Nourished by Connection: A DUFB Participant’s Story

In 2024, one CSA member joined her local farm, Upriver Organics, during a major life transition, having left the workforce due to a disability. Through PNWCSA’s Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program, she discovered a way to make fresh, healthy food both affordable and accessible.

“I was able to join because I’d discovered that PNWCSA would provide EBT (SNAP) users with affordable access to membership through the DUFB program, and I seized the opportunity to improve my household’s health and diet,” she wrote.

Her CSA delivers produce to a nearby pickup site, which is accessible and adaptable to her needs. “It gave me close access to fresh, local produce without the stress of trying to navigate a farmer’s market or arrange transport from a farm or store.”

“I’ve lived with some level of food scarcity for most of my life,” she shared. “Access to fresh, nutritious food is a challenge that remains at the forefront of our most vulnerable communities. Transport and disability can create barriers in access that often go unseen.”

She finds a deep connection through her CSA. “During turbulent and unpredictable challenges, the local farm I joined consistently delivers organic food that nourishes the laborers and earth that produces it, as well as the consumers and community who depend on it. Programs like the partnership with DUFB and PNWCSA resolve to create abundance and connection, providing nourishment.”

Each week, her farm’s newsletter brings reassurance and gratitude: “We’re nourished by the special bonds created when we gather to share a crop on tables across a community with recipes we’ve explored or stories shared. The benefits we use to feed ourselves benefit not only our household’s physical health, but the health of our local economy, ecosystem, and community.”

Stories like this are at the heart of why PNWCSA exists. When we help families access fresh, local food through Double Up Food Bucks, we’re not just supporting individual households; we’re investing in a more resilient and equitable food system. Every contribution to PNWCSA strengthens the connection between farmers and the communities they feed, ensuring that good food remains within reach for everyone.

You can help support this work by donating here.

Photos by Shawn Linehan.