Three area farmers markets are participating in the Fresh Match program this year.
o Camas Farmer’s Market, 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 10 on Fourth Avenue between Northeast Everett and Northeast Franklin streets in downtown Camas.
o Vancouver Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 28 at Sixth and Esther streets in downtown Vancouver.
o Salmon Creek Farmers’ Market, 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays from July 11 through Sept. 26 at 1309 N.E. 134th St. in Salmon Creek; 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays July 9 through Sept. 24 at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, 2211 N.E. 139th St.
A program designed to help stretch the value of food stamps at farmers markets is up and running again this year after a successful 2012 launch.
The Fresh Match program, which benefits low-income people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is again available at the Vancouver and Camas farmers markets. The program will also continue in Salmon Creek when that market opens next month.
Three area farmers markets are participating in the Fresh Match program this year.
o Camas Farmer's Market, 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 10 on Fourth Avenue between Northeast Everett and Northeast Franklin streets in downtown Camas.
o Vancouver Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 28 at Sixth and Esther streets in downtown Vancouver.
o Salmon Creek Farmers' Market, 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays from July 11 through Sept. 26 at 1309 N.E. 134th St. in Salmon Creek; 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays July 9 through Sept. 24 at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, 2211 N.E. 139th St.
Using grant money, the program matches every dollar spent with SNAP benefits (formerly known as federal food stamps) up to $5. In other words, the program turns $5 of SNAP benefits into $10 to be used to purchase fresh produce, breads, meats and dairy products at farmers markets.
In the first year, the program’s three markets had 2,307 SNAP transactions worth a total of $43,866 (including $5,304 in Fresh Match dollars). That’s an average of about $19 per transaction.
And if the program’s first weekend at the Vancouver Farmers Market is any indication, it will experience a more successful second year. In the first two-day run at the Vancouver market (June 8-9), the program distributed $610 in match money — 122 matches.
“That was a big day for us, Fresh Match-wise,” said Jordan Boldt, executive director of the Vancouver market. “It caught us by surprise.”
The Fresh Match program is paid for by a combination of grants from New Seasons Market and Kaiser Permanente, and the Affordable Care Act. Clark County Public Health administers the Kaiser and federal grants. The grants cover not only match funds but staffing and marketing support for the program.
