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AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry partnered this year with the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets to help cover the cost of buying SNAP processing equipment for farmers’ markets.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP — the program formerly known as food stamps — helps one in eight Mainers (mostly children and seniors) buy more food for their households. The equipment to process SNAP, which can range in cost from $300-$1,000, is prohibitively expensive for most of Maine’s small farmers’ markets, the DACF said in a news release. The partnership comes as a swift and critical response to the needs of farmers’ markets in Maine that have struggled to find affordable and reliable SNAP processing equipment in recent years.
“In Maine, most SNAP dollars are spent at big box stores and supermarkets on food produced out of state,” says Jimmy DeBiasi, director of programs at MFFM. “When local farmers receive SNAP dollars, SNAP becomes not just a program to help people afford enough food, but also an economic driver for Maine’s local food system. Food Stamps was a program founded to purchase the agricultural surplus of US farmers, and that’s what we’re helping to accomplish by supporting SNAP access at farmers’ markets across Maine.”
As SNAP access expands at Maine farmers’ markets, many markets have needed new or upgraded equipment. Since July of this year, six farmers’ markets received new SNAP processing equipment through this partnership. All of the markets offer Maine Harvest Bucks, the program that provides SNAP shoppers bonus bucks to be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Approximately 35 farmers’ markets accept SNAP in Maine. The locations provide food access points for families and seniors to purchase high quality, fresh and nutritious Maine produced food. Through this partnership, MFFM plans to continue to expand SNAP access at farmers’ markets and farm stands, with a priority on rural areas that lack fresh food outlets.
