Farmers market to offer Harvest Bucks for fruits, vegetables

FARMINGTON – Participants receiving Maine Supplemental Nutrition Assistance will be able to acquire extra food when they shop at the local farmers market, thanks to a program that will also allow customers to use credit and debit cards for all vendors.

The Harvest Bucks program, organized by the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets, is offered in 30 markets across the state. According to Erica Emery of Rustic Roots Farm, it will be the first time Harvest Bucks have been offered in Franklin County. The program took two years of work to find a partner and set up

The Saturday Farmington Farmers’ Market will be offering Harvest Bucks next Saturday, July 7, through a partnership with the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, which will act as the fiscal sponsor for the program. Local-area recipients of SNAP will be able to spend that money at the market and will receive an equal amount of “Harvest Bucks” which can be used to purchase fruit and vegetables. This effectively lets the customer double their SNAP purchases.

Customers will likely be given a list of their purchases to be taken to a tent manned by a United Way volunteer where the SNAP funds can be collected. Additionally, Emery noted, all customers can use their credit and debit cards with that same machine. Previously, some vendors accepted credit cards while others did not.

“It’s really like building a new shopping experience for everyone,” Emery said. “It will look and feel very different. And awesome.”

For farmers at the market, the program provides the economic boost of adding a new population to their customer base. For the customers, Harvest Bucks can provide access to local, healthy food.

The Saturday Farmington Farmers’ Market is held every Saturday in the district court parking lot on Main Street from 9 a.m. to noon. It features 10 or so permanent vendors, Emery said, with another couple of guest vendors week-to-week. The market is open at that location until the end of October.

In addition to the Harvest Bucks, United Way Community Resource Coordinator Nichole Ernest said, the transaction tent will provide space for United Way to offer information about community resources and a collection of associated applications.

Harvest Bucks aren’t the only way the farmers market is helping local-area residents. Vouchers issued through the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, offered by Western Maine Community Action, can also be used at the market. WIC provides expecting mothers or the mothers of young children with funds for specific healthy foods like milk, cereals and whole grains.