Double Up Food Bucks!

By Deanna Beyer

Hunger Free America estimates that this past year has seen a 67% increase in food- insecure New Yorkers. And here at Honest Weight we’re on track to have the highest redemp-

Bringing Good Food AND Good Cheer: The South End Grocery

When I think of the South End Grocery, there’s no better metaphor than a lush, overflowing forest…full not just of plants and vegetables, but life,” said Travon Jackson the Blue Light Development Group President, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Center, and the store’s owner when he spoke with WAMC earlier in the year.

Jackson’s description is apt and important as it highlights what has been absent from the neighborhood. For years, Albany’s South End struggled with the food challenges that plague many areas throughout the country. Without easy access to fresh foods, families and entire communities are affected by what are known as food deserts.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “Food deserts are geographic areas where residents have few to no convenient food options for securing affordable foods—especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Disproportionately found tion of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that we’ve seen in a single year. Which is why we’re so excited to participate in Double Up Food Bucks!

Double Up Food Bucks is a nationwide fruit and vegetable incentive program, servicing millions of SNAP users, active in 20+ states at over 800 farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, mobile markets, and grocery stores. The program gives shoppers $1 for every $1 spent with SNAP, so you can purchase even more produce.

A match of up to $20 a day could mean $40 for healthy foods. Why is this important? Because too many people don’t have access, even with government aid, to the amount of healthy food needed to support families. Sign up is free and the dollars never expire.

In New York State, Double Up has contributed to 1.1 million pounds of healthy food sales to over 24,000 customers, at more than 130 sites spanning 23 counties.

Visit our Service Desk to sign up and go to honestweight.coop for more information on the program.

By Natalie Criscione

in high-poverty areas, food deserts create extra, everyday hurdles that can make it harder for kids, families and communities to grow healthy and strong.” They “are also a disproportionate reality for Black communities, according to a 2014 study from Johns Hopkins University.” Furthermore, “nearly 39.5 million people—12.8% of the U.S. population—were living in low income and low-access areas, according to the USDA’s most recent food access report, published in 2017.” One of the solutions is “extending support for small, corner-type stores and neighborhood-based farmers’ markets,” something that describes one of Albany’s newest grocery stores.

The South End Grocery, a nonprofit grocery store opened its doors at the end of 2022 on the corner of Madison Ave. and South Pearl St. in Albany (in the building that was formerly McDonalds), offering an array of affordable, locally sourced foods. As Jackson reported to the Times Union, “it is a Black-owned, farm-to-store, affordable grocery,” and has created a food oasis within an area that was once a food desert, a step in a positive direction for the citizens of Albany.

The South End Grocery initiatives are about more than just food however, for one can not only find ideas for healthy food alternatives within the store and its social media pages, but also a wealth of good cheer. A reminder on one of the facebook posts says, “Do a good deed for a neighbor or a stranger. Put some love and positivity into the world on this beautiful Sunday.” With affordable offerings of holiday or weekly culinary specials such as Valentine’s Day steak and lobster or Shish Kebob Saturday, neighbors are drawn to the store.

And, there are further reminders that this neighborhood grocery store is also a neighbor, something personal, caring, and integral within the life of the community. Whether it is employee of the month recognition, a seasonal egg decorating day for the community’s children, the new raised garden beds contributed by Soul Fire Farm, or the reminder that they are available to help families in need, the South End Grocery has found a home and helped to create a lush oasis where there was once a desert.

By saying “Yes” as you pay for your groceries at Honest Weight during the month of June, you too nurture the oasis!