BY BEN JOHNSON
Kentucky food writer and advocate Rona Roberts will host a public breakfast on Saturday, November 7: “Carbs & Caffeine for Bluegrass Double Dollars.” The breakfast is a fundraiser for Bluegrass Double Dollars, a program allowing SNAP (food stamp) recipients to double their purchasing power for buying locally grown produce at three locations: Good Foods Co-op, Lexington Farmers Market and Lexington Market East End.
Bluegrass Double Dollars seeks to improve health outcomes of those who have difficulty accessing and affording healthy food, while also boosting local farm income. As a public-private partnership, the program is partly funded by the United States Department of Agriculture but requires that communities invest in building necessary funds.
This is where community supporters like Roberts come in. As a long-time writer on Kentucky food and local food systems for her blog, Savoring Kentucky, she said a thriving local food scene is a must:
“It’s basic homeland security. If we can feed ourselves—and we definitely can—we are safer and healthier. The self-reliance and resilience that we will gain from learning how to grow our food and feed all our neighbors means we can weather economic ups and downs, and even thrive when the larger, industrial-scale food system runs into trouble of any kind.”
On top of building a robust local food economy, Bluegrass Double Dollars offers healthy and affordable options to SNAP recipients, a group likely to be more obese and less healthy than the national average.
SNAP users who make a purchase of at least $10 at the Lexington Farmers’ Market or Good Foods Co-op will receive a voucher for $10. SNAP users who make a purchase of at least $5 at Lexington Market East End will receive a $5 voucher. The vouchers can then be used toward buying locally produced fruits and vegetables.
For those interested in attending the fundraiser, “Carbs & Caffeine for Bluegrass Double Dollars,” click here for details.
Roberts’ breakfast will feature different sorghum varieties from national championship sorghum-maker Country Rock (Woodford County) and several different coffees from local roaster Magic Beans, as well as different styles of biscuits. Sorghum is a vital part of Kentucky’s rich culinary tradition.
“Fun, good smells, good tastes, and a direct connection to a taste that is utterly Kentucky: freshly made sorghum, Kentucky butter, homemade biscuits, and exquisite coffee,” will be on the menu Roberts says.
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