Aspire Health discusses Double Up Food Bucks program for California-grown produce purchases

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) - A program aimed at aiding food insecurity has returned for EBT users to have more incentives for picking fresh produce has returned.

With Double Up food bucks, those with an active EBT or SunBucks card can receive up to 75 percent off California-grown fruits and vegetables at any participating store in Monterey County up to twenty dollars.

For example, if one were to buy that amount of produce, only five dollars would be deducted from their EBT card.

Currently, food insecurity in Monterey County is higher than the national average.

"The grocers and produce managers are working with our local growers to make sure that they have California-grown produce in their stores so that way their shoppers can get this discount. So it's a beautiful partnership across all of our different organizations to support each other," Director at Community Health and Wellness at Aspire Health, Yasmine Elsherbini, said.

EBT cardholders can also market match at certified farmers' markets to support local growers.