The city plans to add 12 grocery stores to Get the Good Stuff, which offers a daily match for eligible fruit, vegetable and bean purchases.
By David LaGuerre
New York City plans to expand a grocery incentive program that helps SNAP recipients buy fruits, vegetables and beans, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced November 5. The city is seeking 12 additional grocery stores for Get the Good Stuff, with applications open through November 20.
The program gives participating shoppers a dollar-for-dollar match on eligible purchases made with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, up to $10 a day. The earned money can be used for future purchases of eligible foods. It is a grocery incentive, not an across-the-board increase in a household’s monthly SNAP benefit.
The expansion is being organized by the NYC Health Department and the Fund for Public Health NYC. According to the mayor’s official announcement, the program currently operates at 21 grocery stores across the city. The announcement seeks additional stores; it does not say the 12 new locations are already serving shoppers.
How the match works
A shopper earns an equal amount in incentives when spending SNAP benefits on qualifying produce, subject to the $10 daily cap. Those incentives go toward a later purchase of eligible foods. The city lists fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits, vegetables and beans without added sugar, salt or fat as qualifying foods.
That distinction matters at the checkout. A product’s location in a produce aisle or its fruit-related name does not, by itself, establish that it qualifies. Shoppers should check the participating store’s instructions and ask which items earn and redeem the incentive before completing a purchase.
Residents can use the NYC Health Map to find participating Get the Good Stuff and Health Bucks vendors. The official map is the practical starting point for checking current locations rather than assuming every grocery store accepts the match.
What grocery stores need to know
Local grocers interested in joining the expansion can review the Fund for Public Health NYC’s application information. The mayor’s announcement gives November 20 as the application deadline. Stores should consult the application materials for participation requirements, selection details and submission instructions.
The city says the expansion will bring the incentive to more neighborhood shopping locations while supporting local businesses. It has not identified the additional stores in this announcement. Residents should wait for participating locations to be confirmed before making a trip specifically to use the new expansion.
Funding and the city’s reported results
The mayor’s office says the fiscal year 2027 city budget includes $3.1 million in annual baseline funding for Get the Good Stuff. It also identifies a $5.7 million grant to the Health Department through the federal Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program as support for the expansion.
Since 2019, the program has supported $8.9 million in eligible food purchases at participating stores and generated more than $12 million in economic impact, according to the city. Those are the administration’s reported program figures, not an independent assessment by Mohawk Valley Voice.
The announcement also points to Health Department research on dietary patterns. The city reports that nearly eight in 10 adults at risk of food insecurity had difficulty affording balanced meals. The findings give context for the expansion, but they should not be read as a measurement of the new stores’ results before those stores have joined.
Get the Good Stuff is separate from Health Bucks
The city also recently announced a higher daily cap for Health Bucks, its farmers market and farm stand incentive. Health Bucks provides $2 in produce vouchers for each $2 spent in SNAP benefits. The announced daily cap increase is from $10 to $14.
These are related efforts with different shopping locations and program rules. The $14 Health Bucks cap should not be confused with the $10 Get the Good Stuff daily match described in this announcement.
What this means for Mohawk Valley readers
This expansion is a New York City initiative. It does not establish a Get the Good Stuff benefit at stores in Utica, Rome or elsewhere in the Mohawk Valley. Readers with family in the city can share the vendor map, while local households should check the specific food assistance programs available where they live.
Before shopping, confirm the participating location and the eligible foods. Keeping the store incentive separate from SNAP eligibility and from other nutrition programs will help households understand what the announcement actually offers.
Illustrations: AI-generated for Mohawk Valley Voice. The featured image is a fictional conceptual scene, not a documentary photograph.