Oh, SNAP: The Challenges of Connecting Low-Income People With Farmers Markets

​As of April 2010, there were over 40 million people enrolled in SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, AKA the program formerly known as Food Stamps). If that sounds like a lot, it is: 1 out of 8 Americans, with enrollment setting a new record number each month since December 2008.

Despite the fact that both the number of people enrolled in SNAP and the number of farmers markets accepting SNAP has gone up over the last few years, an independent national study of farmers markets released last week shows that there are still big challenges in connecting SNAP users, who have limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables, with farmers markets that overflow with fresh produce.

According to the report, released by the Community Food Security Coalition and Farmers Market Coalition, less than than 20 percent of farmers markets nationwide have EBT card terminals. (EBT, which stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer, are the SNAP identification cards. Like debit cards, they come with a magnetized strip and a PIN, and must be swiped in order to redeem benefits.) While the number is growing, in 2009 SNAP transactions at farmers markets accounted for just .008% of total SNAP transactions nationwide--that's 25 times less than what American consumers spent at farmers markets last year.

Foodies like to talk about the ubiquity of farmers markets, but the report found that many SNAP shoppers (remember, that's 1 in 8 Americans) are not even aware of the existence of farmers markets, let alone that a growing number of markets accept EBT cards. Even when farmers markets do become SNAP-authorized retailers, barriers such as cultural and language obstacles, limited or inconvenient hours, transportation, and the perceptions that farmers market prices are higher, persist.

It's not hard to see what these barriers look like in the real world here in Seattle. I shop regularly at the Central District Grocery Outlet on MLK, whose parking lot also happens to be the site of the Friday afternoon Madrona Farmers Market. By my (admittedly casual) observation, there isn't much crossover between the two. On Friday afternoons, the parking lot looks like the space between two parallel worlds, with different clientele coming and going. I've also heard a few Grocery Outlet shoppers grumble about the expensive meat and potatoes being sold in the parking lot.

Just now, while trying to figure out which Seattle farmers markets accept SNAP/EBT, I looked at two different websites (already confusing) for the newly opened Georgetown Farmers Market, only one of which indicates that they accept SNAP. (And, unfortunately, there is no text explaining this, just a picture of a a Washington state EBT card posted in the right column, halfway down the page). After scouring the Queen Anne Farmers Market website for close to ten minutes, I finally found a sentence saying that this year they applied to become a SNAP redemption site.

On the plus side, all seven of the markets that make up the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance accept SNAP/EBT. Participants can swipe their EBT cards for tokens which never expire and can be used at all seven markets. The website, which clearly explains the system, states that "hundreds of SNAP users around Seattle use their benefits at a Farmers Market each week to buy fresh fruits and vegetables."

So what can be done to add to the hundreds? The report points out that farmers markets fulfill a public service by operating EBT terminals and that they should not bear the entire cost of operation. It suggests that USDA, public agencies, state groups, community-based nonprofits, and foundations help subsidize operational costs. It also suggests that farmers markets experiment with new models to address convenience, price perception, and cultural issues.