The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federally funded program administered locally by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of SNAP is to increase food security and access to a healthy diet for low-income Americans. Benefits are distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which are used to distribute other funds such as child support, and depending on eligibility are available for a month to three years. (Undocumented immigrants cannot participate.)
Maine ranks first in New England for food insecurity, with 19 percent of the population eligible to receive SNAP. Compared with 28 percent nationally, 39 percent of SNAP-eligible Mainers are in families with elderly or disabled members. The majority of SNAP recipients in Maine are children, elderly or disabled. According to U.S. Census data, the majority of families receiving SNAP benefits have at least one working family member.
SNAP benefits are modest. In fact, in April 2015, the average person receiving SNAP support in Penobscot county received just $29.25 per week, an amount insufficient to meet nutritional needs. Benefits may only be used for food and cannot be redeemed for alcohol, hot foods or nonfood items — not even vitamins. The state of Maine has been considering additional restrictions, despite the fact the USDA Food and Nutrition Service determined such restrictions are ineffective and unnecessary.
SNAP recipients sometimes are derided for supposedly making poor food choices, even though their purchasing habits mirror those of average Americans. In fact, Americans across the income spectrum increasingly lack the time and skill to prepare meals “from scratch” and typically spend fewer than 30 minutes per day on food preparation — far less than in other developed nations, according to research conducted in 2011 by the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development. Unfortunately, easy-to-prepare, mass-market foods tend to be high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium. Moreover, the extensive subsidies keeping prices of processed foods artificially low makes it less likely someone relying on a very limited budget will opt for fresh fruits and vegetables.
In order to make fresh produce more available to low-income shoppers, the USDA incorporated a new program into the 2014 Farm Bill. Called the Food Insecurity and Nutrition Incentive Program, or FINI, it provides funding to local food outlets to offer incentives — bonuses — to SNAP shoppers, with each federal dollar matched with private funds and in-kind donations. FINI funding helps offset the extra cost and time typically involved in preparing local produce. Offering an extra bonus or discount for purchasing fruits and vegetables is a proven approach to increase the consumption of vegetables and improve health.
This summer, more than 30 farmers markets and a number of other local food outlets, including farms, food hubs and farm stands, will be offering FINI incentives, thanks to the efforts of Maine Local Food Access Network and national nonprofit foundation Wholesome Wave. Although there is some variation in how the programs are structured from market to market, the outcome is that local produce will be within reach for far more of Maine’s most vulnerable residents. At the markets, they will find that for every $10 of SNAP funds they spend, they will receive $3 to $10 to spend on fruits and vegetables. SNAP shoppers simply need to visit the “info booth” at their local participating market — visit mainefarmersmarkets.org for a full list.
Beyond the immediate beneficiaries, this funding also will benefit communities statewide. The Food Research and Action Center calls this the “ripple effect,” with every SNAP dollar resulting in about $1.73 in economic activity. As SNAP dollars are spent at farmers markets, federally funded dollars are injected into local food systems that generate economic growth. When visiting farmers markets, shoppers tend to visit other area businesses, which also helps bring income back to Main Street and away from companies that quickly export those dollars out of state.
In a time when the true costs of “cheap” food — such as environmental degradation, shocking labor practices and epidemic rates of obesity — are becoming increasingly evident, shoppers across the income spectrum are looking for fresh, healthy, local foods. In Greater Bangor, there is an abundance of wonderful farmers markets and other local food options. SNAP shoppers can find the FINI incentives at the downtown Bangor Farmers Market on Sundays, the Bangor Ohio St. Farmers Market on Wednesdays, the Hermon Farmers Market on Thursdays and the Brewer Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Leigh Hallett is the executive director of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets. Established in 1991, MFFM serves the nearly 150 markets across Maine.