Lehigh Med Summer 2019 - 18

FEATURE

works toward creating food equity in the
Lehigh Valley."
Supported by United Way of the Greater
Lehigh Valley, the program matches what SNAP
recipients spend with free Lehigh Valley Fresh
Food Bucks to buy fresh and local produce up
to $10 a day.

Lehigh Valley eat healthy and nutritious local
food for a strengthened local economy. Incentive
programs, such as Lehigh Valley Fresh Food
Bucks, are a key strategy to help us achieve that
goal. They work to make healthy food affordable
and accessible to everyone," added Rosado.

Buy Fresh Buy Local launched the incentive
program, then known as Double SNAP, in
In the Lehigh Valley, United Way 2015 with funding from the U.S. Department
reports that one in ten people are food inse- of Agriculture, United Way of the Greater
cure, and one in four of them are children. Lehigh Valley and Northampton County.
Since then, they've partnered with the Lehigh
"That means they don't have consistent access Valley Health Network, St. Luke's University
to enough food for an active, healthy life," said Health Network, the Kellyn Foundation, the
Priscilla Rosado, Assistant Director of Food Greater Easton Development Partnership and
Access and Emergency Services for United Way the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation to
of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
expand to more than 30 locations in Lehigh
and Northampton counties.
"Our goal with our partners is to cut that
number in half by 2022. Through our work
All locations provide Fresh Food Bucks that
with the Lehigh Valley Food Policy Council, we shoppers can use immediately. Some farmers'
envision a community where all residents of the markets use a token system, but many locations

apply Fresh Food Bucks at check out.
"We strongly support and recommend this
program. Educating about healthy lifestyle
choices is important, but it is also crucial to
remove barriers that prevent residents from
accessing affordable, nutrient dense produce,"
remarked Meagan L. Grega, M.D., and Eric
Ruth, Co-Founders of Kellyn Foundation,
which accepts Lehigh Valley Fresh Food Bucks
at its travelling Eat Real Food Mobile Market.
"Lehigh Valley Fresh Food Bucks not only
provides community members with the freshest,
most nutritionally dense food available, it also
creates additional revenue channels for our local
farmers and keeps more money circulating in
our local economy," said Rosado. "It's a win-win."
For more information,
including a full list
of locations, visit
lvfreshfoodbucks.org.

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18 Lehigh County Health & Medicine | SUMMER 2019

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Lehigh Med Summer 2019

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