An Iowa Senator will be pushing for a program that would help shoppers choose healthy food options and help local growers. 

Iowa Senator for District 14 Sarah Trone-Garriott says that she wants Senate File 273 to be passed this legislative session to provide additional funding for the “Double Up Food Bucks Program,” which allows for every dollar spent with food stamps on fruits and vegetables to be matched dollar for dollar by the grocery store, for up to $20 a day. Trone-Garriot explains what this bill looks to accomplish. 

“So we’ve got some smaller farms in the area and if we could put a million or $2 million into that program locally, that has a big benefit for some of our small scale producers in the area and it just makes people healthier. So it’s a small way to make a big impact.”

Trone-Garriot introduced this bill in 2020 which would give $2 million to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to administer grants to support the Double Up Food Bucks Program. Full piece of legislation is linked here.