The Oklahoma Eagle Newswire
Oasis Fresh Market hosted a pop-up event that featured Double Up Oklahoma, a program that matches the value (up to $20 per day) of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars in vouchers to be spent exclusively on fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and grocery stores.
Community members and elected officials gathered at Oasis Fresh Market today at a pop-up event with food demonstrations, live music, giveaways and sign-ups for the first Double Up Oklahoma program in a Tulsa grocery store. Double Up Oklahoma increases access to fresh foods for low-income and food-insecure Oklahomans by matching SNAP dollars spent, up to $20 per day, toward the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and grocery stores.
“Having Double Up Oklahoma at Oasis is such great news for our community,” said District 1 Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, “and it’s about more than just food, it’s about improving overall health for our families. I believe in the power of healthy-food access. Oasis was step one, Double Up Oklahoma increases that access even further, I look forward to seeing the impact of this program months from now.”
“I feel so blessed that Oasis has the privilege of offering this resource to our community,” said AJ Johnson, majority owner and operator, Oasis Fresh Market, “Hunger Free Oklahoma has successfully implemented this program in nine other grocery stores statewide and it has increased purchasing of fresh foods and supported the local grocery stores, I’m excited to see the potential for North Tulsa as the first Tulsa grocery store and first Black-owned grocery store in Oklahoma offering DUO.”
In August 2019, Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) took over management of the Double Up Oklahoma program and reimagined the opportunities this program presents for Oklahoma. Historically this program had only been available at farmers markets.
“Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation in fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Chris Bernard, executive director for Hunger Free Oklahoma, “This leads to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. It is a transformational program that increases food security, increases healthy choices, expands access for the entire community, and brings more dollars into our local businesses and local economy.”
HFO and Oasis Fresh Market began offering DUO in mid-April. To participate, SNAP users simply enroll in the Oasis Loyalty Program, shop with your SNAP EBT card, and earn DUO Bucks to redeem on fresh fruits and veggies on the next shopping trip.
Double Up Oklahoma is made possible thanks to several generous supporters. Those in bold are providing funding to launch the program in Oasis Fresh Market.
- American Heart Association
- Ascension St. John
- Sanford and Irene Burnstein Family Foundation
- George Kaiser Family Foundation
- Malzahn Family Affiliated Fund
- Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
- TSET (Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust)
- Tulsa Area United Way
- USDA through GusNIP and GusCRR Grants
- The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation
To learn more about the program, including locating farmers markets that accept SNAP and DUO, visit www.doubleupoklahoma.org.
