Roaming Gourmet: Dirty Dog Organics increases SNAP buying power

Many people may not know that I am the founder of a nonprofit organization Kitch’n Lyfe Skills and our mission is to reduce food insecurity in unique ways. We want to face this problem head-on with education, empowerment, and enlightenment, the one thing we won’t do is open a food pantry.

Yes, we believe in food pantries and the role they play in the fight against food insecurity but we also know that receiving free food periodically is not going to totally solve the problem. There are many layers of food insecurity.

The educational component of our mission involves teaching people how to grow their own food and, if necessary, buying whole food ingredients like fresh fruit and vegetables. Having the ability to eat fresh whole food affects our overall health and well-being.

Knowing this I was so excited to learn that my good friend and farmer Aubrey Cash of Dirty Dog Organics located at 2026 Lewis Road, Leesburg is now apart of a special program that allows SNAP recipients to double their buying power when they buy fresh produce from her farm.

According to Feeding Florida, Fresh Access Bucks (FAB) is a USDA-funded statewide nutrition incentive program that encourages SNAP recipients to redeem their benefits at farmers’ markets, produce stands, and mobile markets to purchase healthy produce directly from Florida farmers.

At participating locations, FAB matches or discounts what a SNAP cardholder spends with FREE Fresh Access Bucks - up to $40, every day to spend on Florida-grown fruits and vegetables. Other than qualifying & receiving SNAP benefits, there is no need to sign up or do anything in advance.

While this program makes it relatively simple to participate this was a three-year process and a year-long application period. It was not easy for Cash to sign up to be apart of the program but she is dedicated to her community and the fact that her farm is on family land that has been around for generations speaks volumes.

Cash, a former nurse, saw the trend that her patients’ health issues were attributed to their lack of access to healthy fresh food and she knew that in order for this to change, she was willing to get help from her daughters Rhiannon, 15, and Lydia, 12, and literally roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.

Cash’s farm is ironically located in a food desert, which means individuals have barriers that keep them from accessing healthy fresh food. She is trying desperately to remove these obstacles and her next mission is to petition the Lake County Transit system to add a bus stop near her farm and other farms so people can access locally grown produce and SNAP recipients can double their buying power at her place and other participating locations.

Dirty Dog Organics is open during their season Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their growing and harvesting season is October through May. Dirty Dog Organics is always looking for volunteers and if you would like to help you can contact Aubrey at 352-787-4415.

I am so proud to say that I know the Cash family and their efforts to ensure that every person no matter the background is entitled to healthier food options and fresh produce makes me proud to call her friend.