.

While the USDA ultimately will decide if the program succeeded, McClelland said she hopes it can increase food assistance recipients’ produce consumption and overall purchasing power, while giving a boost to businesses in underserved areas.

“I think this is a step forward,” she said.

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Originally Published: September 3, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.