Creative Personal Economic Stimulus: Boston’s Bounty Bucks
This is the fourth post in a series on local, preferably non-governmental, initiatives to improve a community.
I was pleased to read today that the city of Boston is offering coupons that turn $10 of food vouchers into $20 to spend at the local farmers’ market. What a great idea to support local farmers and to improve access to healthy foods for low-income people.
Boston will join more than a half dozen communities across the country with similar double-voucher programs, including Atlanta, San Diego, Providence, and Holyoke.
The funding includes $30,000 from the Mayor’s Fresh Food Fund and three $10,000 grants from Project Bread, Farm Aid, and Wholesome Wave Foundation, which has helped other communities launch similar double-voucher programs since 2007.
I love fresh-air markets and the way they connect consumers to good food and to the people who produce it. I spent a few of my school years in Madison, Wisconsin, home to the world’s best farmer’s market, IMHO. I spent many a glorious Saturday morning strolling the Capitol Square with a morning bun and a coffee, filling my shopping bag as I walked. The entire city turns out — students, couples pulling kids in red wagons, whacky hippies, professors — it’s fabulous.
Now I live in the suburbs north of Boston. I don’t know of any farmers’ markets in the area (though there must be one somewhere), but we do go to roadside stands. I especially like honor stands where you just leave your money in a box. It makes me feel like I’ve moved to Mayberry. And I love to go to pick-your-own farms with my family. Every year we pick a bucket (or two) of blueberries. We freeze some, but we eat most fresh. It’s unbelievable how many berries we’ll eat if the supply seems limitless.
Other posts in this series on Creative personal economic stimulus:
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