Supporting SNAP Through Farmers Markets
By Madi Armstrong
With emergency SNAP allotments decreasing back to $23, Blacksburg Farmers Market is striving towards helping local residents who are affected by the new limited benefits.
Aaron Smith, a Blacksburg Farmers Market ambassador, said that residents using the market’s additional SNAP program are able to receive tokens that help them have access to healthier foods that are otherwise inaccessible.
“With donations, we are able to double the tokens’ purposes,” said Smith. “And this helps people have an easier access to healthy, locally grown food around Blacksburg. For me, it’s a way we as a community feel like we can uplift others.”
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has provided low-income residents with the opportunity to afford higher-quality food. In Virginia alone, 1 in 11 people are using the SNAP program — and local businesses are working to support their residents in need.
As a way to provide support, the Blacksburg Farmers Market recently hosted a fundraiser that allowed residents to enter a raffle, where the money went directly to help the budget for the market’s SNAP program.
That said, it takes more than the Blacksburg Farmers Market to make the model work. Local businesses at the market also take advantage of helping those in need of assistance.
Tiffany Thompson, the owner of Riverstone Organic Farm, feels that the farmers market offers her business the chance to reach a broader range of people who might not otherwise have access to organic produce.
“I think the program is great,” said Thompson. “It’s a small part of our sales, but it’s important that people are able to have access to this.”
For others, it’s more than just helping those in need. The farmers market is a way to connect and understand one’s community.
Kat Johnson, owner of Kat the Farmer and farmer of 20 years, notes that meeting people and new vendors helped her try new techniques. Most importantly, she feels that the market is a way to have a social outlet and fill the needs of the community.
“It’s more than just growing food,” said Johnson. “It’s meeting new people and developing a business. It’s something to be passionate about.”
The farmers market bustles with people in Blacksburg, Va., Saturday, April 29, 2023. (Anthony Cusat, JMC 4814)
However, for many farmers and businesses, it goes beyond helping others and finding a community. It’s about the chance to teach others why fresh produce is important to living a healthy life.
For Thompson, this means working to educate people on the importance of having locally grown produce at home.
“A lot of people are interested in eating out or prepackaged food,” notes Thompson. “But we’re still doing the old school washing and cooking your veggies at home; and I think it’s important to share that.”
Likewise, Johnson feels that choosing locally grown food is what changes how a community feels towards these institutions.
“People are intentionally choosing to come to a farmer’s market and not a grocery store,” said Johnson. “I think it’s because it’s not even more expensive but it is better than what you can get elsewhere.”
With an extremely supportive community, Blacksburg Farmers Market is looking forward to their next donation drive for the SNAP program. For Smith, he hopes to continue helping those in his community.
“My favorite part of this is interacting with people,” said Smith. “That’s what makes this so important to me and to everyone here.”
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