A farmer’s market for everyone: How Seattle is getting fresh

There’s a locally grown incentive program in Seattle that is not only giving families access to healthier food—it’s also providing the farms that grow it a much-needed boost to their earnings.

The Fresh Bucks program, a partnership between the City of Seattle, the Washington State Farmers Market Association and participating farmers markets, launched in seven Seattle farmers markets in 2012, with the help of a $60,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

The program works by matching Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) card values dollar-for-dollar, up to $10 per cardholder in each market, every day. The extra funds allow low-income shoppers to buy twice as many fruits and vegetables with their limited food dollars. In addition to helping shoppers, participating markets saw an 86 percent increase in SNAP transactions in the first year of the program—helping to organically grow the local economy. In fact, the USDA estimates that every $1 of SNAP food stamp benefits results in $1.79 in economic stimulus.

Fast-forward to 2014, and Fresh Bucks has been so successful that they were able to extend their season from 4 months to 8. That means more time to get more fresh produce to more people. Plus, it’s a healthy dose of revenue for Washington farmers. And, we’re proud to be a part of that.

For more information, visit: http://www.wafarmersmarkets.com/foodaccess/ freshbucks.html.

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