Mullis Center For Fresh Bucks

The Mullis Center needs your help to raise funds for Fresh Bucks, a food security program that connects lower-income community members to food grown and produced on San Juan Island. Lower-income community members are eligible for this program, which is designed to improve their health and nutritional status by providing access to fresh, healthy food. This program also supports local farming and food production by increasing the dollars spent at the San Juan Island Farmers Market.

Please support some of our most vulnerable community members by donating to the Fresh Bucks program today.

Fresh Bucks is a program of the Nourish to Flourish Coalition, a community-based group committed to addressing food insecurity on San Juan Island. The Coalition is made up of several social service organizations, including the Mullis Center. Together, Coalition members are raising funds to support food security through the Fresh Bucks program. 

In 2024, the Fresh Bucks program provided up to a $40 benefit to each registered participant on each Farmers Market day, from Memorial Day through September. The program served 192 low-income families or 318 individual community members, 60% of whom were seniors and/or disabled adults. 

Based on statistics from our local food bank, our community has seen a 152% increase in household food insecurity in the last three years. We expect those numbers to increase significantly in 2025 and beyond. The issue of ever-expanding food insecurity in our community is the reason we are raising funds for Fresh Bucks, and it is why your support is needed more than ever before. 

The Coalition’s goal for 2025 is to operate the Fresh Bucks program year-round, beginning this Memorial Day weekend. Our plan is to distribute $20-$40 in Fresh Bucks to each qualifying household per Market Day throughout the year, to buy locally grown fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, bread, and seeds & plants that produce food. The Coalition needs to raise $60,000 - $75,000 to make this plan a reality.

As a key Coalition member and Fresh Bucks program partner, the Mullis Center is committed to raising $10,000 for the 2025 Fresh Bucks program. We are seeking donations during the Giving Tuesday Campaign in support of Fresh Bucks and its senior and disabled adult clients. Fresh Bucks depends entirely on donations, and 100% of every donation dollar goes to providing food security for our San Juan Island community members in need. 

Thank you for your support!