Bloomberg Announces Expansion of “Health Bucks” Program in Union Square

Credit: DS

Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, and a number of other pols held a press conference yesterday afternoon in Union Square to announce the expansion of “Health Bucks,” a new financial supplement that will help increase healthy food available to those families currently using food stamps. Henceforth, the 138 farmer’s markets around the Five Boroughs are required to accept the program.

More from the release:

To make the healthy choice the easy choice, the City’s Health Bucks coupons – good for $2 of fresh fruits and vegetables at  farmers markets – will for the first time be accepted at all 138 farmers markets, an increase of more than 100 percent from last year’s 65. Overall, this is expected to amount to more than $350,000 in free fruits and vegetables for low-income New Yorkers this season.

This year, all 138 markets (up from last year’s 65) will accept Health Bucks and the 125 of those markets that accept Food stamps/ EBT will also distribute the coupons as incentives. For each $5 of food stamps that a customer spends at farmers’ markets, they will receive one Health Buck coupon worth $2 for fresh fruits and vegetables at any farmers market.