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 […]
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 […]
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? The USDA-funded (free) SNAP EBT Equipment Program has reopened (more info here). This is a […]
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 […]
Erica Emery, of Rustic Roots Farm, began working with MFFM in 2016 to explore how to bring Maine Harvest Bucks to the Farmington Farmers’ Market. It took 2 years of “almosts” and “maybes” to find the perfect local partner to support the project and help get it off the ground. This year, the market is […]
The Senior FarmShare program still has many shares available at farms across Maine! Find the list of participating farmers here: 6-27-18 FarmShare Farmers More details about the program can be found on the Get Real, Get Maine page.
FM Tracks has changed how we report Maine Harvest Bucks redemption. Below is a complete walk-through of all the steps to fill out an FM Tracks report for each market day. If you are familiar with past year’s FM Tracks reporting requirements, click here to get to the “FINAL STEP” and learn about the new […]