Double Up Food Bucks: get twice as much produce from every SNAP dollar you spend on fruits and vegetables.
If you receive SNAP benefits and buy fruits and vegetables, there is a program that matches what you spend on produce dollar for dollar — meaning you walk out with twice as much fresh food for the same EBT dollars. It is called Double Up Food Bucks, it requires no separate application, and it is available at farmers markets, grocery stores, and farm stands across dozens of states.
This page explains exactly how the match works, what to expect at different types of participating locations, where to find a location near you, and how to combine Double Up with food pantries and other assistance to stretch your monthly SNAP allotment as far as possible.
The program was launched in Detroit in 2009 by Fair Food Network, a nonprofit organization that now operates it in Michigan and provides technical assistance to partner organizations running equivalent programs across the country. It has grown from five farmers markets in one city to thousands of participating locations across dozens of states, including farmers markets, farm stands, grocery stores, and corner stores.
How the match works
The concept is simple: when you use your EBT card at a participating location to buy eligible fruits and vegetables, you earn a matching amount in Double Up Food Bucks that you can spend on additional fruits and vegetables. The match is dollar for dollar up to a daily cap that varies by state and location — typically $20 per day at grocery stores and up to $50 per day at farm-direct locations like farmers markets in some states.
In most states, eligible items are fresh fruits and vegetables. Michigan has expanded its program to include frozen fruits and vegetables with no added salt, sugar, or fat. Other states are piloting similar expansions. NOTE: Check the rules at your local participating location, since what qualifies varies by state and sometimes by individual site.
The match is delivered in one of three ways depending on where you shop, and knowing which system your location uses before you arrive avoids confusion at checkout:
- At many grocery stores and larger participating retailers, the match loads automatically to a dedicated Double Up loyalty card or account that you present at checkout. You earn the match on eligible produce purchases and draw down the balance on future produce purchases at the same store or participating network.
- At farmers markets and farm stands, the match is often delivered as printed vouchers, tokens, or coins that you receive immediately and can spend on more produce at that same market visit or at other participating vendors. At some markets you receive the tokens upfront and spend them immediately; at others you earn them first and redeem on a subsequent visit.
- At some stores, the match credits directly to a store loyalty card or account and appears as a discount at checkout when you purchase more qualifying produce.
Ask the staff at any participating location how their system works before you start shopping. The program is designed to be low-barrier, so most locations have clear signage and staff who can walk you through the process.
There is no separate application to participate. If you have a SNAP EBT card, you are automatically eligible at any participating location. In most states, you simply show up, present your EBT card, and the match happens as part of the normal checkout process.
Where Double Up Food Bucks is available
The program operates under the Double Up Food Bucks name in roughly 30 states, with equivalent produce incentive programs operating in most others. The national locator at https://doubleupamerica.org/ covers all states — it shows participating Double Up locations where the program is available and lists equivalent programs like Market Match, Food Bucks, Link Up Illinois, and others for states where Double Up specifically has not yet launched.
California, for example, does not have Double Up Food Bucks under that name but has a network of equivalent programs — Market Match, Food Bucks, and the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot — that operate the same dollar-for-dollar match concept at hundreds of farmers markets and stores. The doubleupamerica.org locator covers these as well.
To find participating locations near you: visit doubleupamerica.org, select your state, and use the location finder. For farmers markets specifically, the USDA maintains its own locator at https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/farmers-markets-accepting-benefits that shows every SNAP-authorized farmers market near you by zip code. Many of those markets also participate in Double Up or an equivalent produce match program.
The program is growing — new locations and new states join regularly. If your state is not currently listed, the doubleupamerica.org site provides contact information for the national technical assistance team who can tell you whether a program is in development in your area.
What the match covers and what it does not
Double Up matches are specifically for fruits and vegetables. At most locations this means fresh produce. Some states and sites have expanded to include frozen fruits and vegetables without added ingredients, dried beans and lentils, or other specific categories — check at your location.
The match cannot be used on meat, dairy, grains, packaged food, or any item that is not produce. The SNAP benefits you spend to earn the match work the same as always — all the standard SNAP rules apply for what your EBT card pays for. The Double Up match is an additional benefit layered on top, restricted to produce only.
Tips, delivery fees, and service fees cannot be paid with Double Up benefits, the same as with SNAP.
Combining Double Up with other assistance
The program works best when combined with other food assistance resources, and this is genuinely where households can stretch a budget the furthest.
Using Double Up at a farmers market for fresh produce, then supplementing with shelf-stable groceries from a food pantry the same week, covers both fresh nutrition and pantry staples without spending more from your monthly SNAP allotment. Most food banks and food pantries provide canned goods, dry beans, rice, pasta, and other non-perishables — exactly the items that complement fresh produce from a Double Up trip. Find a free food distribution center by city, county, or state
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm shares sometimes participate in Double Up programs, allowing SNAP recipients to pay for a weekly produce share with their EBT card and receive the double-up match on the purchase. This provides a regular supply of seasonal produce throughout the growing season at effectively half the face value. Find more on the Community Supported Agriculture program.
Manufacturer coupons and grocery store sales can be stacked with Double Up at participating grocery store locations. If a store has a sale on bagged salad or apples and you pay with your EBT card, the Double Up match applies to what you spend — meaning the savings from the sale and the match both apply to the same purchase. More on stacking coupons with EBT shopping is on the how to get free groceries using coupons, sales, and apps.
Using SNAP at farmers markets beyond Double Up
Whether or not Double Up is available, SNAP EBT cards are accepted at farmers markets in all 50 states when the market is USDA-authorized. No market-wide enrollment is required — individual markets apply to USDA for authorization, and thousands have been approved. To confirm whether a farmers market near you accepts SNAP and whether it also offers a produce match, use the USDA locator at https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/farmers-markets-accepting-benefits or contact the market directly before visiting.
Markets that accept SNAP can also accept purchases of seeds and plants for food production — tomato plants, pepper seeds, herb seeds for cooking — under standard SNAP rules. Some markets also sell meat, eggs, and dairy from local farmers, all of which are SNAP-eligible. For a full guide to what SNAP covers beyond standard groceries, see the what items surprise most EBT cardholders page.
This page provides general educational information about the Double Up Food Bucks program and equivalent produce incentive programs. Program availability, participating locations, eligible items, daily match caps, and delivery mechanisms vary by state and location and change over time. Verify current program details and find participating locations near you at doubleupamerica.org before planning a trip specifically to use Double Up.
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