SNAP Benefits and the Government Shutdown

Due to the partial government shutdown, people who receive SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) received their February benefits early. There will be no benefits disbursed until March at the earliest (if the government is back up and running), so SNAP shoppers will need to budget carefully. To help keep families eating healthy food, Market Umbrella doubles SNAP purchases up to $20 at all seven of our Crescent City Farmers Markets. Shoppers can swipe their EBT card for $20 and receive $40 in tokens to purchase fresh healthy food. The first $20 can be used on any EBT-allowable item at market and the second $20 can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables only.

Last year, SNAP dollars and our Market Match program put $60,000 into the hands of the local farmers who are vendors at our markets, so this program helps farmers and food producers make ends meet. Market Umbrella is committed to the Market Match program, and in the event that SNAP funds are not disbursed for March, we are working to find ways to support recipients. We’ll keep you posted on these efforts.

Many New Orleanians rely on SNAP to put food on the table. 79,000 people in Orleans Parish and 53,000 people in Jefferson Parish use SNAP to help buy groceries. Overall in Louisiana, one in five residents utilizes SNAP benefits (compared to the national average of 1 in 8), and of them, over 70% are in families with children and more than 39% are in working families. SNAP benefits typically provide around $1.45 per meal, and the shutdown threatens even this modest benefit, putting many Louisiana families on the verge of food insecurity and hunger.

Please help us spread the word about Market Match by telling people you know about the program. And, if you would like to make a contribution, you can donate here.

The wait for Strawberries is Over!

While we often see strawberries as early as November, overcast skies and soggy soils have reduced pickable fruit to mush and prevented access to fields over the course of this rainy fall and winter. Finally, some plump ripe strawberries are coming to markets. Thanks to new markets and new vendors, we also have more strawberry producers attending more markets, making these first-of-the-season berries available Tuesday Uptown, Wednesday at Ochsner, Friday at Bucktown and Saturday at CBD for now, with more markets featuring them as production picks up.

Help River Queen Greens get $10,000!

CCFM vendor River Queen Greens, an urban farm located in the Bywater, has applied for a grant for caterpillar tunnels from Cultivating Change, a grant program that supports local farms with funds to upgrade operations, invest in food safety, and implement sustainable technology. The winners will receive $10,000 and are determined based on the number of votes they receive over the one month voting period. That means they need your help! Visit this website and vote for them every day for the month of January! Vote early and often, and tell your friends to do it too! Help us support our first Certified Naturally Grown vendor in their efforts to expand production of sustainably grown produce grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. The top five projects receive funding, so let’s help them get there!