City program helping low-income families eat healthy
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SEATTLE -- Eating healthy comes at a price, and often that prices is too high for low-income families.
The City of Seattle is now trying to lend those people a helping hand by offering a unique deal on healthy food. The new Fresh Bucks pilot program gives people who rely on food stamps a chance to eat better foot without breaking the bank.
When it comes to eating healthy, Lynn Sereda sometimes has to make difficult choices.
"To me this isn't just about having some nice greens every now and then, this to me is almost like a life or death situation," she said.
For the last five years, Sereda has been on food stamps while battling a weight issue. But thanks to the new Fresh Bucks program, she's now able to double the value of her fruit and vegetable purchases when using her EBT card at local farmer's markets.
"I am on Social Security and I have to make a limited income stretch," Sereda said. "This is enabling me to come here, and to come here every week now."
The program isn't just helping out low-income families, either. It's also helping local farmers sustain their business.
Shelly Pasco-Verdi of Whistling Train Farm said her EBT sales have doubled since the program began.
"It feels really good to me to be able to feed or provide food for these low-income families and give them healthy food that is the same food I feed my own family," she said.
For her part, Sereda''s happy the program can help local businesses while also helping local families.
"It's important to keep the small farms up and going," she said. "They've been there for generations and the money is staying in the community."
JP Morgan Chase donated $40,000 to the Fresh Bucks program, which will run until the end of September.
Farmer's markets in Columbia City, Lake City, Phinney, the U District, Magnolia, West Seattle and Capitol Hill are participating in the program.
More information about the program is available online.
The City of Seattle is now trying to lend those people a helping hand by offering a unique deal on healthy food. The new Fresh Bucks pilot program gives people who rely on food stamps a chance to eat better foot without breaking the bank.
When it comes to eating healthy, Lynn Sereda sometimes has to make difficult choices.
"To me this isn't just about having some nice greens every now and then, this to me is almost like a life or death situation," she said.
For the last five years, Sereda has been on food stamps while battling a weight issue. But thanks to the new Fresh Bucks program, she's now able to double the value of her fruit and vegetable purchases when using her EBT card at local farmer's markets.
"I am on Social Security and I have to make a limited income stretch," Sereda said. "This is enabling me to come here, and to come here every week now."
The program isn't just helping out low-income families, either. It's also helping local farmers sustain their business.
Shelly Pasco-Verdi of Whistling Train Farm said her EBT sales have doubled since the program began.
"It feels really good to me to be able to feed or provide food for these low-income families and give them healthy food that is the same food I feed my own family," she said.
For her part, Sereda''s happy the program can help local businesses while also helping local families.
"It's important to keep the small farms up and going," she said. "They've been there for generations and the money is staying in the community."
JP Morgan Chase donated $40,000 to the Fresh Bucks program, which will run until the end of September.
Farmer's markets in Columbia City, Lake City, Phinney, the U District, Magnolia, West Seattle and Capitol Hill are participating in the program.
More information about the program is available online.
The new Fresh Bucks pilot program gives people who rely on food stamps a chance to eat better ****foot***??** without breaking the bank.
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Komo, glad they are able to eat better foot.
And the city wonders why its bankrupt. Subsidize this, subsidize that, bike lanes, charging stations, then tax almost every small business right out of business. Now donât get me wrong, if I was one of these small farmers I would be happier than a pig in slop for the additional business. However this type of business is not self sufficient, because both the city and state are BROKE.   Co-ops are a much better way to go. You grow one thing in your back yard and trade to your neighbor that grew something different, ect. Keep the Gov out of your trades.Â
Let's get people to stop being dependent on worthless gov't programs. This should be done by private charities & organizations....they can do this better & without gov't "mandates" for nutrition dictatorship!!
 @vanceox Churches, private charities and organizations are all Gov't programs. The are all tax deductible. So on Sunday when the Catholic church passes the basket around what percentage of that money goes to the charities / poor, and how much to the church / overhead?
Poor people aren't fat because they can't afford vegetables. Â They're fat because they have no self control and eat too much.
That's not necessarily true. Â I work at a food bank and crappy food is cheap. Â Those boxes of noodles or cans of produce/soup or whatever are loaded with fat and especially sodium to make them somewhat palatable. Â
 @quinoline That's not true. They are heavier because they can only afford carbs.
 @edbo1 Yeah, they eat too many carbs
@edbo1 @quinoline Many are fat for a variety of reasons. Some don't get off the couch and move. Some eat way to much. Many eat the wrong things. In very poor third world countries you don't see "poor" fat people. I have been in the grocery check out line behind heavy people and their choice of products says it all. Chips, pop, deli chicken, cookies, donuts by the dozen. These things are not cheap! Then they pay with their state "credit card". You can't buy tobacco or alcohol with these cards. Same should be true for junk food. The healthier people are, the more productive they will be. But then we can't legislate everything, can we.
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I am sure the Progressive Posse on KOMO is going to the store RIGHT NOW to buy a thank you card  for  Chase's $40K donation.
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Right?
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Why is parsley a 1.50 a bunch at the farmer's market? It's .48cents at Winco. You can eat healthy and well--like the working poor and lower middle class--by shopping where your money goes further rather than at a farmer's market where you pay a premium for food grown locally. And as for "nice greens". They're under a dollar a bunch at Winco. I'm all for supporting local farmers, but this whole "low income people suffer from lack of vegetables" thing is BS.
 @chandler Not everybody has access to a Winco. Where I live there are no inexpensive alternatives for healthy food.
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Next time (if you have never been, you should try it once) you are at a food bank take stock of the types of food low income people get.
 @commonHuskyfan  @chandler Exactly.  Not everyone has transportation either.  Our food bank is fortunate to receive tons of fresh produce and baked goods from local grocery stores, but that's not the case for every one.  And the processed food we hand out is just garbage.
I feel like I can barely afford to eat healthy, and I definitely don't qualify for any government assistance....
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 @2nd Baseman Although that is true of some, that is a major generalization, and certainly cannot be proven without detailed survey.Â
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You and your weed smoking buddies on food stamps still give no reliable data to make this generalization.Â
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When you've sobered up enough - come back and tell me how your small group of friends offers enough proof and is not biased, and then explain to me how you and your pot smoking friends are credible and reliable enough to give such a generalization and expect me or anyone else to believe it.
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I'll be waiting.
 @2nd Baseman  @commonHuskyfan  @2nd And you are known by the company you keep.
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 @2nd Baseman Yeah... like the woman I know who receives $200 in food stamps and lives in a tent city near the dump. She's really living high on the hog.
 @2nd Baseman That attitude probably explains why you never get to third base...
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 @ironknee  @2nd But, if they were forced to recognize that true need, they would have to admit that their trickle down is simply just another way to pizz on the poor...
 @2nd Baseman  @OrcasThunder Not nearly as much as banks take advantage of stressed out customers.
@2nd Baseman I am sure there are a few that do cheat on foodstamps and other security programs....but, it seems like because of the few, you want to deny the millions whose need is truly genuine....
 @2nd Baseman  @OrcasThunder Oh, I wasn't really responding to your comment. I was just testing to see if the KOMO server was down - I WAS trying to respond on another thread but it keeps spinning it's wheels...
 @2nd Baseman Try $10 a day starbucks habit. I know a few of them. Buying energy drinks with food stamps! Shame on you!Â