Public health advocates, especially those working with non-profit organizations, know just how limited resources and funding can be. In fact, after making financial requests from local or state governments, many public health champions are accustomed to only receiving a fraction of what they need. But a recent development in Arizona caught even the most tenured of health, wellness and nonprofit practitioners off-guard.
“I’m shocked in the best way possible,” explained Adrienne Udarbe the executive director of Pinnacle Prevention, an Arizona not-for-profit dedicated to helping food-insecure people in the state secure the nutrition they need to live healthy lives. “Double Up Food Bucks Arizona just received double the ask and that means we can do more for our residents than ever before.”
Pinnacle Prevention urged the Arizona Legislature to invest $1 million a year in Double Up Food Bucks Arizona. Rather than meeting that request, lawmakers went beyond it by double, committing to give the program $2 million per year through fiscal year 2024.
“We see great disparities in food insecurity across all population demographics, but it’s especially prevalent among children who come from communities of color, tribal communities and communities with low incomes,” said Udarbe. “Pinnacle Prevention has identified the needs of our clients experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. One solution we’ve identified is to increase the purchasing power of individuals and families, so they have more money to buy healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables”
Double Up Food Bucks provides people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with additional resources to buy produce. Here’s how it works - for every dollar a SNAP participant spends with their EBT card, they receive an extra $1 to spend on Arizona-grown fruits, vegetables, legumes and seeds.
“Double Up Food Bucks Arizona has been such a blessing to my family,” said one SNAP participant who preferred to remain anonymous. “We have been able to buy different veggies to try, and yummy fruits. The kids love spending the [SNAP fruit and veggie incentive tokens] with the farmers. Double Up is amazing and I hope it continues to bless many other families for generations to come through the passing of the recent legislation.”
While federal funding has made Double Up Food Bucks Arizona a staple in the state since 2016, Udarbe said Pinnacle Prevention quickly realized the dollars from the feds wouldn’t be enough to meet the need; that the program also needs state funding to make ends meet. That’s why this $2 million investment for fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 is so monumental.
“This investment is an investment in health because it makes fresh produce more accessible. It’s an investment in farmers and ranchers because they can sell more of the goods they grow. And it’s an investment in families so they, and their communities, can thrive,” said Udarbe.
Pinnacle Prevention is a longtime grantee of Voices for Healthy Kids. Voices for Healthy Kids provided some of the funding and technical assistance supports needed to make this most recent $2 million success.
“Food is a fundamental human right,” Udarbe continued. “Right now, there are 950,000 Arizonans – people just like you and me – participating in SNAP every day. This legislation empowers participants to buy the products they deem culturally relevant at the stores they want.”
9/15/21