Nc Farmers, Local Markets Caught In Snap Policy Crosshairs

By Will Atwater

On a warm, sunny Saturday greeting successful precocious September, The Corner Farmers Market successful Greensboro’s Lindley Park vicinity was an inviting spot to be. Throngs of group — immoderate pinch kids aliases dogs successful tow — drifted from 1 shelter to nan next, browsing tables filled pinch caller vegetables, baked goods, trim flowers and handmade crafts.

Beyond nan friends ambiance and caller offerings, nan marketplace offers different important benefit: shoppers who person Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits tin not only usage them present — they tin get double their value.

SNAP participants tin sojourn nan manager’s booth to swipe their benefits card, and nan marketplace matches nan magnitude — up to $50 — by issuing tokens that tin beryllium utilized to acquisition immoderate SNAP-eligible food, marketplace head Kathy Newsom said.

“They tin bargain meat, eggs, immoderate sorts of nutrient [or] prepared foods if they’re cold,” Newsom said.

While nan U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses nan magnitude spent done SNAP, Corner Market must raise abstracted costs — done grants, organization donations and predominant fundraisers — to screen nan costs of nan match, Newsom said.

“We person to raise astir $50,000 a twelvemonth to lucifer nan magnitude of request that comes into our market.”

Market regular Dianne, 67, who preferred to usage only her first name, said she appreciates that nan marketplace offers a discreet, respectful measurement for SNAP users to shop without stigma.

“Shopping astatine nan marketplace is simply a triumph for each of us,” she said. “We request nan vendors, and nan vendors request us.”

But cuts to nan SNAP programme embedded successful nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act precocious passed by Congress frighten to jeopardize entree to farmers markets for millions of Americans for illustration Diane. In 2024, astir 42 cardinal group — astir 12 percent of nan U.S. organization — received SNAP benefits each month, according to USDA data. 

Because of nan OBBBA, those benefits are owed to shrink, pinch consumers and farmers taking nan hits.

Mixed messages

As concerns equine astir nan scheduled programme cuts, U.S. Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again.” 

A connection connected nan HHS website reads: “Under nan activity of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., HHS is taking bold, decisive action to betterment America’s food, health, and technological systems to place nan guidelines causes of nan chronic illness pandemic and Make America Healthy Again.”

Yet successful September, nan USDA announced it would discontinue its yearly Household Food Security Reports, besides known arsenic nan Food Insecurity Survey — nan instrumentality utilized to measurement really galore U.S. households struggle to put nutrient connected nan table. Without nan survey, it’ll beryllium difficult to way really good group are doing successful getting entree to patient food.

SNAP is simply a cardinal national instrumentality for reducing nutrient insecurity. Without it, millions of Americans would beryllium astatine greater consequence of hunger aliases beryllium forced to eat cheaper, lower-quality food. 

In North Carolina, much than 1.4 cardinal group — crossed much than 700,000 households — person SNAP benefits each month. More than 600,000 children, 159,000 adults complete 65 and much than 46,000 North Carolina veterans trust connected SNAP, according to nan authorities Department of Health and Human Services.

In consequence to nan national authorities shutdown, the authorities wellness section assured residents that October SNAP benefits would not beryllium affected. The agency encouraged households to proceed applying for services and said it will station updates arsenic caller accusation becomes disposable from nan USDA. Those pinch further questions are urged to interaction their section region section of societal services, according to accusation provided connected nan agency’s webpage.

Mutual benefits

Maggie Funkhouser, nan North Carolina Farmers Market Network programme coordinator, emphasized nan dual intent of accepting SNAP benefits astatine farmers markets: expanding nutrient entree and supporting nan section workplace economy. 

“[We] estimate that SNAP incentives dress up astir 20 percent of full income astatine farmers markets — and 20 percent is huge,” Funkhouser said. 

At nan Corner Market, SNAP recipients usage their benefits paper to person woody tokens that tin beryllium spent connected caller fruits and vegetables. Credit: Will Atwater/NCHN

“If incentives get folks into that marketplace to beryllium capable to bargain highly nutritious, fresh, culturally applicable nutrient — to support our farmers [and] link them pinch our consumers who usage SNAP — that’s nan goal,” she said.

“We’re capable to judge SNAP done nan farmers market,” said Brittany Peters, who pinch her partner, Richard Raggi, operates Sun and Soil Farm successful Madison, astir 25 miles from Greensboro. The mates waste fruits, vegetables and flowers astatine nan Corner Market. 

“It’s a immense deal, because it makes our nutrient much accessible to everybody,” Peters said. 

 That benignant of accessibility — and nan income it generates — is particularly valuable for mini farms, galore of which run connected tight margins and look constricted backing options.

The support is essential, said Roland McReynolds, executive head of Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, a nonprofit that advocates for sustainable, section and integrated nutrient systems. He explained that nan national authorities — chiefly done nan USDA and nan workplace measure that’s reauthorized each fewer years — has historically provided nan main information nett for U.S. agriculture. State governments, including North Carolina, seldom measurement into this role, he said, and erstwhile they do, it’s typically connected an emergency basis, specified arsenic providing disaster alleviation aft Hurricane Helene. 

With increasing fund pressures from programs for illustration Medicaid and SNAP, astir states are improbable to afloat sorb nan load if national support declines.

Still, McReynolds said, nan authorities tin play a captious domiciled successful nan arena of early SNAP cuts.

“If nan authorities tin measurement successful to supply backing for SNAP Double Up Bucks programs — [that] will perfectly beryllium important for helping a batch of mini farms stabilize their gross into adjacent year,” he said.

In addition, successful immoderate parts of nan authorities wherever nan now-defunct Healthy Opportunities Pilot was buying nutrient from section farms to supply to Medicaid recipients, growers will beryllium losing different gross stream. 

“In nan Helene-impacted portion of nan state, location are a batch of farmers who sewage deed really difficult past year,” McReynolds added. “They’re trying to make it this year, but erstwhile they tally their numbers astatine nan extremity of this year, we whitethorn beryllium looking astatine a important number of farmers who don’t travel backmost for adjacent year’s increasing season.”

Uncertainty going forward

In consequence to questions astir really North Carolina will support nan much than 1 cardinal residents who trust connected monthly SNAP benefits, DHHS explained successful an email that starting October 2026, nan One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes provisions that would importantly trim national reimbursement rates to states for administering SNAP. That displacement will unit North Carolina’s 100 counties, which grip SNAP applications and eligibility, to sorb a greater stock of administrative costs.

“NCDHHS will proceed to activity pinch region partners to thrust down correction rates, which find nan authorities costs stock amount,” a section spokesperson said successful an email. “Despite these challenges, nan ngo of nan North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services remains unchanged — we will proceed to activity to amended nan wellness and well-being of each North Carolinians.”

With nan national authorities unopen down, mixed pinch SNAP backing nether pressure, questions persist astir nan early of SNAP — and what could hap to entree to caller nutrient astatine places for illustration nan Corner Farmers Market.

Reflecting connected her acquisition shopping astatine nan Corner Farmers Market, Diane said it’s her “happy place.”

“There’s awesome vendors …It’s ever nosy to spell there.”

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