DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks
TAKE ACTION
There are several bills we’re tracking this session that would fund DA BUX for the next year, allowing it to continue being available in current locations and even expand:
How to Submit Testimony
Log in (or make an account) on the Capitol website.
Go to the bill’s status page and click the “Submit Testimony” button.
Select SUPPORT for your position
Write your testimony. See sample testimony and resource links below to get started—Don’t overthink it!
Testimony must be submitted 24 hours in advance to be considered on time. However, late testimony will still be accepted up until the time of the hearing.
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(Please use this as a starting point. However, it’s best if you personalize with your own words and experience.)
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the committee,
I am writing to you in strong support of SB2421 to fund Hawaiʻi’s Double Up Food Bucks program, which makes locally-grown produce affordable for Hawaiʻi’s low income consumers.
The federal food stamp program–better known as SNAP–is vital for alleviating hunger in low-income Hawai‘i households. However, the household monthly benefit is often still not enough to afford fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. This results in most of these dollars leaving the islands—right into the pockets of major mainland food companies, rather than getting recirculated locally into our local agriculture industry.
DA BUX offers a huge return on a very modest investment. The $2 million proposed in this bill would be matched with another $2 million in federal dollars, and this will allow the program to expand to even more retailers and communities across the islands.
This program is truly a win for everyone—families, farmers and local businesses. There is no downside. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony.
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OVERVIEW
What is it? Double Up Food Bucks (known locally as DA BUX) provides a 50% discount on locally-grown fruits and vegetables for Hawaiʻi customers who use SNAP. It has been available in selected stores and markets statewide since 2020, with plans to expand to additional retailers in the future. A federal (USDA) program called GusNIP provides most of the funding, but Hawai‘i’s DA BUX program administrator, The Food Basket, is required to provide a non-federal match—which this legislation would provide.
State funding would also support the program’s sustainable funding plan—another USDA requirement for receiving GusNIP funding.
Why do we care? DA BUX is incredibly popular because not only does it make local produce more affordable for lower-income consumers, it also boosts Hawaiʻi’s economy by keeping federal nutrition dollars circulating locally–directly supporting local farmers and food businesses.
DA BUX is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the federal government requires the program to provide a dollar for dollar match. The program has been fortunate to find matching philanthropic funds to support it since 2019, but could see the end of this federal support by August 2024 without a state match.