Making Food Stamps More Effective at Regular Grocery Stores, Not Just Farmers' Markets

Getting fresh, nutritious, affordable food to the people of Michigan can be a challenge, especially in the state’s economically struggling cities. According to the nonprofit Feeding America, the state has a 17.9 percent rate of food insecurity, a rough measurement of families who aren't sure where their next meal is coming from. In Wayne County, where Detroit is located, 22 percent of residents regularly don't have enough to eat. That's more than 400,000 people.

That’s part of the reason why a national nonprofit called Fair Food Network decided that Michigan was the ideal place to launch a program called Double Up Food Bucks. For the last three years, it has allowed shoppers with SNAP cards (a.k.a. food stamps, known as Bridge cards in Michigan) to get twice as much purchasing power at 75 farmers' markets around the state.