A win-win for local food producers and families!
Farmers’ markets are the best place to get fresh, healthy foods while also supporting the economy in your community. In recent years, markets across the country have been implementing programs to enable shoppers to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at farmers’ markets. These programs are often run alongside SNAP incentive programs which match SNAP spending at a set ratio and make shopping at markets more affordable. These programs have the added benefit of bringing more federal dollars into the local food system.
In early 2022, Merrymeeting Food Council (MFC) started working with the downtown Brunswick Farmers’ Market to assist them in implementing a SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks program at their market. The program began the second week of May 2022, and as of the market close in November had 252 transactions, and $11,121 being spent with market vendors through the program.
Building on this success, MFC worked with the Brunswick Winter Market throughout the summer to assist them in implementing a SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks Program to launch in November. With the Brunswick Winter Market adding these programs, all 5 farmers’ markets in the greater Bath-Brunswick area will be accessible for families shopping with SNAP.
The Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets (MFFM) is the administrator of the Maine Harvest Bucks (MHB) program in Maine. They work with markets across the State to implement and run SNAP and SNAP incentive programs (MHB), and were a key partner alongside MFC in implementing the new programs in Brunswick. According to MFFM, over the last five years over $80,000 dollars have been spent through SNAP and MHB at the farmers’ markets in Brunswick, Bath, and Bowdoinham. In 2021 alone, over $1.2 million was spent through SNAP and MHB programs across the State. These programs are an incredible resource to support Maine food producers and communities.
How can you help?
You can volunteer at a SNAP market booth to help keep these programs running! If interested, please contact us! Find schedules for local Farmers’ Markets here.
Donate to Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets to help maintain the match for SNAP spending enabled by the Maine Harvest Bucks program.
Talk with your local legislators about the importance of funding programs like Maine Harvest Bucks which support local food producers and increase accessibility of local food for all in our community.
Learn more about how these programs are implemented at area Farmers’ Markets and their local economic impact, through stories like this one from our partner Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (read more…).
Don’t live in this area, and want to support expansion of SNAP/MHB at your local market? Here are some resources to get you started.