Walking through the automatic doors of local grocery stores and supermarkets, one is immediately greeted by attentive employees, cooled by an air-conditioned breeze, and drawn to the array of fruits and vegetables.

Despite the abundance, not everyone can afford to browse the produce aisles. For decades, federal nutrition programs — created to provide food assistance to the now nearly 42 million Americans benefiting from the initiatives — made it difficult for households to use food stamps to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is making it easier for people across Indiana to eat healthier by implementing Double Up Indiana — a dollar-for-dollar-like program that offers opportunities for Hoosiers to stretch their dollars and purchase more fruits and veggies with food stamps. 

According to its 2021 Annual Impact Report, SNAP has provided 76 million pounds of food across the state since 2009. Those considered “Double Up” shoppers redeemed more than $20 million on healthy food in 2021 across the U.S. — an 85 percent increase from 2020.

According to the Double Up Food Bucks website, the new Indiana program is another subcategory of SNAP’s overarching “Food Bucks” initiative, something that began 15 years ago in Michigan. 

Michelle Shippy, Food and Medicine director with the Indiana Department of Health’s (IDOH) Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA), said Double Up Indiana came to fruition in 2021. The IDOH’s DNPA was awarded a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant and designated $200,000 toward SNAP, matching the success of their “Fresh Bucks” program.

Fresh Bucks is an already-existing subcategory of the Food Bucks initiative. Fresh Bucks began in 2013 out of Marion County, Indiana, and was led by the Indiana Hunger Network. 

The Fresh Bucks program impacted 763,962 people in 2021, according to SNAP’s 2021 Annual Impact Report.

The goal was to partner SNAP-qualifying families with local farmers and to ensure families had access to quality produce, according to the Fresh Bucks website. The success of Fresh Bucks became the catalyst for Double Up Indiana — the differences being economic sustainability and a higher level of state-wide expansion.

“The $200,000 grant offer[ed] the Double Up Indiana branding, which ignited programming across the state,” Shippy said.

The impact of Double Up Indiana can be felt across various Indiana in a variety of ways. 

“DNPA contracted with St. Joseph Community Health Foundation to take the lead in program implementation and expansion,” Shippy said. The partnership has been beneficial because “What may work in one community doesn’t necessarily work in another,” she said.

Mary Tyndall, communications and food programs director at St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, said recipients of SNAP’s food stamps can have up to $20 worth of fruits and vegetables per day. Each food bank location divides that $20 differently.

At Tyndall’s location in Allen County, Indiana, people get a dollar-for-dollar match when they purchase fruits and vegetables. However, in some locations, they'll get a $10 coupon toward their next grocery store visit if they spend $10. Other SNAP food bank locations offer 50 percent purchase discounts when consumers buy produce.

“It's a very good way to help people stretch their budgets and get them to eat more fruits and vegetables,” Tyndall said.

While Muncie is not yet a part of Double Up Indiana, Tyndall hopes that can change as the initiative becomes more widespread. 

“The St. Joe Foundation, working with the state health department, has expanded it to farmer’s markets in other locations other than Indianapolis and the Fort Wayne area,” Tyndall said. “The newest part of Double Up Indiana is that it's expanding … DNPA understands the importance of local initiatives and meeting the needs of the communities they serve because they all have different needs. Intentionality is critical in this work.”

Tyndall’s foundation sends out routine surveys to local Double Up Indiana participants. Results from those annual surveys show Double Up Indiana participants eat more fruits and vegetables than the average American. 

“That is incredibly important because the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the better your health can be,” Tyndall said. She said those surveys reflected the core purpose of Double Up Indiana. 

Throughout Indiana, “Statistics continue to worsen for obesity, overweight, lack of nutrition and physical inactivity,” according to the IDOH. “In 2021, the obesity and overweight rates for adults more than 18 years old stood at 36.3 percent and 33.3 percent respectively … Therefore, over two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. 

The department report summarized trends that have indicated a steady increase in Indiana over the last 20 years, with the state’s population ranking as 12-most obese in the country.

Bearing statistics like those in mind, “The overarching goal is to improve people's health in the state of Indiana through diet — something that doesn’t require medical intervention.”

Contact Katherine Hill via email at katherine.hill@bsu.edu.

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