Asheville is the ninth hungriest city in the nation, with 21.8% residents experiencing “food hardship” (Food Research and Action Center, 2013), and 28.9% of Buncombe residents saying it was somewhat difficult or very difficult to access fresh produce at an affordable price, up from 20.9% in 2012, although only 14% are considered "food insecure" (Community Health Assessment, 2015). Children 1st/Communities in Schools reports that over half (53%) of the students in Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools are eligible for free and reduced lunch. The USDA reports that Buncombe County has 11 census tracts which are food deserts, 82% of which are in the city of Asheville. 

In 2012 local cooperative mobile market, Ujamaa Freedom Market, in partnership with UNC Chapel Hill, conducted a series of focus groups within several of Asheville’s public housing communities in which transportation was unanimously named as participants’ single largest barrier to food access.  In addition, the Buncombe County CHIP Diabetes Working Group led a PhotoVoice initiative in the predominately African American Shiloh Community to learn about the experience of diabetes in that community.  Access to healthy food was......  include quote...

The DUFB program was developed by the Fair Food Network (FFN) in 2009 in Detroit, Michigan, initially implemented at a handful of farmers markets and one mobile market in that area. Due to the program's successes as a means of increasing local food access, healthy eating, and local produce sales and through a robust system of FFN support including planning, implementation, systems design, marketing, and outcomes
reporting the program is now operating in over 20 states in the U.S., and is utilized in a wide variety of markets including farmers markets, grocery stores, cornerstores, farm CSA's, mobile markets, and roadside farmstands. 

The Fair Food Network has been methodical in evaluating this program and has consistently demonstrated increased fruit and vegetable consumption in low income families participating in the SNAP program in Michigan. According to FFN's records compiled from DUFB program locations across the state of Michigan they report that from over 500 customer survey results: 87% reported they were eating more fruits and vegetables because of the incentives, 96% planned to continue to increase their produce consumption, 69% reported trying new kinds of healthy food, and 66% reported that they were buying fewer chips, cookies, and candy as a result of the program. 

Additionally, there are major benefits for local growers. According to FFN Michigan grower surveys over the past five years, 90% of participating farmers report selling more fruits and vegetables, 85% report making more money, and some farmers reported expanding and diversifying production and buying or leasing new equipment as a result of their involvement in the program.

This success has been duplicated in DUFB initiatives implemented by other communities and is recognized by the USDA as an evidenced based program and supported by USDA FINI funding.

The Fair Food Network has made this program an attractive approach for increasing access to healthy food in Buncombe County because of the extensive support provided for implementation  There are resources in the form of a fully developed Implementation Toolkit, standardized program marketing materials, and free and frequent consultation with the DUFB program director, Noah Fulmer.  

While many local community partners we have also chosen to operate this model in our region first and fore-mostly at grocer sites rather than farmers' markets. This decision was made based on prior evidence from similar program attempts at local farmers' markets which had limited success, and on the wide acknowledgement that the vast majority of SNAP dollars are spent in grocery stores rather than in farmers' markets. While we applaud and support current efforts to encourage SNAP users to shop at local farmers' markets we feel that more people will have access to the program at grocer sites, so we are choosing to begin the pilot program with grocers. In the future, as the program expands and evolves we anticipate working with farmers' markets as well as other grocer sites, cornerstores, farm CSA's, and mobile markets in order to make the program accessible to as many low income families as possible

• Funds secured from CFWNC
• Bountiful Cities assumed lead and position as fiscal agent
• USDA Waiver received for FBFC
• Funding from Mission Community Investment
• Secured commitment from MountainWise to serve as 
• Program Launched at FBFC in July 2017
• USDA waiver received for West Village Market
• Enrollment exceeds expectations....
• Second retail location opened at West Village Market 

Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council, Bountiful Cities, Bounty & Soul, Buncombe County Health & Human Services – Community Service Navigators, Minority Health Equity Project, WIC, and School Health and Migrant Education Program, Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County, Cooperative Extension, Council on Aging, Eschelmen School of Pharmacy (UNCA), Family Resource Center at Emma, FEAST Asheville, Gardens that Give WNC, Land of Sky Regional Council, MAHEC, MANNA FoodBank, Mission Health, UNC Asheville – NC Center for Health and Wellness, YES!, YMCA of WNC, and the YWCA of Asheville.