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Grocerist and Field & Fork Network Make NY's The Hub on the Hill First Grocer in the Nation to Roll Out an Automated "Double Up Food Bucks" Program OnlineProgram doubles impact of SNAP benefits for fruit and vegetables TORONTO and BUFFALO, N. Y. , Feb. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grocerist, which makes e-commerce profitable for grocers with the first and only grocery-specific e-commerce solution built on Shopify, and Field & Fork Network, a New York State nonprofit that connects communities to innovative solutions that foster a sustainable food system, announced today that they have partnered to make New York non-profit The Hub on the Hill the first grocer in the nation to roll out an automated online solution for Double Up Food Bucks. Double Up Food Bucks helps SNAP recipients stretch their benefits by matching SNAP dollars spent on fresh fruits and vegetables, doubling their impact. The program is available in 25 states, and this is the first automated, scalable solution that other grocers can leverage. “Food prices are escalating rapidly, and the Double Up Food Bucks program is a fantastic resource for increasing SNAP recipients’ access to fresh, healthy foods,” said Jeff Anders, Co-founder and CEO of Grocerist. “We’re proud to be working with Field & Fork Network on this important project, which provides a national model for how to implement nutrition incentives and SNAP together online.” The Hub on the Hill is known for applying innovative technology to benefit its customers. In January, the Hub worked with Grocerist and partner Forage to become the first food hub in the nation to accept SNAP EBT payments online. Now, SNAP recipients shopping online at the Hub will see Double Up Food Bucks automatically applied to their online account for their produce purchases - immediately redeemable for discounts on any future produce purchases. “Healthy food incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks NY are reat for families, grocers and our local communities,” said Lisa French, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Field & Fork Network. “When families save money on food, they can use it for other needs. Those reinvestments in communities will help our local economies recover. We’re excited to roll this out with The Hub on the Hill and Grocerist, because e-commerce is becoming an important avenue for increasing access to food in our communities.” Grocerist and Field & Fork Network are already actively working to identify other New York grocers for similar projects, helping them implement both SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks programs online. The National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center), a partner of the Nutrition Incentive Hub, provided technical assistance services for this project. “While nutrition incentive programs are beneficial to customers and local communities, they are advantageous to the stores operating them as well, but independent grocers don’t always have the resources required to extend these programs online,” said Josh Anderegg, project director for the NGAF TA Center. “The food distribution system is incredibly complex, however, working together, such as in the case with Grocerist, Field & Fork Network, and Hub on the Hill, to provide an automated model can help to make important incentive programs easy and scalable for customers and retailers to participate in across the nation.” All SNAP recipients are eligible for the Double Up Food Bucks NY program - to learn more, visit https://doubleupnys.com . About Double Up Food Bucks NY About National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center About Field & Fork Network About Grocerist Media contact: 
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