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Fine Fare Supermarkets to help SNAP recipients Get the Good Stuff

Program in New York City offers incentives to buy fresh produce

Russell Redman

December 3, 2019

3 Min Read
Fine Fare Supermarket-storefront.jpg
Fine Fare and retail tech partner STCR will pilot the Get the Good Stuff incentive program at three of the grocer's stores in New York City.Fine Fare Supermarkets

New York City grocer Fine Fare Supermarkets is participating in Get the Good Stuff, a produce incentive program for beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.

Under the initiative, announced Tuesday, Fine Fare customers using SNAP benefits to buy eligible fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit, vegetables and beans will get additional money to purchase more of these items. For each dollar spent using SNAP benefits on eligible produce and beans, shoppers will receive another dollar that can go toward buying up to $50 more in produce per day.

Participants in the Get the Good Stuff pilot include Fine Fare, retail technology partner STCR and The Fund for Public Health in New York City, on behalf of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Plans call for the program to kick off on April 30, 2020, and run through April 20, 2021. Funding is approved through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

New York-based Fine Fare, whose parent is Retail Grocers Group, is the first retailer participant and will offer Get the Good Stuff benefits at two stores in the Bronx (459 East 149th St. and 3550 White Plains Road) and one in Jamaica (8945 163rd St.) in Queens.

Endwell, N.Y.-based STCR, which announced the pilot, developed the loyalty program at Fine Fare that will incorporate the Get the Good Stuff incentive. STCR noted that its team spent months working with Fine Fare owner Frank Pimentel and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to program the system, designate eligible items, set requirements and create reports to track the initiative’s progress.

Related:USDA aims to close SNAP automatic eligibility ‘loophole’

“We have heard all positive reviews of the program so far, and STCR is happy to be partners with Frank and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on this new exciting initiative,” Farrell McKenna, general manager at STCR, said in a statement. “We are looking forward to continuing to provide value to Frank’s store, the grocers of New York and a continued partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.”

Low-income zip codes have 25% fewer chain supermarkets and 1.3 times as many convenience stores versus middle-income zip codes, STCR reported, citing a national study conducted by nonprofit The Food Trust and research firm PolicyLink. That dearth of access to healthy food and fresh fruit and vegetables creates a challenge for busy families with few resources and transportation options.

STCR said the Fund for Public Health in New York City will continue to seek more store locations to participate in Get the Good Stuff and work with the Department of Health to implement the program.

Related:USDA starts test of SNAP online purchases in New York

To participate in the program, stores must have a maximum of 50,000 square feet of retail space, be located in a New York City ZIP code where more than 20% of the population lives below the federal poverty level, be authorized to accept SNAP, demonstrate at least $1 million in SNAP sales for the previous year, be able to process electronic benefits transfer (EBT) transactions.

In addition, stores must sell a variety of fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils without added salt, sugar, fat or oil; not sell or market tobacco products; and be willing to explore opportunities to procure and sell locally grown produce. They also must use an electronic point-of-sale system and be able to adapt it to identify produce items eligible for incentives and use customer loyalty technology to distribute and redeem fruit and vegetable incentives.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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