The Slow Food USA Blog

Making SNAP benefits go further at the farmers market

Posted on Tue, June 21, 2011 by Slow Food USA
6 Comments | Categories: Farms and Farming, Food Justice, Policy,

By Jesse Appelman

My neighborhood farmers market opened a few weeks ago, bringing the first local greens and asparagus of the season. In sunnier corners of the country, stone fruit and summer squash are already in (not that I’m jealous or anything). But as we celebrate the start of the market season, local produce remains an unaffordable luxury for too many.

The issue is a complex one, of course. It’s also a huge one: 1 in 7 Americans utilizes SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). One way to begin to address the barriers that exist for people to have access to farm fresh food is to make SNAP benefits usable at existing farmers markets. The USDA offers resources to help farmers markets install electronic benefits transfer (EBT) terminals, which let shoppers use food stamps instead of cash.

Some communities and organizations across the country are getting even more creative, establishing programs that make SNAP benefits worth more when they are used at farmers markets.

Here are a few of these initiatives:

Double Up Food Bucks matches up to $20 in farmers market purchases for food stamp users at participating Michigan farmers markets (in other words, shoppers spend $20 to get $40 worth of food). In just two years since launching in Detroit, foundation funding has fueled the program’s expansion to 46 market sites throughout the state.
Boston Bounty Bucks funds EBT terminals for farmers markets, trains staff in their use, and provides up to $10 in matching funds for food stamp shoppers at 21 Boston-area markets. This four-year-old program is a collaboration between The Food Project and the City of Boston, combining public and private funding to make local farm products more accessible to the city’s 82,000 food stamp participants.
The New York City Department of Health sponsors Health Bucks, offering shoppers a free $2 coupon for every $5 spent in food stamps at participating farmers markets.
All Portland, OR farmers markets have EBT stations, and the Fresh Exchange program offers a dollar-for-dollar match up to $5 at two markets in lower-income neighborhoods.
Starting this season, Evanston, IL will offer shoppers at the downtown farmers market 50 cents of credit for every $1 they spend with food stamps.

Nonprofits, local governments, and private foundations are bringing these benefits to thousands, but with 44 million Americans on food stamps, they need help. Federal funding in the upcoming Farm Bill to expand these programs to the national level, for example, could be one way to bring more healthy food to those who need it, boost business for family farms, keep more grocery dollars circulating in local economies, and build more vibrant communities by making farmers markets more accessible and affordable to all.

What’s your community doing to make farmers markets more accessible? Tell us in the comments.

Member Comments

From Tualatin Farmers Market on Tue, June 21, 2011

We have a double your dollar program, made possible by a donation from Whole Foods. We sent out notices about it in the backpacks of all the elementary kids and have left information at the library. We’ve only been open a week this season, so don’t know yet how participation will be. We hope it works!

From howardski on Wed, June 22, 2011

a good idea to make local produce more affordable for poorer families for many reasons. one it brings in more income to the farmer and two, families might develop better eating habits if vegetables become cheaper than potato chips and soft drinks. but i would wonder if poor people are the ones who benefit the most from these programs and i also wonder why farmers don’t just reduce the prices, after all if you have a certain per cent you know you are going to throw away why not take that into acct to begin with and reduce the prices and not have anything to throw away? too simple?

From Patricia on Thu, June 23, 2011

Hi howardski,

I think you make some good points. It would be great if small farmers could just lower their prices for low income folks - or for everyone. However, at the same time, small farmers have a really difficult time earning a fair living wage. I know my partner and I could qualify for SNAP benefits ourselves based upon our income. Of course, we don’t need access to food, as we already grow our own. Our market does accept SNAP benefits, my partner and I also founded an organization called Farm It Forward that seeks to provide access to health and wholesome food to food insecure populations (some low-income, some not), and we also regularly donate to our local food shuttle (at least 5-10 pounds of food each week). I think a sustainable agriculture not only includes ecological diversity, but social diversity as well. We all have access to different resources and skills. So long as we can see the big picture and how to “pay it forward” or to “Farm it Forward,” I think we’re on to doing something that’s positive for our selves and our communities.

Patricia

P.S. There are numerous reasons why potato chips and sodas are “cheaper” even though they require more labor, processing, and shipping than local agriculture. Much of this has to do with where our governments (because it is not only the U.S. contributing to this trend) spend our tax dollars (e.g., corn and soy subsidies).

From Patricia on Thu, June 23, 2011

P.P.S. After having read my post above, I realized I was not clear. My partner and I are small farmers.

From yoland on Tue, June 28, 2011

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From Amy Jeanroy on Thu, June 30, 2011

I know that as a small farmer, when I have leftover produce, etc from my market table, it does NOT get thrown out. I go home and eat it, freeze it, can it, dry it, give it away, trade it.
We also offer gleaning on our farm, that no one has yet to take advantage of.
I think it has less to do with convenience and more to do with people just not knowing how to handle food that isn’t ready to eat. They somehow think they have to be a fancy chef or have a recipe, in order to cook fresh food.