MATCHING FEDERAL NUTRITION BENEFITS
Matching (or incentivizing) federal nutrition benefits at farmers markets helps farmers, customers, and the farmers market community as a whole. While these types of programs vary from state to state, and often from market to market, the basic premise of an incentive program is to provide matching dollars to customers who spend their SNAP/EBT/P-EBT, WIC-CVB, and/or FMNP (WIC/Senior) at the market. Incentive programs can provide a dollar-for-dollar match to customers up to a certain dollar amount, such as $10, $20, or $30 dollars, per market day. In this section of the guide, we will outline the basics of implementing an incentive program at your farmers market.
Securing Funds Funding for incentive programs can come from a number of different sources including private foundations, donations from community members, fundraisers, and some local, state, and federal government grants. Creating a Currency, Implementation, and Redemption System You will need a separate market currency for incentives, as you will need to track incentive distribution and redemption separately from other payment forms. Many markets create paper vouchers or use customized tokens. You will need to set up a system to collect, document, and reimburse vendors for the tokens or vouchers shoppers have spent with them.
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