Durham highlights ARPA food-security investments, double-bucks farmers'market matches and new grant round

Cooperative Extension and the county food-security coordinator briefed the board on recent and ongoing investments to expand access to healthy food. Staff recapped ARPA-supported projects that together distributed millions of pounds of food, supported grocery-market pilots in neighborhoods with limited grocery access, and funded a Double Bucks farmers-market program that matched SNAP/WIC purchases to increase nutrition and local farm revenue.

Staff described the scale of recent ARPA work: an emergency community food-assistance project delivered produce and eggs monthly to 38 pantries for nearly two years and yielded more than 1.5 million pounds of distributed food; a county double-bucks farmers-market program reported over $120,000 in matches reimbursed in 2025 and channeled more than $214,000 into the local market economy. The county's current food-security grants cycle received 55 applications totaling about $2.0M in project requests; staff will award roughly $325,000 across 20 projects mid-month after review.

Presenters also cautioned about the policy and economic context: county-level food-insecurity estimates are in the mid-teens (the presentation cited ~13.8%), national household food-security data show elevated rates for households with children, and federal policy changes have already reduced SNAP participation in some groups. "Food security means access to enough food for an active, healthy life," the food-security coordinator said, framing the county's focus on nutrition security and an emphasis on systems change alongside emergency distribution. Staff said they will continue grantmaking, strengthen pantry collaboration and use the forthcoming food-system assessment to shape longer-term resilience strategies.