As the pilot season of the Mobile Market came to a close, customers expressed a need for fresh produce during the off-season as well. To help meet this need, and to continue to encourage and facilitate the use of the government-funded Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), Island Grown Initiative (IGI) started a Winter Produce Delivery Program.
The Winter Produce Delivery Program provides SNAP beneficiaries with biweekly packages of Island-grown vegetables. With three packages to choose from, customers receive a combination of produce which may include butternut squash, acorn squash, carrots, potatoes, mixed greens, pea shoots, microgreens, bell peppers, cucumbers, and braising greens. The squash, potatoes, and carrots are grown at Morning Glory Farm, with the rest of the produce being grown at the IGI Farm Hub.
With package costs ranging from $12 to $18, this program is catered toward elderly individuals who cook for themselves. As long as customers have not used up their allocated HIP dollars for the month, they receive a dollar back on their card for every dollar spent, so the balance on their SNAP cards remains the same after the purchase. The HIP program essentially rewards SNAP users for buying fresh, local produce by providing them with additional dollars to spend on food.
The produce packages are delivered every other Friday from December to May at Woodside Village. If you are a SNAP beneficiary, or know any SNAP beneficiaries who might be interested in this program, contact Kat at kat@igimv.org, or call the IGI office at 508-687-9062 for further information.