Piedmont Natural Gas fighting hunger in Nashville with SNAPBack sponsorship

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  • Local SNAP recipients and farmers benefit from the extra $20 in weekly SNAP benefits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Piedmont Natural Gas today announced it will continue sponsoring “SNAPBack,” a program that gives participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) up to an extra $20 to spend on fresh produce when they use their SNAP benefits to buy fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets.

“Residents in this community need our help to gain access to healthy foods, particularly in the summer when children do not have a free breakfast and lunch provided to them during school,” said Stephen Francescon, community relations manager for Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy. “This program has been proven to help our neighbors and our farmers, and Piedmont Natural Gas is proud to support this program and our community.”

In 2016, $11,581 in SNAPBack benefits were redeemed, meaning nearly 600 SNAP shoppers increased the amount of healthy produce they purchased to feed themselves and their families.

The Hip Donelson Community Farmers Market, administrator of the SNAPBack program, has expanded its hours to include Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. until noon, helping more Nashville residents gain access to these benefits. In total, there are farmers markets in six locations that participate in the program and operate for 26 weeks during the summer months beginning Friday, May 5:

  • Hip Donelson Community Farmers Market – 2730 Lebanon Road (Ace Hardware Parking Lot), Fridays, 4 - 7 p.m.    

  • Hip Donelson Farmers Market at Music Valley – 2416 Music Valley Drive Saturdays, 9 a.m. - noon. 

  • East Nashville Farmers Market – 1500 Davidson St., Nashville, TN 37206 (located in Shelby Park by the playground), Wednesdays, 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.

  • Richland Park Farmers Market – 4711 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. - noon.

  • 12 South Farmers Market – 3000 Granny White Pike (Sevier Park), Tuesdays, 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.

  • Amqui Station Farmers Market in Madison – 301 B Madison Street, Sundays, noon - 3 p.m.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a North Carolina corporation, is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than a million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Piedmont provides a foundation for establishing a broader strategic natural gas infrastructure platform within Duke Energy to supplement and complement the previous natural gas pipeline investments and the natural gas business located in the Midwest.

Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com

The Duke Energy News Center serves as a multimedia resource for journalists and features news releases, helpful links, photos and videos. Hosted by Duke Energy, illumination is an online destination for stories about people, innovations, and community and environmental topics. It also offers glimpses into the past and insights into the future of energy.

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Media contact: Stacey Perrow

Office: 704.731.4102 I 24-hour: 877.348.3612

stacey.perrow@duke-energy.com