THE GORGE — Last year was the most successful yet for the Gorge Grown Snap Match program, which grew like a weed, bringing fresh vegetables to those whose post-COVID-19 SNAP benefits can't cover the cost of good food alone.
In 2023, the program provided 211 new SNAP shoppers with matches to help offset the end of COVID-19 benefits. The growing program brought $72,698 into Hood River Farmers Market's economy in what Hannah Ladwig, farmers market operations director communications and outreach director at Gorge Grown Food Network, called an economic “triple win.”
Customers who spend $20 in SNAP EBT receive up to an additional $40 from the Gorge Grown program. Emergency SNAP allotments were cut in March 2023, ending a temporary increase in benefits during COVID-19.
“We also heard from folks like, ‘I was able to buy a box of peaches for the first time in my life for my family’ ... I mean, we buy a box of peaches every week in our household, and sometimes don’t think twice about the privilege that comes with that,” Ladwig admitted. “I don’t think local food should be a privilege, I think that should be accessible to everyone.”
“It’s not only helping individuals and families in need, but it’s also a really important economic driver and helps ... increase the bottom line for our local farmers, and then helps build a more robust local economy,” Ladwig said.
Ladwig said federal nutrition assistance has fallen to the lowest amount in three years, while grocery store prices remain above historical averages since 2022.
“We had over 200 new customers using SNAP this year,” she said. “I think it’s a combination of folks wanting to be able to stretch their EBT dollars, and also folks learning about the accessibility of the farmer’s market now.” The growing market sees an average of 45 vendors, with more than 50 in peak season.
Emergency Covid-19 allotments provided all SNAP-receiving households with an additional $95 above the maximum benefit allowed by their household size, or an increase up to that maximum benefit if they were below it, according to the USDA. About 427,940 Oregon households received SNAP as of October 2023.
Average household benefits fell to $300, but some customers reported their SNAP fell to $20, Ladwig said. That isn’t a huge help without a match program.
“When I first started at Gorge Grown like 10-plus years ago, it was like a $5 match,” said Ladwig. Later it increased to $15. When Ladwig joined the Farmers Market Fund board, she saw an opportunity to expand the program further.
In 2023, for the first time, the state-wide nonprofit Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) provided a $20 fruit and vegetable incentive for Hood River Market SNAP users, and Gorge Grown upped its own SNAP match to $20, funded by donations and sponsorships.
“A $5, $10, $15, even, isn’t sometimes enough incentive to come down to the market. But if you’re able to kind of triple your money, that’s a lot more,” Ladwig said. “And so I think that really enticed folks to try shopping at the market and obviously, we saw people come back week after week.”
Although farmers markets produce is seen as expensive, prices here haven’t risen at the same rate as grocery-store prices, Ladwig said. The costs groceries face, like increased gas prices — their produce is shipped an average of 1500 miles in seven days — don’t impact markets as much. Without the necessity of transport and storage, farmers' markets often field fresher, higher-quality food, Ladwig said.
“It was a really robust program this year, and we’re aiming to continue it. But it was really kind of amazing to be able to offer that support, to see that money spent at the market. And to just see this program really, really grow,” Ladwig said.
In 2023, customers spent $27,837 in SNAP dollars at the market, a 95% increase from the year before. Fruit and vegetable sales went up 20%. “Each year, we kind of get bigger and bigger. But this year was our most successful,” Ladwig said. Every few months, they notice more regular customers returning.
Ladwig's hope for the market is a “vibrant community space where everyone feels like they have access, and they're welcome. ... it doesn’t hurt that that money then goes into the pockets of local farmers."
Gorge Grown’s mobile farmers' market participates in the DUFB program, but hasn’t seen such an increase in SNAP sales. But most local markets are growing. “We are seeing an increase in farmers market sales,” Ladwig said. “...White Salmon is growing, Stevenson’s is growing, The Dalles is growing. All these markets are growing.”
“I don’t anticipate being able to offer even more incentive,” added Ladwig, who hopes to continue the match program with equal success next season. “But what would be awesome is to offer more support.” Ladwig said she’s thinking of farmer’s market tours to help orient new shoppers in the program.
Hood River Farmer’s Market’s regular season runs May through November, with about 10 markets scheduled during winter, when winter vegetables are in season. Information on local markets and their SNAP programs is available at gorgegrown.com.
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