This year, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) partnered with the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets (MFFM) to help cover the cost of purchasing SNAP processing equipment for farmers’ markets. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps, helps 1 in 8 Mainers (mostly children and […]
Kala Godard, of Four Hearts Farm, was driving up to an hour each way to various farmers’ markets to sell her farms’ goat cheese and other goat milk products. It was during the long commute, leaving her local community each week to sell in another town, that she began to think about launching a market […]
This article describes a marketing opportunity to attract new shoppers by partnering with local employers. In spring of 2019, MFFM was approached by the City of Bangor’s Wellness Committee to develop a program that will give their 500+ employees incentive to buy healthy food from the local farmers’ markets. Employer Partnerships Each year, the city’s […]
Maine Farmers’ Market Snapshot Week is our annual celebration of farmers’ markets in Maine. This event coincides with National Farmers’ Market Week, falling on August 4-10, 2019. Photo Competition This year’s Snapshot Week features a photo competition for shoppers and farmers. The competition will run for 2 weeks August 4 – 17 to give you […]
Back in November of 2018, Jimmy DeBiasi from the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets joined Noami Brautigam from Dickey Hill Farm at the Community Health Needs Assessment meeting for Knox County. They were on a mission to forge a new community partnership to re-launch the Maine Harvest Bucks program at the Rockland Farmers’ Market. The […]
Prices reflect a suggested donation value. All items are negotiable.
Let’s navigate the EBT equipment world together. This article addresses the free SNAP EBT Equipment Program and discusses additional options for ineligible markets. All markets that accept SNAP/EBT must possess a machine that processes the EBT transaction. Free Equipment? Free, wireless, SNAP-Only equipment is available via Maine Department of Health & Human Services for farmers’ […]
UPDATE -10.9.2019 – This information is dated. While it still remains a valid way to process SNAP transactions, there are much more convenient and free, or low-cost options available. The best step forward is to contact MFFM – email snap@mffm.org or call (207) 370 1524. If your market is new to accepting SNAP/EBT, or if […]
If you’re looking to purchase EBT equipment for your SNAP program, without the help of a grant to subsidize the cost, then you should fall into one, or ideally all, of these categories: Our market has offered SNAP for years; Our vendors are dedicated to keeping this program sustained; We have enough shoppers using SNAP/EBT […]
Information booths (“info booths”) are popping up at more and more farmers’ markets in Maine. The primary service they provide to markets is that they offer a central location for shoppers to pay for all of their goods. At a busy market, the information booth cuts down on the transaction time for vendors, since they no longer […]