Food Accessibility Related to Double Your Dollar Program

The Double Your Dollar (DYD) Program is a program that gives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) participants match dollars to spend at local farmers markets. Users are able to spend these dollars on fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, dairy, jam/jelly, honey and food producing plants. DYD’s goal is to incentivize healthy eating among individuals of low income, promote local purchases, and increase spending at farmers markets. Food insecurity effects over 60,000 individuals in Washington and Benton county. With food accessibility being an area of concern in Northwest Arkansas, programs like SNAP and SFMNP are significant in helping individuals acquire nutritious food. The goal of this study was to assess how the DYD program has impacted users’ food accessibility and how the program can be improved for the future. Types of food purchased were assessed because this gives insight on an individual’s health. Individuals of lower income are known to generally have poorer health status which is related, in part, to the food they are consuming. By assessing how DYD users altered their purchases because of the program, inferences can be made on how this program is affecting their nutritional status. Food accessibility was evaluated through analyzing how much food users are able to purchase. Additionally, customer shopping patterns were studied because this gives insight to how the program can be improved in the future. A survey was created to address these areas and was distributed to participants taking part in the DYD program at farmers markets in Washington and Benton county. A total of 80 surveys were obtained and results were analyzed using Qualtrics Survey Software. The results indicated that the vast majority of current DYD users had increased purchases and consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, and dairy. Main motivations for shopping at the farmers market included the ability to buy fresh, healthy, and quality foods. Main obstacles for shopping at the farmers market included price and type of food available. Previous research has shown that purchases made to locally owned businesses and farmers create more jobs and improves local wealth. Therefore, the purchases made through DYD potentially contributes additionally to improve the local economy. Overall, the DYD program suggests being successful in improving food accessibility. This study indicates that food assistance programs such as DYD could be replicated throughout the country to improve local food accessibility and as a result, improve nutritional status among individuals of low income. Future studies should assess the awareness of the program within the community since this study only assessed participants that were already participating and the impacts of those purchases on buying and eating behaviors