Additional Incentives Roundtable

An inspiring panel on the power of additional incentives paired with SNAP programs at Farmers Markets with Erin Molnar (Produce Perks Midwest), Amanda Osborne (Ohio State University Extension), Richard
McCarthy (Think like Pirates) and Jackie Hammond-Williams (PoP Club). The panel discusses all things additional incentives — what it takes to run a program, challenges, partnerships, and first steps.

Beyond SNAP: Incentives for WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Farmers Market Coalition is pleased to offer its second practitioner paper published through the Nutrition Incentive Hub, “Beyond SNAP: Incentives for Voucher and Coupon Programs,” by Erin Molnar and Amanda Osborne . Though SNAP incentives support the needs of many, hunger persists just outside the income threshold for eligibility. As a response, Countryside Food and Farms and the Ohio State University Extension each developed a pilot program to test an additional incentive based on WIC FMNP eligibility. By using WIC FMNP as a basis to determine incentive participants, market leaders were able to include shoppers who are ineligible for SNAP benefits but could still face economic barriers to local food access.Molnar and Osborne describe the design and implementation for each of their pilots, explore the benefits of local partnerships and innovative marketing, and share lessons learned through their own data collection and evaluation. Ultimately, their programs reach new customers and increase the effectiveness of incentives already in place.

State Funding Round Table

In this roundtable session recorded in February of 2021, network leaders with experience obtaining state-level funding for nutrition incentives share their insights and experiences around the process of executing a campaign.

This panel grew out of the work that the Farmers Market Coalition has done in 2020-21 with panelists Molly Notarianni, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Fund and Elizabeth Borst, Executive Director of Virginia Community Food Connections and co-lead of Virginia Fresh Match. Molly and Elizabeth are the two authors of an upcoming practitioner paper with FMC that focuses on their 2019 campaigns to pass legislation in Oregon and Virginia respectively.

They’re joined by Adrienne Udarbe, Executive Director of Pinnacle Prevention, who has successfully campaigned for funding in Arizona, and by Alex Canepa of Fair Food Network, who provides policy support to SNAP incentive programs across the country as part of Fair Food Network’s technical assistance for the Hub. Alex has also worked on state-level policy in Michigan and Texas. Finally Frank Tamborello, Executive Director of Hunger Action LA, joins the conversation as a facilitator, moderating a conversation that focuses on partnerships across aligned agencies as an essential factor in successful state policy advocacy. Frank is a longtime collaborator with farmers markets and Nutrition Incentives programs in California, where he helped develop the Market Match program. 

Watch the roundtable below: 

This work is supported by the Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE). The NTAE is funded by Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant no. 2019-70030-30415/project accession no. 1020863 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

Local Food and Local Solutions: Advocating for No-Cost Wireless SNAP Equipment at Farm Direct Outlets

Is the cost of wireless EBT equipment and service a barrier for farmers markets and farms in your state? State SNAP processing contracts could provide a solution.

Join Kate Fitzgerald as she shares expertise on tailoring no-cost EBT equipment options in state SNAP contracts to the needs of farm direct outlets.

This webinar, provided by Farmers Market Coalition, on behalf of the Nutrition Incentive Hub, provides an overview of:

• The role of SNAP processing companies and how states contract with them
• Wireless EBT-processing equipment and service options in various states
• How to communicate effectively with the appropriate people in your state
• How organizations can provide an effective connection between farmers markets and state agencies

Presentations slides

Questions and Coffee LIVE with Richard McCarthy

Richard McCarthy of Think Like Pirates went  LIVE! On Feb 25th, we started our morning off with Questions and Coffee—a Facebook Live event. We talked with Richard about his recent paper with FMC: “The Origins of Incentives” and took live questions from viewers.

Missed the fun? Enjoy the recording of the live conversation below. Stay up to date with more events like this on the FMC upcoming events page. Make sure to like our Facebook page to find out about our next Questions and Coffee live event!

Farmers markets as a strategy for improving food environments pp 54-60

When designed effectively, supported by knowledge and an
understanding of the food-environment concept, government
policy and fiscal measures can positively influence what food
is available to consumers and lead to healthier dietary choices.
The food-environment concept, for example, has been crucial
to understanding and tackling food insecurity and food apartheid, as
described in this chapter.

Farmers Market Metrics Resources

Find relevant collection and reporting resources for FMC’s Farmers Market Metrics program

Oregon Farmers Market Association 2020 Census Results

Oregon Farmers Market Association recently released results from its 2020 census of farmers markets in a webinar titled “What Happened at Oregon Farmers Markets in 2020.” This presentation holds interesting stats about sales, attendance, and vendor level trends. It also dives into subjects like how Oregon farmers markets responded to COVID-19, widespread wildfires, and calls for racial justice in their communities during 2020.

Click the image below to watch a recording of the webinar.

Access the full presenter slides here.

EBT Tech Bytes: Device Category Overview

FMC presents Tech Bytes: quick sessions covering topics on technology, especially pertaining to EBT.

Our first session provides a brief scan of the three categories of point-of-sale devices: wired, wireless, and mobile, as well as discusses the emergence of loyalty card systems that may eventually help markets replace token-based models. For a downloadable PDF with content from this presentation, look at the slides or read further on the EBT Device Category Overview.

If you’d like to share your market’s device or insights, please reach out to Katie@farmersmarketcoalition.org.

EBT Point of Sale Device: Categories Overview

EBT Point of Sale Device Category Overview

This document will help you familiarize yourself with the categories of devices available – wired, wireless, and mobile, and help you start your search for the right device based on your cellular connectivity needs. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it a recommendation – these devices are examples of what we see commonly occurring in the Market and Farm Stand community.

Please refer to our Market Discovery Process to dive deeper into factors that may influence your technology choice. If you are seeking free or low cost EBT equipment, there are several states offering Free Wireless EBT Equipment to eligible markets and farmers — refer to our nationwide state-by-state guide for more information on what your state’s program offers, but remember, choosing the technology that works for your market before looking at cost is vital to your market’s EBT program.

If you’d like to share your market’s device or insights, please reach out to Katie@farmersmarketcoalition.org.