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nutrition assistance

Stretching your food dollars at the farmers’ market: nutrition assistance programs for seniors, WIC participants, and SNAP shoppers

July 20, 2021 By marketeditor

By Madison Jackson

Ensuring that fresh, local, and healthy foods are accessible to the local community is a top priority for farmers’ markets. Thankfully, there are various programs available that can help bridge the gap.

Farmers’ market EBT coins, photo by Pattie Garrett

Year-round at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s Wednesday and Saturday markets, customers who own an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card can exchange their SNAP benefits for farmers’ market tokens to purchase fresh foods, including fruit and vegetables, bread and baked goods, meat, fish, and poultry, dairy products, honey and maple products, and value- added foods like soup mixes, sauces, and jams and jellies. Herb plants and plants that produce food are also approved purchases with EBT coins.

The market additionally offers two SNAP incentive programs between which customers can choose with each transaction to get the most bang for their buck. The FreshConnect program, run by New York State, offers an extra $2 coupon to spend on SNAP items for every $5 a customer spends with their EBT benefits. Double Up Food Bucks, administered by Field & Fork Network and new at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market this season, matches SNAP benefits dollar-for-dollar (up to $20 per market day) with extra tokens that can be spent on fruits, vegetables, and produce-bearing plants. FreshConnect runs year-round, while the Double Up Food Bucks season runs July through October.

FMNP poster, photo by Pattie Garrett

More seasonally, the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is a New York State program that offers WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) participants and seniors coupons to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables at the farmers’ market. Our local WIC office distributes WIC coupons. Senior coupons will be distributed by the Saratoga County Office for the Aging on-site at the Saratoga market on Saturday, August 7th (9 am-1 pm) and Wednesday, August 11th (3-5 pm) at High Rock Park. The Office for the Aging will also distribute the coupons at the Clifton Park market on Monday, July 26th (2-5 pm) and Monday, August 16th (2-5 pm) at the Shenendehowa United Methodist Church. Individuals aged 60+ who live on a limited income may pick up a booklet of coupons containing 5 $4.00 coupons (limit one per person).

To spend your WIC or Senior FMNP coupons at the market, look for the blue poster at participating vendors’ stalls or simply stop by the market information table for a complete list of farms accepting FMNP coupons. The FMNP season runs from June through October, after which unused coupons expire.

Utilizing the available nutrition assistance programs is a win-win-win situation. Low-income consumers have more access to healthy foods, local farmers gain income and connect with new customers, and more food dollars stay in the local economy.

This week’s recipe: Summer Vegetable Stir Fry

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: coupons, Double Up Food Bucks, EBT, Farmers Market Nutrition Program, Field & Fork Network, FMNP, FreshConnect, matching, nutrition assistance, seniors, SNAP, SNAP Benefits, WIC

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Do you live in the City of Saratoga Springs? If y Do you live in the City of Saratoga Springs?  If you do please vote for us to become part of this special city funding so that we can add a Fresh Tent to our Market. 
This funding will allow us to provide a FRESH TENT that will include not just the supplies to make it happen, but taste testings and recipes for the community, education for children and a $2 coupon when we host the Fresh Tent which will be for 8 weeks in duration.
We need your support to make this happen and appreciate everyone who takes the time to vote for the Saratoga Farmers' Market.
#saratogafarmersmarket #saratogafarmersmarket🔆
We are here today! Amazing music … fantastic ve We are here today!  Amazing music … fantastic vendors … added crafters … and we’re here until 1:30!
#saratogafarmersmarket
We are excited about tomorrow's Holiday Craft Fair We are excited about tomorrow's Holiday Craft Fair  at Wilton Mall in the food court.
Here are some of the vendor highlights. We look forward to seeing you from 9:30 to 1:30 to celebrate the holidays.
* Hepatica Farm: Holiday Egg Sale: get 2 dozen of our Pastured Certified Organic Eggs for $12 or 1 dozen for $8. We also have ground chicken.
* Muddy Trail: We have 8 varieties including Alphabet Soup, Fiesta Chicken Tortilla, Ginger Scallion Ramen, Spinach Tortellini & more.  Serves 6-8! 
* Mugzy's Barkery: Mugzy's Barkery offers a variety of gift items. Pre-orders for Custom Bones begin now!  Text 518-573-0400, message us on fb or insta, or email  mugzysbarkery@gmail.com 
* Jireh Organic Farms & Livestock: Purchase $40 of meat - get Non-GMO Eggs half price!  GMO Free Pork: Bacon, Hams, Tenderloins, Hot Italian Sausage links, Breakfast Sausage, Ground Pork, Hocks, Organs and more!! GMO Free Chickens (whole & cut-ups), soup parts, feet for bone broth / collagen, livers, etc....
* Owl Wood Farm: Come out this Saturday to get delicious greens for the week. We still have a full selection. We plan to be attending a couple more markets so stock up on bulk root bags.
* Saratoga Peanut Butter:pick up our Classic and Holiday gift sets.
* Squash Villa Farm: Find us INSIDE starting this Saturday with our delicious meats and more.
* Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm: Scotch Ridge will have our farm made all natural Christmas decorations available just outside the main market entrance each Saturday until Christmas. 
* Vashti's Kitchen Delights: Come and enjoy the fusion of Caribbean and American flavors at Vashti's Kitchen Delights. Our authentic cuisine is prepared with fresh herbs and spices! 
* Nally Coffee: Get a FREE cup of coffee with your purchase of any 1lb bag of coffee!
* Lovin’ Mama Farms: Happy December!  We have 5 greenhouses loaded with greens and potted herbs, and coolers full of storage roots.  It's amazingly fun and creative to eat local this time of year with seasonal greens and root veggies. 
* Hebron Valley Meats: We will be missing the farmers market this week but look forward to seeing everyone at the 12/9 market. 
#saratogafarmersmarket
This weekend discover fabulously fresh products fo This weekend discover fabulously fresh products for all of your holiday baking…
* Buttermilk and Greek yogurt from Argyle Cheese Farmer.
* Honey, which makes a fantastic sweetener in many recipes, can be found at Ballston Lake Apiaries and Slate Valley Farms, as can maple syrup, which you can also find at Slate Valley Farms.
* Applesauce, cider, and fresh apples are always available at Saratoga Apple; equally good alternative sweeteners to consider, and applesauce can be an excellent replacement for oils in many recipes.
* Looking for deliciously locally made jams that are perfect for thumbprint cookies, Linzer cookies, and anything jam-filled? Visit Kokinda Farm.
* Consider making your peanut butter cookies pop this holiday season with unique flavors from Saratoga Peanut Butter.
* Are you making Tiramisu? Grab locally fresh-roasted coffee from Nally Coffee.
* And, of course, there are fresh farm eggs at Hepatica Farm, Grazin’ Acres Farm, and Jireh Organic Farm & Livestock.
* Is bread pudding on your holiday menu? Grab that main bread base from Katie Bakes Gluten-Free, NightWork Bread, or The Bread Butler.
* And check out Muddy Trail and their Perpetual Vanilla; it’s fantastic. They also have nine convenient baking mixes to browse and explore!
If you don’t want to bake, that’s A-OK, too! The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has the non- baker, ‘need a break,’ or ‘need something quick’ covered too. Just visit one of the pre-
made sweet treat vendors;
Goodway Gourmet
Katie Bakes Gluten-Free
NightWork Bread
Parchment Baking Company
Sweet Treats by Jennifer
Perogi, Pierogi, Pyroogi
#saratogafarmersmarket #saratogafarmersmarket🔆 #bakingseasonhasbegun #holidaybakingbegins #locallymadegoods

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