Receive email updates from the Fair Food Network
When a person eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) uses his or her SNAP Bridge Card to shop for food at a farmers' market, the amount of money that he or she spends is matched with Double Up Food Bucks bonus tokens.
Bridge Card users get incentive to buy local
May 27, 2011 | 
By John Schneider
No judgments here from Amanda Snook, marketing manager for the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority - just a practical plan for bringing federal food assistance "back to the mission of supplying those in need with wholesome, nutritious food."
You've heard the explanation as to why people with the least amount of money to spend on food are more likely to be both obese and malnourished: Eating well is expensive - a fact obvious to anyone who browses the fresh-produce section of any store. Fast food, with its nutritionally vacuous fat and sugar, is cheap and filling.
In a recent email to me Snook wrote: "As we can both agree, assisting neighbors in need can certainly mean different things to different people and I think that debate will be going for some time. In light of all these recent reports, I wanted to let you know about a project that brings the Bridge Card back to the (original) mission ..."
Snook went on to explain that Lansing City Market, along with four other local markets, has been selected as a partner in the Fair Food Network's Double Up Food Bucks Project.
This means that, beginning Wednesday, a shopper using a Bridge Card can get a matching amount (up to $20 per day) of Double Up Food Bucks tokens that can only be used for Michigan-grown fruit and vegetables.
Fresh food
The Fair Food Network is a national nonprofit that, according to its website, "works ... to guarantee access to healthy, fresh and sustainably grown food, especially in underserved communities."
The other four participating markets are the Allen Street Market, the Bath Farmers Market, the East Lansing Farmers Market, and the South Lansing Community Farmers Market.
Snook wrote: "No lobster. No Mountain Dew. Just good old-fashioned, fresh-from-the-farm fruits and veggies. This gives us reason to talk about the positives of (electronic benefit transfer) use ... In this case, the initiative helps the card user, promotes local farming and supports small business entrepreneurs."
With more than $42,000 in matching funds available to the Lansing City Market, it's the largest grantee in mid-Michigan. The program will run through Nov. 1.
Drop 'em
DELHI TWP. - In response to Thursday's column about an amendment to a weapons ordinance in Delhi Township, clerk Evan Hope emailed to say:
"The current ordinance, adopted in 1967, already prohibits minors from discharging weapons (including slingshots) without adult supervision. So ... (kids) haven't been allowed to do that in Delhi Township since 1967!
"The amendment would prohibit the discharge of weapons (including slingshots) for all ages, north of the urban services boundary line, on or into platted areas (basically subdivisions)."
Call John Schneider at 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail jschneid@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on the Lansing State Journal. Original article available here.
