WEAR News 3: New ‘Florida Fresh Dollars’ program offers $20 grocery aid for those in need

by Aria Surka

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Feeding Florida has rolled out a new incentive program called “Florida Fresh Dollars” — a simple way to get $20 toward your grocery bill.

“They fill out a really brief five-question survey, and that determines qualification,” Fresh Access Bucks Assistant Heather Henderson said. “There are two questions on there to determine food insecurity, and then three questions to just give us some demographic background so that we can better serve folks in the state.”

In return, participants receive four $5 vouchers. The goal is to reach people who fall through the cracks — those who do not qualify for SNAP, but still need help.

“They are households that are above the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford the basics for where they live,” Henderson said. “They’re making hard decisions between repairing their car or being able to buy groceries for the week.”

Locally, “The Farm” on Mobile Highway is the only business participating.

“We are judgment-free and we’re all about making sure there’s a respectful, comfortable atmosphere for them to shop,” The Farm owner Sandy Veilleux said. “We’re just excited to promote it and excited to be a part of it.”

Participants can fill out the survey once per day that the location is open.

The Farm is open Thursday through Sunday — that’s $80 per week in Florida-grown fresh produce.

“There’s an insane number of young children going hungry. The demographic is just staggering,” Veilleux said. “I’m really worried about the golden age generation, making sure that they’re fed as the areas and the food banks and the feeding centers are getting cut back.”

“For us, we make sure that no matter who you receive gets the most of what they can do, no matter what they come in with,” she added.

Not only does it help get food on the table, but it also helps the local farmers.

“It’s a different income stream for farmers. Every dollar that’s being spent is being spent towards produce grown in Florida by our Florida farmers,” Veilleux said. “We’re really excited to be able to have another program that gets money into farmers’ pockets for the produce that they grow.”

There are currently 11 businesses statewide participating in this program.

Feeding Florida hopes to expand the program further.

Story was originally published January 7, 2026 by WEAR News 3. To see the original story, go to https://weartv.com/news/local/new-florida-fresh-dollars-program-offers-20-grocery-aid-for-those-in-need