Author: Sarah Siebers
12% of Utah households experience food insecurity affecting one in eight adults and one in six children.
The map on the right uses colors from blue to purple to show which counties have low to high rates of food insecurity.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as the inability of households to access enough food due to a lack of money or resources.
The map on the right uses colors from blue to purple to show which counties have low to high rates of food insecurity.
Federal food assistance programs help bridge the gap for food insecure Utahns. They include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), and Free and Reduced Lunch programs.
Seventy five percent of Utahns who face food insecurity earn too much to qualify for SNAP benefits.
The map on the right uses colors from blue to purple to show which counties have lower to higher rates of federal food assistance use.
The Community Food Security Program, helps Utah families access healthy food, boosts local economies and supports Utah farmers. It does this through implementation of the Double Up Food Bucks program, Senior Farmer Market Nutrition Program, Utah Produce Rx program, and Local Food Purchasing Assistance program. To learn more about these programs click here: https://dhhs.utah.gov/communityfood/
The video above explains how the Double Up Food Bucks program works.
The Double Up Food Bucks program provides increased access to affordable, nutritious food options by stretching SNAP benefits at participating farmers markets and farm stands across the state.
There are 66 Double Up Food Bucks locations in Utah spanning from Cache to Washington counties.
The map on the right uses colors from blue to green to show which counties have lower to higher rates of automobile access.
From 2019 to 2022, spending on food assistance program participants at the Salt Lake City's Downtown Farmers market tripled, rising $26,000 to $79,000 during the market season.
Carly Gillespie, deputy director of Urban Food Connection of Utah, states:
"I think that it would be hard to be against people accessing fresh local food. I think Double Up Food Bucks is a win, win, win. Our farmers are supportive of it. They are making money, these people (SNAP users) are customers that wouldn't normally be at the market spending their money with these producers."
The Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program, plays a crucial role in supporting local and socially disadvantaged food producers while delivering fresh, local food to food insecure Utahns. Recent federal funding cuts to this program threaten both food-insecure populations and disadvantaged producers across our state.