How EBT recipients can benefit at the local farmers market

When shoppers who receive SNAP benefits use their EBT/SNAP card at two Farmers’ Market locations in Cleveland County, they will receive up to an extra $10 in Market Moolah to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables.

“We are excited to offer this incentive to shoppers at Farmers’ Markets to help them make healthy food choices,” said Mary Cornwell, market manager. “While we have accepted SNAP benefits since 2016, we want to let SNAP recipients know about the program, increase the number of SNAP shoppers, and let them know their benefits are welcome in our markets.”

In partnership with Healthy Together Cleveland and the HealthCare Foundation, the new program encourages shoppers to use their benefits in an economical way that is helpful to them. See the Healthy Together Cleveland.

“Everyone should have access to the freshest food available at affordable prices,” said Ron McCollum, market outreach coordinator. “This is an excellent way shoppers can take advantage of our local farmers’ markets and have fun doing it.”

How it works

• Shoppers bring their EBT/SNAP card to the information booth to redeem as many $1 tokens they would like.

• Each purchase receives up to an extra $10 in Market Moolah to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Tokens can be used to shop at food tables throughout the markets and SNAP tokens do not expire.

Hunger in Cleveland County There are 25,038 individuals who receive SNAP benefits in Cleveland County, and this number includes children.

• 1 in 3 people facing hunger are unlikely to qualify for SNAP.
• People facing hunger report needing more than $20 more per week to meet their food needs.

Healthy Together Cleveland is a coalition dedicated to improving the health of Cleveland County by engaging the community, leaders and organizations to align and integrate current health and social efforts for maximum impact and developing action plans to support and sustain these efforts. The initiative was selected to be a participant in the Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas initiative. It is also funded by The Duke Endowment and supported by Population Health Improvement Partners and the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which allows the coalition and its partners to increase their impact on healthy eating, and active living. The Duke Endowment’s Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas grant enables Healthy Together Cleveland to use the collective impact framework for collaboration, which brings people together in a structured way to achieve social change.

Anyone interested learning more about Healthy Together Cleveland should contact Jordan Frye, Project & Program Coordinator for Healthy Together Cleveland at Healthytogethercleveland@atriumhealth.org.