Audible Bucks Program supports Newark YMCA Children, Families & Adults

Audible is taking on food insecurity by launching a pilot program to provide 400 Newark residents with a $75 weekly stipend that can be used at restaurants, grocers, and pharmacies downtown.

Audible, the Amazon subsidiary that is the world’s largest producer of audiobooks, this week announced the six-month pilot program in which it will distribute debit cards to needy Newark residents. The cards, called Audible Bucks, can be used at participating stores downtown, many of which have struggled during the pandemic —pizzerias, restaurants, cafes, pharmacies, and grocers.

The program aims to help students, a demographic that is often overlooked in efforts to combat poverty. Audible has teamed up with Rutgers University-Newark, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the YMCA of Newark and FOCUS, the community center that serves Latinos to select applicants.

Aisha Glover, the vice president for Urban Innovation at Audible, said the program is based on the City of Newark’s guaranteed income pilot, known as the Newark Movement for Economic Policy. The program puts money into the hands of people who need it and will spend it locally, she said.

“Many residents and businesses are still recovering economically from the pandemic and Audible is proud to fund this impactful program to help their journey,” she said.

Universities and community groups selected Newark residents who were 18 or older and demonstrated food insecurity or financial need.

The debit cards are being developed by MoCaFi, a Black-owned financial services company that is currently at work on a similar pilot program in the City of Paterson.

Published: Nov. 11, 2021, 7:00 a.m. by NJ.com