On August 8th, the final Saturday of National Farmers Market Week, Tiffany Ratliff stood behind the check in table at Pikeville Farmers Market with a binder of sign up sheets and a line of shoppers ready to try something new.
Tiffany has been a local food advocate for years. Community Farm Alliance worked with her this season to bring Kentucky Double Dollars (KDD) to Pikeville, and closing out National Farmers Market Week with the launch felt like the right way to mark the moment. The program is built on a simple idea: when fresh, local food is easier to afford, farmers sell more and families eat better.
“The KY Double Dollars program is great,” Tiffany said. “By connecting our local farmers to the community, we build a trusting relationship and provide access to nutritional foods.”
Here is how it works. Shoppers using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Senior Vouchers, or WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) can double their benefits at the market, up to $20 a day to spend on fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and eggs. For a family stretching a grocery budget, that is real money that goes further. For the farmers at the market, it is more customers walking away with a full bag instead of a smaller one.
Pikeville Farmers Market runs Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7:00 PM and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM through mid to late October. If you are in Pikeville, stop by, say hello to Tiffany, and see what Kentucky Double Dollars can do for your next trip to the market. Find this market and others across Kentucky at cfaky.org/kdd.
