Quick Take
At the urging of several farmers markets in Santa Cruz County, the California Senate and Assembly voted last week to restore Market Match funding through the California Nutrition Incentive Program, which allows SNAP recipients to match a portion of their spending at local farmers markets. Gov. Gavin Newsom must approve the budget to restore funding.
After months of advocacy by state and local activists, a vital food assistance program that increases buying power in local farmers’ markets has been given a second chance.
For the past 15 years, the Market Match Assistance Program has supported millions of Californians, but in January, with the state facing a budget deficit of tens of billions of dollars, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting funding for the program from the state budget in 2025. Over the past few months, local farmers market organizers have sounded the alarm and drawn public attention to the benefits the program provides to both low-income families and small farmers.
Customers at Santa Cruz County farmers markets can use their SNAP benefit tokens like cash to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Photo by Kevin Paynechaud/Lookout Santa Cruz
Last week, organizers received good news: The California Senate and Assembly voted to reinstate more than $33 million in funding for Market Match through the California Nutrition Incentive Program. Nicole Zam, education and outreach coordinator for the Santa Cruz Community Farmers Market, says this is a big step in the right direction, but the governor still needs to approve the budget for funding to be restored. Governor Newsom is scheduled to approve the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget by the end of June.
“It’s possible that the governor still decides to cut some programs, but this is a really strong step. There’s a very good chance that he’ll approve it and that funding will be provided,” Zahm said.
Every week, Market Match helps thousands of people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, a modern-day version of food stamps, save money at their local farmers market by matching their payments with additional funds. People receive their benefits through an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.
Currently, the program matches what participants spend at the farmers’ market each week on their EBT card, up to $15. That means for every $15 a participant spends on fresh fruits and vegetables, the program will give them $15 back, essentially doubling the amount of food people can buy.
More than 100 Santa Cruz County residents use the benefit at their local market each week, according to Zam. In testimonials collected by the market, Market Match users describe the benefit as a “lifesaver” and “extremely helpful,” saying that having extra money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the market makes their “life better.”
“This program has saved my family. We would literally starve without it,” said one MarketMatch customer, who declined to be named. “EBT has been a lifesaver since my husband passed away suddenly. I have two teenage children,” said another customer.
Zam has been working hard to defend the program, participating in advocacy calls every two weeks with farmers’ market activists from across California, and attending a lobbying event in Sacramento in March where a group met with congressional and state representatives who have farms and farmers’ markets in their areas.
She reached out directly to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas when she learned that Pinnacle Farms farmer Phil Foster’s wife taught elementary school with Rivas, whose 29th Congressional District includes parts of Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties. “We have existing relationships with people in power and we’re in conversation with all the people who could potentially reflect the value of this program,” Zahm said.
Now, she is urging people to continue to voice their support for Market Match to Governor Newsom as he prepares to approve next year’s budget. “We’re trying to bombard him with messages about the value of this program and lean him in favor of approving it,” she said.
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