Fresh food is for everyone. And there’s no food fresher than what’s bought straight from a farmer.
Through a program offered through the state, people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or have an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, can use those dollars to purchase products for half price at participating Farmers’ Markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs.
Granite State Market Match is a state-wide program that doubles SNAP dollars at participating CSA Farms, Farm Stands, and Farmers’ Markets in an effort to increase access to fresh fruits & vegetables.
Farmers don’t take a price cut to participate in the program – they are reimbursed through the Granite State Market Match.
The TEAM Jaffrey Community Farmers Market, held weekly from June through August, and the Sun Moon Farm CSA in Rindge both participate in the program.
Craig Jensen of Sun Moon Farm said the farm has been accepting EBT for three years now, after hearing about the program from another farmer.
“We want to be as accessible as possible to everyone,” Jensen said. “We’re interested in environmental and agricultural justice broadly, here, and this is idea is a simple way to do that.”
The TEAM Jaffrey Community Market, similarly, has participated in the program for at least five years, TEAM Jaffrey Executive Director and Market Manager Stephanie Porter said.
But both participants said while they would welcome more participants, only a handful of residents take up the offer each year.
“We’re a blue-collar town, and we have a lot of veterans. There are people that need this service, and they should be able to shop locally and comfortably, and have access to fresh food,” Porter said. “It made sense to us, knowing our demographics, to join this program. But if we get two or three people a season that makes use of it, that’s a lot.”
Jensen said that’s the case at Sun Moon Farm, too.
“We just don’t get a lot of EBT traffic,” Jensen said.
Amanda Littleton, District Manager for the Cheshire County Conservation District, said the program varies in popularity with the farms and markets that use it. Some, she said, only have a few customers using SNAP or EBT. Others have steadily grown that base after several years.
Countywide, Littleton said, in 2020 there were 1,120 transactions using SNAP or EBT at participating farms and markets. Residents used about $16,465 in SNAP at markets, farm stands or CSAs, which was matched by the Granite State Market Match.
“We certainly need more help getting the word out to people,” Littleton said. “The numbers aren’t where we’d like them to be considering how many people in total are utilizing SNAP. More than ever right now, we need to connect people to fresh produce.”
Organizers have attempted to make the process as streamlined as possible. At the TEAM Jaffrey Market, residents can trade in their SNAP or EBT dollars for tokens – worth twice the amount paid – that they can use anywhere in the market. Sellers can then return the tokens later for reimbursement from the market.
At Sun Moon Farm, CSA members usually pay for the entire season’s worth of produce at the start of the year – this is the typical model for CSAs, and allows farmers to have cash in hand to start the season, where most of their cost is carried, and to guarantee an income in case of a lean year. For EBT and SNAP customers, they pay week-to-week, paying half the cost for a week’s share.
“It’s a little more risk for us, but overall, that is very worth it to us to be able to provide this service,” Jensen said.
“It’s usually very quick and then I can get to the business of getting to know the customer over the food. It’s very easy, and then comes the wonderful thing that happens at a CSA, that exchange and community building,” Jensen said.
Porter said she doesn’t know why more residents don’t access the program – perhaps stigma or perhaps they just don’t know it’s available, she said.
“People just don’t know it’s available,” Porter said. While the Jaffrey Community Market and Sun Moon Farm are the only locations participating in the program in Jaffrey and Rindge, other markets including the Keene Farmers’ Market, also participate.
“No one should feel shame about using this program. Farmers’ Markets have about the best, fresh everything. By shopping there, you’re accessing good, fresh food and supporting your local community,” Porter said. “And it’s often less expensive.”
Littleton said there are also programs to help fill the gap for people who are not on SNAP benefits, but can’t afford a traditional CSA share. Through the Monadnock Farm Share Program, residents can get a half-priced local CSA program. Customers pay half the cost, with 25% raised through fundraising by participating farms and 25% through the Cheshire Medical Center’s Healthy Monadnock Initiative. Households earning a total of $50,000 or less in income are eligible.
Monadnock Farm Shares are still available for the Foggy Hill Farm in Jaffrey, Hungry Bear Farm in Mason and Sun Moon Farm in Rindge. There are limited number of shares available and the program is first-come, first-served. Applications are available at cheshireconservation.org/farmshare.
The Cheshire County Conservation District serves as the regional lead in the Monadnock Region to support the purchase of EBT machines for farms and markets interested in expanding access to their products. For more information about the Granite State Market Match program in Cheshire County and additional participating locations, visit cheshireconservation.org/granite-state-market-match. A full list of participating markets and CSAs is also available.
If you have questions about using this program as a SNAP customer, receiving materials to help promote this program, or are interested in signing your farm up to participate, contact Lola Bobrowski via email at Lola@cheshireconservation.org or leave a voicemail at 756-2988, ext. 3011.
The Link Lonk
May 30, 2021 at 03:07AM
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Local-CSA-and-Farmer-s-Market-accepting-SNAP-and-EBT-for-reduced-prices-on-vegetables-and-produce-40679122
SNAP, EBT can be used to access farm-fresh food this summer - Concord Monitor
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
