By: Olivia Griswold
Iowa City’s farmers market has had an increase in popularity after the market introduced a token system which allows families to use their debit, credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) benefit cards.
“Since the time we first introduced the token program about three years ago, it has just exploded.” Administrative secretary of the Parks and Recreation, Tammy Neumann said. “Our first year we took in $68,000 and last year we sold $106,000 in tokens.”
The token system is able to work by using new machines with card readers. Market organizers use it to exchange electronic cards for tokens that represent a dollar amount and then given to vendors.
At the end of the day, vendors will turn those tokens in and the accounting department pays them back, Neumann said.
Joan Cook who has attended the Iowa City farmers market almost every Wednesday and Saturday believes that the token system is very handy.
“I look forward to coming to the farmers market every week and I don’t always have cash so the token system is just perfect for me,” Cook said.
According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, the wireless point-of-sales machines enables vendors to accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) food assistance cards, such as a SNAP card.
Professor Lucie Laurian of urban and regional planning believes this system should be incorporated in farmers markets nationwide.
“If you have a SNAP card, there is now less stigma around being the only one paying with tokens,” Laurian said. “by using the token system, it now it makes it more inclusive and more generalized.”
Neumann, who is in charge of organizing the farmers market said that all vendors who currently participate, or wish to participate in the Iowa City’s market, must accept the token system before being allowed a vendor position.
Bonnie Riggan, who's been a vendor for three years, believes that the token system is an innovative way to modernize the experience for consumers.
“This gives people an extra opportunity to spend money that they might not have done before, which benefits the farmers and allows more people to buy fresh produce,” Riggan said.
After the token program was introduced in Iowa City, the state started a new program called Double Up Food Buck.
With this new program, someone with SNAP benefits after purchasing $10 would receive $10 free. This allows for lower-income families the ability to get more food from the farmers market for less, Neumann said.
According to Double Up Food Bucks, low-income consumers have more accesses to healthy food, local farms gain more customers, and more food dollars stay in the local economy.
“It’s been a great program and allows for farmers to sell more,” Neumann said. “For some farmers selling at the market is just a hobby, but for others, it’s their livelihood so programs like this make a difference.”
The Iowa City farmers market is open during the summer every Wednesday and Saturday starting May 1 and all their vendor spots are booked full by seasonal farmers who come back every year. “Once someone becomes a seasonal vendor, they stay a seasonal vendor,” Neumann said.
Patty Stewart the co-owner of Noble Bee Honey has been a seasonal vendor at the market for over 15 years and said that the consumers from Iowa City are more appreciative to all the hard work that goes into farming and more health conscious, which helps with her business.
Laurian believes that part of the reason why farmers markets are increasing in popularity across the nation is that people get to see the face of the farmer.
“You get a personal interaction that you don’t get at a supermarket and the produce is fresh and just taste better,” Laurian said.
Iowa City also has a holiday market held on Saturday, Nov. 17, and Dec. 8 in the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center where vendors bring baked and canned goods. Some of the vendors with greenhouses also bring their produce all season long, so it’s a good way for consumers to get fresh local food during a rather cold season, Neumann said.
コメント