Dinner Fundraiser To Benefit Lions Club SNAP Match

COOPERSTOWN—According to officials, more people than ever are using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase food at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market. A Cooperstown Lions Club program helps food-insecure people purchase more food at the market, matching the SNAP spend up to $20.00.

The Lions are planning a fundraiser, with all proceeds benefiting the club’s SNAP Match Program. Willy’s Good Chicken Dinner will be held on Saturday, August 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hulse Hill Farm, 5928 State Highway 28 in Fly Creek, in conjunction with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Family Farm Day. The meal, for takeout or dine-in, is $15.00 and includes a quarter chicken barbecued on site, baked beans, roll, coleslaw, homemade pie, and beverage. Covered seating is available in the event of rain.

Tickets for the dinner may be purchased in advance online at CoopSNAPMatch.org, or on the day of the event at Hulse Hill Farm. Tickets also may be purchased from Lions Club members directly or from the club on Saturday, August 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, 101 Main Street in Pioneer Alley.

“The Lions Club SNAP Match helps people who are food insecure purchase more healthy local food at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market,” said Marianne Rae, who manages the Cooperstown SNAP Match Program.

“We are very grateful to the Cooperstown Lions Club for giving people access to more local food at the farmers’ market. There has been a significant increase in the number of people shopping with SNAP at the market, so the need has never been greater,” said Peg Odell, program and communications manager of Otsego 2000, which operates the market.

From January through July 2025, the Lions Club SNAP Match provided an extra $4,166.00 in local food to shoppers using SNAP, an increase of 124 percent from the same period in 2024 ($1,860.00), officials said.

“We are delighted to have more customers shopping with SNAP at the farmers’ market, and encourage anyone who can to support the Lions Club SNAP Match Program,” Odell added.

People shopping with SNAP at the CFM also benefit from a second Double Up Food Bucks match from Field and Fork Network.

“A $20.00 SNAP spend earns customers using SNAP $60.00 worth of local food. This is a win-win-win, with more food for neighbors, more business for local farmers, and more money staying in the local economy,” explained Odell.

The CFM also accepts vouchers from the Cooperstown Food Pantry and the Farmers Market Nutritional Program.

For additional information about Willy’s Good Chicken Dinner, contact Rae at (607) 267-2419, coopsnapmatch@gmail.com or CoopSNAPMatch.org.

For more information on the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, contact Peg Odell, (607) 547-8881, pegodell@otsego2000.org.