A city program that gives low-income households $40 a month to buy fruits and vegetables significantly improved their food security, a new University of Washington study found.
Seattle’s Fresh Bucks program, which launched in 2012 and now serves about 12,000 households, allows recipients to redeem their benefits at 46 Safeway stores, independent grocers and farmers markets across the city.
The study, published Aug. 19, found households enrolled in the program experienced a 31 percent higher rate of food security than those on the program’s waitlist. Researchers also found households receiving Fresh Bucks ate at least three daily servings of fruits and vegetables 37 percent more often than waitlisted households.
Ideally we would like to live in a world where everyone is food secure,” said Melissa Knox, the lead author of the study and a teaching professor of economics at the University of Washington. “This program is making a significant change” toward that goal.
Food insecurity — defined by researchers as the financial struggle to ensure consistent access to healthful foods — has been linked to serious health issues, including hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease, among others. While eating fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of diseases and supply important vitamins and minerals, studies have found poorer families and people of color often struggle to afford or access fresh produce.
Knox said she and other researchers plan to investigate the health impacts of Fresh Bucks in the future.
Soda tax proceeds
Fresh Bucks initially began as a city program that provided matching funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to spend at farmers markets and retailers in the city.
In 2018, after Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax took effect, the Fresh Bucks program was overhauled to allow people who don’t qualify for food stamps — such as low-income residents who make just over the federal income requirements or are undocumented immigrants — to sign up.
The city’s soda tax, which supports programs improving food access and child health, generated about $21.6 million in revenue in 2023, of which roughly $5.3 million was allocated toward Fresh Bucks.
Today, Fresh Bucks recipients redeem about $4.8 million in benefits annually, said Robyn Kumar, Fresh Bucks program manager at the city of Seattle Office of Sustainability.
“Food is a basic right and I think healthy food should be a basic right,” Kumar said. “The unique thing about Fresh Bucks is we provide benefits that give folks more choice and access, and really have that self autonomy to increase their family’s health and wellbeing.”
In October 2021, new applicants and existing recipients were required to fill out a survey to apply, or reapply, for benefits starting in 2022. Of the roughly 6,900 applications, 4,200 were randomly selected and the other 2,700 were placed on a waiting list.
Researchers reviewed survey responses from October 2021 and follow-up surveys from July 2022, comparing new applicants who were chosen to receive benefits with those who remained on the waitlist.
About 25 percent of newly enrolled recipients reported being food secure, up from 16 percent when they applied, the study found. Among those on the waitlist, food security went up from 16 percent to 21 percent.
The study also found those who were already receiving Fresh Bucks prior to October 2021 and remained enrolled had higher rates of food security compared with those who lost their benefits. Losing the benefit was associated with a reduction in food security by 29 percent, the study found.
Knox said the study’s results show just educating people about eating healthful isn’t enough. “No, actually people need financial support in order to maintain these healthy diets,” she said.
Guillermo Cruz Ramirez enrolled in the program about 4½ years ago during the pandemic when he lost his job in the construction field. At the time, he struggled to afford high-quality, organic produce for his wife and two kids, he said.
With Fresh Bucks, Cruz Ramirez said he likes to shop at the Frutería Sandoval in South Park, as well as the Columbia City Farmers Market, where he’s able to buy fresh tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro, onions, strawberries and more.
The $40 helps his family stretch their monthly budget a bit further, but he added that he’d like to see the funds increase to account for the rising cost of fresh produce in recent years.
“This program is really good,” he said through an interpreter. “Other families could benefit from this program if they have access to the funds.”
‘Incredible sales’
To qualify for Fresh Bucks, households must live in Seattle and make no more than 80 percent of the area median income, which was about $111,000 for a family of four last year. About 7 in 10 recipients are Latino, Black, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, immigrants or refugees.
The majority of Fresh Bucks transactions happen at Safeway stores, Kumar said. But in recent years, the program has worked to increase the number of city retailers that accept these benefits, Kumar said, with an eye toward culturally specific neighborhood stores where customers already shop.
For example, Asian grocery stores Lulu Mart (formerly Golden Hong Market) in the Chinatown International District and HC Grocery in Beacon Hill, which started accepting Fresh Bucks this year, have seen “incredible sales.”
“I can walk down to Lulu Mart and use my benefits and I don’t have to take a bus to Safeway, some Fresh Bucks users have told Kumar. “It’s been a huge access point, and came as a direct request from customers,” she said.
About 3,900 people are on the waitlist for the program, Kumar said, a sign of growing need. As federal cuts to SNAP and other safety net programs loom, Kumar said she and other city officials expect additional strain on the program.
Interested households can apply online at st.news/fresh-bucks to join the waitlist.
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