Farmers’ market, Otsego 2000, Lions others team up for healthy food access

The Cooperstown Farmers’ Market and the Cooperstown Lions Club are marking their third year of providing food-insecure individuals and families with easy access to healthy local food.

People shopping with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) at the Farmers’ Market can buy vegetables, fruit, cheese, meats, and other items, such as vegetable plants. The Cooperstown Lions Club funds SNAP Match, which provides up to $15 in matching funds to shoppers using SNAP.

“SNAP is an amazing opportunity to try a variety of nutrient-dense foods,” said Carrie Edsall of Black Willow Pond Farm, a year-round vendor at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market. “They can explore farms for a variety of choices in meats and vegetables. SNAP Match is a way to stretch their dollars.”

“I am a big fan of the Market,” says a frequent shopper who uses SNAP at the Farmers’ Market, who asked to be anonymous. “I get staples — vegetables, cheese, meat, bread, apples — plus whatever catches my eye. With SNAP Match, it brings prices in line with the grocery store and I get better food.”

He said he also appreciates the opportunity to interact with farmers.

“The money goes right to farmers from the USDA, you cut out the middleman and everyone benefits,” he said. SNAP is operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

According to the Community Needs Assessment developed by Opportunities for Otsego, New York State reports nearly 3,000 Otsego County households receiving SNAP benefits in June 2021.“The goals of the SNAP Match program are to supplement the buying power of SNAP recipients to purchase fresh fruit, vegetables, and other eligible items at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, to support local farmers and their sales at the Market, and to keep more food dollars within the local economy,” said Jim Donley, the Lion’s Club SNAP Match Committee Chair. “We are a community-driven Farmers’ Market, and SNAP and SNAP Match help ensure everyone has access to healthy local food,” says Karrie Larsson, Market Manager at Otsego 2000, which started the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market in 1991.

People who qualify for SNAP receive an EBT card that works like a debit card. At the Market, shoppers can visit the welcome table at the entrance and ask for Market Manager Karrie Larsson. They swipe their EBT card to purchase any amount of $1.00 wooden Market tokens, then receive the tokens as well as up to $14 extra in SNAP Match vouchers to use as cash with vendors selling SNAP-eligible foods. Vendors who have received tokens or SNAP Match vouchers as payment submit them to the Market Manager and get reimbursed. For a limited time, through a grant from the Community Foundation of Otsego County, people shopping with SNAP at the Market will receive another $10, on top of the Lions Club match. So, spending $15 in SNAP at the Farmers’ Market results in $40 worth of spending power.

“With the cost of meat at the grocery store rising, people are finding that pasture-raised meat at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market is much more affordable than they thought,” Ms. Larsson said. “When you compare what $15 buys at the grocery store and what you can get at the Farmers’ Market with SNAP Match, it is clear that shopping at the Market is the way to go. And, the money isn’t going to a big chain, it’s going to benefit a farmer who lives nearby.”

Located at 101 Main Street in Pioneer Alley, the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market is open on Saturdays throughout the year. Saturday hours are 10 am – 2 pm January through April, and 9 am – 2 pm, May through December. In addition, the Market is open on Tuesdays from 12 pm – 5 pm during July, August, and September.  SNAP/EBT is welcome at every Market. For more information on the Market, go to www.cooperstownfarmersmarket.org.

For information about using SNAP at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, call Karrie Larsson, Market Manager 607/547-6195 or email market@otsego2000.org.

For information on applying for SNAP, go to www.mybenefits.ny.gov or call Otsego County Social Services, 607/547-1700.

To support the SNAP Match program at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, mail a check with SNAP Match in the subject line to Cooperstown Lions Club, PO Box 2, Cooperstown, NY 13326; or see coopsnapmatch.org for online giving options.

Otsego 2000 is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1981 to ensure the Otsego Lake region remains a masterpiece of nature by protecting and supporting its environmental, scenic, cultural, historic, and agricultural resources and its economic well-being. Otsego 2000 accomplishes its mission through programs like the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, Otsego Outdoors, Glimmerglass Film Days, historic preservation initiatives, and environmental stewardship.