If there are two things Alaskans know about their food, it’s that it’s expensive, and a lot of it comes from somewhere else.
The Alaska Farmers Market Association has administered a program for the last five years that tries to address both at once. Through the program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients can double the value of their SNAP benefits when they shop at farmers markets.
It’s called Double Up Food Bucks, and it’s paid for by a state capital request. But that funding runs out this spring.
Now, a collection of food security and farmers’ groups are asking the state legislature for $750,000 to keep it going. Fairbanks Rep. Ashley Carrick, who is sponsoring the request, describes the program as a win-win.
“This is allowing everyone, regardless of income, to have access to locally-grown fresh food,” she said. “It's a great stimulator to our economy and the private sector. It's a great stimulator for local farmers to continue the work they're doing.”
A boost for farmers
A lot of Carrick’s constituents are tied to agriculture in some way. Small farms are plentiful in the Interior. But many of the people who run them say high operating costs and climate obstacles make them hard to keep afloat.
Fairbanksan Brad St. Pierre wears a lot of hats in the community, but he says he’s a farmer first. He operates Goosefoot Farm in Fairbanks, where he raises vegetables and honey with his family.
“Myself as a farmer, that's the number one goal — to get people food,” St. Pierre said.
He also directs the Tanana Valley Farmers Market, which brings in produce grown across an area the size of Indiana — from Manley Hot Springs to Nenana to Delta Junction and throughout Fairbanks. St. Pierre says Double Up Food Bucks will help bolster the state’s fragile but growing agricultural sector.
“People are benefiting from this capital request and also putting money into the pocket of farmers,” he said. “The more farmers that we can make successful, the stronger the agricultural industry grows in our state — the closer we’ll be able to get to having a strong and sustainable food system.”
For advocates, SNAP changes add urgency
Advocates for the program also hope the request will help more SNAP recipients keep food in their pantries in the wake of sweeping changes to the program. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by President Trump last summer, broadens who must meet work requirements to remain eligible. Some exemptions — like those for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth — have been removed.
The law also shuffles more responsibility for administering SNAP to state governments. Starting Oct. 1, Alaska’s Division of Public Assistance will be responsible for 75% of those administrative costs — or about $27 million per year.
In Alaska, that comes amid a yearslong backlog during which the state has struggled to process applications and provide benefits on time. , State officials have discussedneeding things like better technology and more employees to fix the backlog.
Hannah Hill directs the Bread Line, a Fairbanks-based anti-hunger organization and soup kitchen. They’ve been working with Rep. Carrick on the capital request to renew Double Up Food Bucks. Hill said with less support coming from the federal government, it’s more important than ever for the state to preserve programs that connect people in need with nutritious food.
“Everybody should be able to have the most delicious brussels sprouts that Alaska can grow,” they said. “I think that everybody should be able to go to a farmers market and enjoy the products that are grown in our beautiful land, and this is a great way to equalize that a little bit while supporting local farmers.”
Rep. Carrick is tentatively optimistic that the farmers market program will continue on.
“Other capital projects might be solving deferred maintenance, or investing in newer infrastructure,” she said. “This is investing in Alaskan people. It's investing especially in low income folks, those women and children, the folks that most need to put healthy, nutritious food on their plates.”
The representative said she’s pushing for the program to be included in the state’s capital budget, typically one of the last bills to pass during the legislative session. But with a tight state budget, it’s unclear whether the program will net enough support to make the cut.
