Double Up Food Bucks
Double Up Food Bucks, Iowa’s statewide healthy food incentive program, increases low-income shoppers’ purchasing power for fruits and vegetables while supporting Iowa growers.
The Double Up program matches the value of SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) purchases made at participating farmers markets, farm stands & grocery stores with additional dollars to spend on fresh, locally grown produce. For instance, a family that spends $10 in SNAP benefits at a participating farmers market receives an additional $10 in Double Up Food Bucks to purchase Iowa-grown fruits and vegetables.
The wins are three-fold: low-income families eat healthier food, local farmers gain new customers and make more money, and more food dollars stay in the local economy. Each has a ripple effect of benefits.
Find a Double Up Location in Central Iowa
Farmers Markets:
LSI Global Greens Farmers Market
Lutheran Services in Iowa Parking Lot, 3116 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311
Saturdays, 9am-1pm, May – October
Website
West Des Moines Valley Junction Farmers Market
301 5th St, West Des Moines, IA 50265
Thursdays 4pm-8pm, May – September
Website
Beaverdale Farmers Market
4801 Franklin Avenue, Des Moines 50310
Tuesdays, 4pm-7:30pm, June – September
Website
Johnston Farmers Market
6700 Merle Hay Road, Johnston 50131
Tuesdays 3:30pm-6:30 pm, May – October
Website
Farm Stands:
DogPatch Urban Gardens
5085 Meredith Drive, Des Moines, IA 50310
Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-6pm Saturdays & Sundays 9am-3pm
Website
Sweet Tooth Farm
1809 8th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314
Wednesdays 3pm-6pm
Website
Grocery Stores:
Fareway – Adel
804 Nile Kinnick Dr S, Adel, IA 50003
Fareway – Altoona
620 8th St SE, Altoona, IA 50009
Fareway – Ankeny
109 SE Oralabor Rd, Ankeny, IA 50021
Fareway – Ankeny
3205 N Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA 50021
Fareway – Carlisle
1115 Bluestem Drive, Carlisle, IA
Fareway – Clive
10151 University Ave, Clive, IA 50325
Fareway – Des Moines
4313 Fleur Dr, Des Moines, IA 50315
Fareway – Des Moines
100 Euclid Avenue, Des Moines, IA
Fareway – Grimes
351 SE Gateway Dr, Grimes, IA 50111
Fareway – Indianola
1309 W 2nd Ave, Indianola, IA 50125
Fareway – Johnston
6505 Merle Hay Road, Johnston, IA
Fareway – Knoxville
1308 S Lincoln St, Knoxville, IA 50138
Fareway – Norwalk
1711 Sunset Dr, Norwalk, IA 50211
Fareway – Perry
1315 Willis Ave, Perry, IA 50220
Fareway – Pella
2010 Washington St, Pella, IA 50219
Fareway – Pleasant Hill
5500 NE University Avenue, Pleasant Hill, IA
Fareway – Polk City
1101 S 5th St, Polk City, IA 50226
Fareway – Urbandale
8450 Meredith Drive, Urbandale, IA
Fareway – Waukee
200 Laurel St, Waukee, IA 50263
Fareway – West Des Moines
329 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines, IA
2020 Flyers


Frequently Asked Questions:
How to use at the Farms Market :
Bring your EBT card to the market! When you get there, find the information booth. This is the booth for ALL card payments: credit, debit, and SNAP. Tell the market staff how much you’d like to spend at the market with your EBT card.
They will swipe your card, and then give you SNAP tokens. These tokens can be spent on any eligible food item that isn’t hot and ready at the market.
Then, they will match the SNAP bucks $1 for $1 with Double Up Food Bucks, good for locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. If you spend $5, you get $5. If you spend $10, you get $10! They will match up to $10 every time you visit!
How to use at the Grocery Store :
Bring your EBT card to a participating grocery store!
At the register for every $1 you spend on any fresh fruits and vegetables with your SNAP EBT card, you will get $1 in Double Up Food Bucks. So if you spend $5 on fresh fruits and vegetables, you will get $5 in Double Up Food Bucks that can be used to buy more fresh produce! You can earn up to $10 in Double Up Food Bucks per day.
Spend your Double Up Food Bucks right away or save the for later use. You can use your Double Up Food Bucks currency at any other participating location, including farmers markets, farm stands or other grocery stores.
When you use your EBT Card at a participating farmers market, farm stand or grocery store, you’ll automatically get an equal value of DUFB, up to $10.
You can spend your DUFB on fresh fruit and vegetables that were locally grown. Look for vendors with a “Double Up” sign. You can also use DUFB to buy plants to grow food in your own garden. You can spend your SNAP EBT Card benefits on almost anything edible at the market, except ready-to-eat prepared foods.
Look for this signage with participating vendors:
Download a copy of this FAQ to make your market shopping experience easier.
DUFB is a program with two goals: to help low-income families access fresher, healthy foods AND to support local farmers. By spending your DUFB on locally grown products, you’re helping local farmers boost their incomes, and that is great for the Iowa economy. You can still use your SNAP EBT Card benefits for other food items, like meats, cheeses, and fresh breads from the other market vendors.
No, just come to the market and use your EBT Card. Go to the market central information booth to swipe your EBT Card. A staff member will help you and they will record the last few digits of your EBT Card account number – this is only so that we can track how many new customers are coming because of DUFB and how many times people come back.
Keep them and use them next week! DUFB are not refundable because they’re free. Some people like to save up their DUFB for when their favorite fruit and vegetables are in season, and then buy large quantities to can or freeze.
In Central Iowa, DUFB can only be redeemed at the locations listed above. However, there are many other locations around the state of Iowa that also accept DUFB. Find a full list: http://www.iowahealthieststate.com/resources/communities/double-up-food-bucks/locations/
Yes, it is really free. DUFB is a project of your local farmers market, Iowa Healthiest State Initiative , and Eat Greater Des Moines. The goal is to get more healthy food to Iowa families while supporting Iowa farmers. Local funding comes from the United Way of Central Iowa.
An EBT Card is the common name for the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card used by recipients of federal food assistance benefits in Iowa. It has a picture of the Iowa horizon on it. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the new name for the federal food assistance program formerly called Food Stamps.
In order to qualify for a EBT Card, you must meet certain requirements for income and expenses determined by the State of Iowa. To see if you qualify and apply for benefits, go to https://dhsservices.iowa.gov/apspssp/ssp.portal or call 1-855-889-7985. You can also contact your local food bank for information on where to go in your community to apply for benefits, or call the United Way’s 2-1-1 service (dial 2-1-1 on any phone).