by Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
With the blink of an eye, holiday season has arrived, and so has Double Dollars Season at the Co-op. That means it’s time to remind you how Double Dollars works and how you can provide support for this very important program. Support Double Dollars between now and December 31, and your support also helps our partner food pantries! Read on to learn more.
Double Dollars Celebrates Five Years at the Co-op
It’s hard to believe five years have gone by since we first talked with the City of Madison about introducing Double Dollars in a retail setting, but here we are, and keeping Double Dollars alive and at the Co-op is all thanks to you and your support.
Starting October 1 we began accepting Co-op Double Dollars vouchers customers received last year, and from October 20 to March 9 Double Dollars will continue to be distributed at all retail locations on Double Dollars Tuesdays. Customers who use their FoodShare/QUEST (SNAP) benefits when they shop will be eligible to receive Double Dollars vouchers for every $5 they spend on their EBT card, up to $20. The vouchers can be used at any Co-op retail location, any day of the week, during business hours from October through May (unused vouchers can be saved for the following October). Co-op Double Dollars vouchers are good for any item in our Produce department; canned and frozen fruits, vegetables, and legumes; and seeds and seedlings for edible plants to grow in your garden.
Double Dollars is a City of Madison and Dane County program administered by the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin. From late fall to mid-Spring, Double Dollars are available at the Co-op and from June to late fall, Double Dollars are available at participating farmers’ markets while funds last.
Double Dollars are Available and Redeemable Via shop.willystreet.coop
Some of our customers are not able to shop the Co-op in-store due to COVID-19 and for that reason, we are also offering Double Double Dollars through our e-commerce program. Given that we have only a limited number of delivery and pickup slots available on Tuesdays, shoppers using their FoodShare/QUEST EBT card to pay for a delivery or pickup scheduled on shop.willystreet.coop will instead be eligible to receive Double Dollars vouchers any time they receive an order between October 20 and March 9. Co-op Double Dollars vouchers that customers already received may also be redeemed for purchases via shop.willystreet.coop any time through the end of May. Please leave a comment on your order when you check out if you would like to redeem Co-op Double Dollars vouchers that you have on hand.
FoodShare Usage is Up Statewide, Double Dollars Makes a Difference
According to a September, 2020 report from the nonprofit Wisconsin Policy Forum, Wisconsin FoodShare benefits recipients have increased by 19% and households participating in the program have increased by 21% over last year. In fact, more FoodShare benefits are currently being distributed to benefits participants statewide than in any other year the Co-op has participated in the Double Dollars Program. Increases in FoodShare participation are directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy. The Wisconsin Policy Forum report indicates that food insecurity in our community may continue to rise depending on the future state of the economy and public health. As Double Dollars is a matching program for those participating in the Wisconsin Foodshare Program, Double Dollars continues to make a significant difference in the food budgets of those who use their benefits at the Co-op and local farmers’ markets. Every time a FoodShare participant can redeem Double Dollars, they can save the funds on their EBT card for other important food purchases, and stretch their food budgets further.
Double Dollars is a Community Program, Your Contributions Make a Difference!
Double Dollars continues to demonstrate its value to our community, and now more than ever your support is needed. Funding for the Double Dollars program is currently 100% reliant on donations and contributions for the vouchers alone, and total demand for the program at both the Co-op and the farmers’ markets continues to outpace current funding streams.
The Co-op started the Double Dollars Fund three years ago and since then we have contributed just over $236,000 to Double Dollars all thanks to our customers. Your Co-op, through your cash contributions using scan cards at the registers, and the Co-op saving money for the program each and every time you reuse grocery bags, currently remains Double Dollars’ largest funder. The Double Dollars Fund supports providing all the vouchers at the Co-op, and some of the vouchers at the farmers’ markets as well. If you haven’t yet supported the Fund, but want to get involved, you can do so two ways: by choosing $1, $5, $10, or $25 Double Dollars Fund scan cards at the cash registers to add a cash donation to your receipt at check out, or by simply reusing bags when you shop at the Co-op. When you bring reusable bags for your shopping trip, we’ll save $0.10 to contribute to the fund, and when you reuse disposable bags for shopping, we’ll save $0.05 to contribute to the fund. All monies that go to the Double Dollars Fund are sent to Community Action Coalition to administer the program. If you are using our E-commerce program, Double Dollars Fund contributions can be made there as well! Visit shop.willystreet.coop and search “Double Dollars” to find donation options.
Cash donations via the scan cards at our registers and donations made via shop.willystreet.coop are tax deductible.
You Support Double Dollars, We Support Local Food Pantries
Supporting the Double Dollars Fund in November and December counts double! All November and December we’ll give a 1:1 match on your cash donations and bag reuse. When you make a cash donation or reuse bags to support Double Dollars, we will match up to $10,000 of your support by providing matching funds to our five neighborhood food pantries: Goodman Community Center Fitz Food Pantry, Lussier Community Education Center, Middleton Outreach Ministry, The River Food Pantry and Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. The match will be split five ways and provided in Co-op gift cards for the pantries to acquire fresh items that are harder to come by in the winter season. Like Wisconsin FoodShare benefits, reliance on food pantries has also increased this year due to COVID-19. So we are pleased to be able to offer this opportunity to support to our food pantry partners once again.
The Double Dollars match benefiting our food pantry partners is made possible through abandoned and donated Owner equity. When Owners leave the Co-op, their equity invested belongs to them and they are given the option to have their equity refunded or to donate it to use for charitable purposes such as this match and the Community Reinvestment Fund grants. Please join us in celebrating the generosity of our past Owners by participating in the Dollars Match program this holiday season.
Wishing You Well This Thanksgiving Season
It’s no secret that Thanksgiving may look and feel different for many families this holiday season on account of COVID-19 and the uncertainties that lie ahead. For some, our gatherings may be smaller, and others may be attempting to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for the first time. Maybe the holidays are taking on different meaning for some of us and perhaps more-so than usual, we may be considering how to honor traditions with our family’s health and finances in mind. Whatever the case may be, we hope we can be part of meeting your needs, we’re thankful for all of our Co-op’s Owners and customers, and we are so grateful to be part of this generous and supportive community. Good health and warm wishes to all of you.