SpartanNash Ups Access to Fresh Produce With Double Up Food Bucks

SpartanNash is once again offering the Double Up Food Bucks fresh produce incentive program at 46 stores in its home state of Michigan. Since 2014, the company has been the only major grocery retail chain in Michigan with various stores taking part in the initiative.

Along with the 43 Family Fare, VG’s and ValuLand stores already participating in Double Up, SpartanNash has rolled out the program to three additional stores in 2020, offering improved access to fresh produce to shoppers in Cheboygan, Coldwater and Howell, Mich.

Administered by Fair Food Network, Double Up Food Bucks lets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients earn free produce when they purchase fresh fruit and vegetables with their SNAP benefit at participating retailers.

For each dollar of fresh produce that SNAP customers buy using a EBT Bridge Card and SpartanNash’s yes loyalty account, an equivalent amount of dollars will be earned and placed on their yes account. Shoppers can then redeem the Double Up dollars for free fruit and vegetables at participating Family Fare and VG’s locations, with a maximum dollar-for-dollar match of $20 daily on their yes account. At ValuLand stores, which don’t participate in the yes loyalty program, every time a SNAP customer buys fresh fruit and vegetables at a participating ValuLand store using an EBT Bridge Card, the customer will get half of the produce for free, up to $20 a day.

“At SpartanNash, we are committed to partnering with local growers and producers, as well as building stronger communities with programs like Double Up Food Bucks,” noted Tom Swanson, the retailer’s SVP and general manager, corporate retail. “We are proud to have offered Double Up in our stores for the past seven years, because it enables SNAP customers to increase their access to fresh fruits and vegetables and supports our local farmers – and it’s a real win-win for our communities as a whole.” 

The Double Up program serves as a national model for healthy food incentives operating in 27 states with support from federal, state and private sources. 

“We’re grateful for SpartanNash’s long-term partnership, bringing Double Up to its many customers and improving healthy food access in the broader community,” said Kate Krauss, executive director and chief operating officer of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Fair Food Network. “We’re excited about SpartanNash’s role in helping us reach more families in every corner of the state as we launch Double Up’s expansion in 2020.” 

This year, Double Up is available in more than 150 farmers’ markets, farm stands and other retailer outlets in Michigan, as well as more than 100 full-service grocery stores, including many SpartanNash independent customers.

No. 33 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States, SpartanNash serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Djibouti and Egypt. The Grand Rapids. Mich.-based company operates 156 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery and Dan’s Supermarket. Through its MDV military division, SpartanNash is a leading distributor of grocery products to U.S. military commissaries.