Fresh Bucks Vouchers Application
Fresh Bucks makes healthy food more affordable for Seattle residents. Participants enrolled in Fresh Bucks Vouchers receive $40 in Fresh Bucks Vouchers benefits per month to purchase fruits and vegetables at any participating Fresh Bucks retailer.
The 2020 Fresh Bucks application closed on March 31, 2020. Fresh Bucks does not take applications year-round. The next application cycle will open in summer 2021 and additional information will be shared at that time.
All 2020 Fresh Bucks Public Lottery applicants were entered into a random lottery. Applicants who were not selected through the lottery process are on a waitlist. If additional funding is made available, Fresh Bucks automatically enrolls waitlist applicants into the program in order of lottery number. Applicants receive a letter in the mail if we are able to enroll them. Learn more about the lottery process.
Are You Eligible?
Anyone can apply for Fresh Bucks Vouchers. When you submit an application, the system will let you know if you are eligible within seconds.
You are eligible for Fresh Bucks Vouchers if:
- You live within the City of Seattle limits (check here) and
- Your household income is at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI). See the AMI table.
| # in Household | 80% AMI |
|---|---|
| 1 | $ 61,800 |
| 2 | $ 70,600 |
| 3 | $ 79,450 |
| 4 | $ 88,250 |
| 5 | $ 95,350 |
| 6 | $ 102,400 |
| 7 | $ 109,450 |
| 8 | $ 116,500 |
| 9 | $ 123,550 |
| 10 | $ 130,650 |
How to Apply
You can apply for 2020 Fresh Bucks Vouchers in one of two ways:
Public Lottery Application
Community-Based Enrollment
All eligible, unduplicated applications received between March 2 and March 31, 2020 will be entered into a public lottery. Your chances of being selected in the lottery are the same, whether you apply online or over the phone.
We partner with local community-based organizations and health clinics who work with historically underserved communities most impacted by food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease to enroll eligible people into Fresh Bucks Vouchers. The enrollment period has ended.
Application Requirements
You will need the following information to complete an application:
Household Size
Household Income
Seattle Resident Address
Public Lottery Application
The Lottery Process
All eligible, unduplicated applications received by 11:59 p.m. March 31, 2020 will be entered into a public lottery. Your chances of being selected in the lottery are the same, whether you apply online or over the phone.
Once you submit an application, you will get a reference number. Do not lose your reference number.
Fresh Bucks prioritizes enrollment through community-based enrollment (see below for more details). A total of 7,500 applicants will be enrolled for 2020 Fresh Bucks Vouchers. There are a total of 1,900 enrollment spots available through the Public Lottery enrollment. A computer-generated randomized selection process conducted by a third party will be used to randomly select program recipients. Each applicant is assigned an “unfiltered” randomized ranking between 1 and the total number of applicants. (For example, in a lottery with 10,000 applicants, each applicant is randomly assigned a number between 1 and 10,000).
All applicants will be notified of their application status by mail by May 15, 2020.
When Will You Know You’re Enrolled?
All applicants will be notified of their status by mail on or before May 15, 2020.
Application timeline:
Dec – Feb
Community-Based
Enrollment
Mar 2 – Mar 31
Public Lottery
Application
May
All Applicants Notified of
Enrollment Status
June
2020 Fresh Bucks
Benefits Start
Dec – Feb
Community-Based
Enrollment
Mar 2 – Mar 31
Public Lottery
Application
May
All Applicants Notified
of Enrollment Status
June
2020 Fresh Bucks
Benefits Start
Public Lottery Waitlist
Public Lottery applicants who are not selected through the lottery process to receive 2020 Fresh Bucks Vouchers benefits will either be placed on a waitlist according to their number in the lottery process or will not be a part of this year’s program. We will accept 9,000 applicants to the waitlist. If your number is selected, you will be automatically added to the program and we will notify you by mail.
Community-Based Enrollment
Our Approach
Guided by the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), Fresh Bucks aims to eliminate racial disparities in access to healthy foods among historically underserved communities. We do this by partnering with local community-based organizations and health clinics who work with historically underserved communities most impacted by food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease to enroll eligible people into Fresh Bucks Vouchers. People enrolled through Community-Based Enrollment do not participate in the Public Lottery.
Partnering Organizations
Eligible participants are automatically enrolled through their participating community-based organization or health clinic. Fresh Bucks works with select health providers within partnering healthcare systems to “prescribe” Fresh Bucks to existing patients. A list of participating health systems and community-based organizations is below:
Community-Based Organizations
- Atlantic Street Center
- Casa Latina
- Children’s Home Society of Washington
- Got Green
- Horn of Africa Services
- InterIm CDA
- Lake City Collective
- Latino Community Fund
- Somali Health Board
- Villa Comunitaria
- United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Health Clinics
Fresh Bucks is available for existing patients only. If you are a current patient at one of the health clinics listed below, check with your healthcare provider to see if they participate in Fresh Bucks. Partnering health clinics are not system-wide referral partners. Not all providers in these health systems participate in Fresh Bucks Vouchers.
- Harborview Medical Center: Ambulatory Care Clinics
- Kaiser Permanente: Capitol Hill Clinic, Rainier Clinic, Teen Clinic and select WIC Clinics
- NeighborCare
- Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
- Public Health Seattle King County: Access & Outreach, Metro ORCA Lift Office
- Seattle Indian Health Board
Questions about how to apply? Contact us here or call 206.684.2489.