Whether it is cold or warm outside, you can always count on our local farmers to work hard to deliver fresh produce to families across North Carolina. The best way to ensure you have access to their food products is to visit the closest farmers' market in the county where you live.
And what you may not know is that you can use your SNAP benefits at many farmers' markets! SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and was formerly known as “food stamps.” In North Carolina, it is also called Food and Nutrition Services or FNS. SNAP is available for low-income families, college students and some visa-status immigrants who meet the income limit requirements.
Today, we will be discussing how you can use SNAP at the farmers' market and answer questions about how to apply for this program.
EBT card
If you are approved for SNAP benefits in North Carolina, you will receive an EBT card. EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer, and it works similarly to a debit card. Every month the benefits are sent via this card to SNAP beneficiaries once their application is approved. It replaces the old format of paper food stamps. With your EBT card you can purchase food at grocery stores, some gas stations, convenience stores and, of course, at some farmers' markets.
Making purchases with your EBT card
Shopping at the market is different from a trip to the grocery store. Unlike at the store where you make your food selections and purchases all at once, at the farmers market you pay at each stand individually. But this doesn’t mean you will be swiping your EBT card with each farmer.
To keep it simple, farmers' markets often have one EBT point of sale device for the whole market, usually located at some sort of welcome area.
At the welcome area, you swipe your EBT card for the dollar amount of market scrip you would like to receive. Scrip is used as currency at each farmer's stand, and it can also be called a token. At the end of the day, farmers turn in their market scrip and are given cash.
The welcome booth should be easy to find, just look for the signs noting that EBT/SNAP is accepted. If you have trouble finding the welcome booth, ask a vendor to point you in the right direction.
Before purchasing market scrip
Before converting SNAP benefits to market scrip, you may find it helpful to walk through the market first and note what you would like to purchase and how much it costs. This way, you will know how much market scrip to obtain with your EBT card.
After you have decided on how much of your SNAP benefits you would like to spend, let the person managing the EBT machine know. You will need to know your PIN for this transaction. Markets use either a traditional machine with receipt paper or they can also use a smart phone with a swiping attachment.
After your card has been swiped, you will receive market scrip equaling the dollar amount deducted from your EBT account.
Shopping at the market
At markets where EBT is accepted, vendors selling SNAP-eligible items will accept the market scrip. When you are ready to purchase an item, you simply pick the items you would like to purchase. Some items are sold by weight, so the vendor will calculate the per weight cost.
Next, give the scrip to the vendor as payment, in the same way you would with cash. Vendors will give you change back in the form of market scrip.
Leftover tokens cannot be exchanged for cash or money back on your EBT card. Market scrip can only be used at the market where they were received. The great thing is that the tokens never expire! So, save leftover scrip for your next trip to the market.
Some markets offer programs that will do a dollar-for-dollar match, up to a certain amount, when you shop with SNAP benefits. These are called Double Bucks or Triple Bucks. Ask the staff at the welcome booth about the availability of these programs.
In Orange County, we have three farmers' markets that accept SNAP benefits.
- Carrboro Farmers' Market, 301 W Main Street, Carrboro, carrborofarmersmarket.com
- The Chapel Hill Farmers' Market, 201 S Estes Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, thechapelhillfarmersmarket.com
- Eno River Farmers' Market, 144 E Margaret Ln, Hillsborough, enoriverfarmersmarket.com
Applying for SNAP benefits
If you are interested in applying for SNAP benefits, contact the More In My Basket program. This is an NC State Extension program that offers free SNAP application assistance in English, Spanish and Portuguese Monday through Friday, 8 am until 5 pm. They are also happy to answer any SNAP-related questions you may have.
Contact the More In My Basket team toll free at 1-855-240-1451 (English and Portuguese), 1-888-382-7105 (Spanish) or visit their website at morefood.org.
Next time you visit your local farmers' market, be on the lookout for information about SNAP and enjoy the benefits of stretching your food budget every month.
Source:
Text adapted from the MIMB At the Market curriculum.
