By Laurie James

Double Up Food Bucks doubles SNAP benefits for fresh produce in Dallas, Lake Worth & Saginaw

What comes to mind when you think of “farmers markets?” Ripe seasonal produce, locally produced honey and jams, specialty baked goods, coffee, flowers, and fresh eggs? While local farmers markets can have a direct positive impact on your weekend morning, they also make a huge impact on our broader community and economy. So much so that the U.S. Department of Agriculture proclaims one week a year in August – August 6-12 this year, to be exact – as National Farmers Market Week.

A MELON REASONS TO LOVE SUMMER AT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS

A new relationship between the 6 Stones New Hope Center and North Texas Healthy Communities’ Good For You Pantry program means Hurst-Euless-Bedford residents in need will have even greater access to produce and healthy foods—even while the Euless nonprofit builds a new facility to better serve the community. The partnership enhances 6 Stones efforts to provide emergency food and other resources by supplying the nonprofit’s pantry with fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy items, which are now available through walk-in and drive-thru food distribution services.

Students at Frederick Douglass Elementary School in Dallas could barely contain their excitement earlier this month as they entered a room filled with hundreds of books—with stories of adventure and new worlds to explore, knowing they could choose one of their very own to take home and read with their families.

Fresh produce is good; more fresh produce is better! Residents living in and around Fort Worth’s 76119 ZIP code now have more access to healthy, fresh produce with the opening of a Good For You Pantry at Eugene McCray Community Center (4932 Wilbarger Street; 817-392-7146). The pantry, which offers no-cost fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutritional resources in a store-type setting, is the 13^th location to be opened in Tarrant County by North Texas Healthy Communities (NTHC), a nonprofit arm of Texas Health that implements Blue Zones Project in Fort Worth and other well-being initiatives across the region.

Eat right and get plenty of exercise. We’ve all heard that prescription for a healthy life. Turns out there’s another key ingredient to longevity:Helping others.

Students from six area elementary, middle and high schools will soon make a lasting impact on the well-being of their schools as winners of the 2023 Wellness Innovation Grant competition. The fourth annual competition awarded a total of $25,000 to student teams that presented the best plans for making healthy choices easier on campus.

Families dependent on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may be feeling the pinch since emergency allotments put in place during the pandemic ended on March 1. The end to emergency funding means a loss of $95 to more than $400 a month in SNAP grocery benefits offered during the pandemic. The move is expected to impact about 1.6 million Texas households, as Texas sees about a 35% drop in federal funding for SNAP benefits. Fortunately, Double Up Food Bucks can provide some relief to Tarrant County residents, making it easier to put fresh fruits and vegetables on the table.