SNAP program gives Utahns better access to fresh food, builds community
Jul 30, 2025, 5:00 PM
The Salt Lake City farmers' market. (Mark Less KSL TV)
(Mark Less KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah SNAP program is creating a more inclusive environment around the state’s farmers’ markets.
The Double Up Food Bucks program is meant to incentivize those on SNAP to eat fresh, locally grown produce. But Utahns Against Hunger says it does more than that.
How it works
The program will give $2 for every $1 spent on produce at participating farmers’ markets.
At each market, there is an information booth. People on SNAP can browse the market, decide how much they want to spend and then withdraw their desired amount of money at the booth.
They will get wooden tokens representing the money withdrawn from SNAP and then they will be given $2 for each dollar they withdrew, represented by green tokens.
Utahns Against Hunger Executive Director Gina Cornia says these green tokens can be used at the farmers market that day, or taken to another participating market at a later date.
Part of the community
Cornia says this isn’t the only benefit.
“People feel really included. They feel part of the community. They don’t feel like it’s so inaccessible,” Cornia said.
She says their office really advocates for food access, but inclusiveness is also important to health and community.
“If you want to go somewhere, but you don’t feel like you fit in or you go and you know you can’t participate, that is really isolating,” Cornia said. “And if you feel like you don’t necessarily belong to the community, this is a way for people to feel like they can participate, to be part of the community, and especially farmers’ markets.”
She says it’s not just about going to the market, but participating.
“People feel really personal about them (farmers’ markets), and they feel really invested in supporting certain vendors and things like that.”
Vendor benefits
It’s not just those on SNAP seeing benefits, though. Vendors can feel it as well.
“It’s more income for them, more demand for their product,” Cornia said. “I think it can help with land use policy and if somebody needs to expand their farm because they need to grow more, that’s more land that stays in agricultural production.”
