purchase options
At the Crescent City Farmers Market, we want to make the products our vendors sell accessible to as many people as possible in our community. For that reason, we offer a variety of purchase options, from cash to benefit programs. See which option fits your wallet!
Cash:
Money can't buy you love, but it can buy you fresh fruits and vegetables as well as a variety of other products. Vendors and market staff happily accept cash, though smaller bills are preferred.
Crescents:
No cash? No problem! We have our own local currency, the Crescent, in $5 and $1 increments, which are accepted at all of our vendors stalls and are good forever! Visit our Welcome Tent on your way into the market and buy Crescents. The 2008 Crescent pays homage to late Chef Jamie Shannon for his contribution to the culinary traditions of New Orleans.
Credit/Debit Card:
Stop by the Welcome Tent and turn your plastic into wood (Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card accepted) by purchasing Crescents, our local currency. Crescents can be used at all of our vendors’ stalls at both of our markets and they never expire! Please note, there is a $1 dollar administrative fee for credit and debit cardholders to help us offset the cost of managing the currency.
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT/Food Stamps):
For many years, farmers markets throughout the country could not accept EBT cards due to the digital divide. Here at the Crescent City Farmers Market we felt that access to fresh, local foods was important for our entire community, including EBT cardholders. In 2005 we began accepting EBT cards in exchange for EBT tokens, which work almost like our market tokens, with a few exceptions due to government regulations: no change, no hot food, no knife sharpening, no cut flowers and no inedible plants. Like market tokens, they're accepted by all of our vendors, and they never expire! So bring your Louisiana Purchase Card or other state EBT card and exchange your benefits for tokens.
Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP):
FMNP is a USDA program that distributes vouchers for eligible seniors (SFMNP) and WIC recipients (WIC FMNP). FMNP is a great way to get state nutrition benefit dollars to local farmers and fishers while getting fresh and local ingredients to participants. Look for the yellow FMNP sign at vendor’s tables to use your vouchers with them. Are you a senior? Join us for Farmers Market Bingo at your local senior center, visit the market and use up the vouchers in your booklet and you may be eligible for our CBT Club!
Conditional Benefit Transfer (CBT):
The CBT Club was designed to create financial incentives to increase redemption rates of the state FMNP. Our CBT club is modeled after successful programs from as far as Brazil and as close as New York City. This year, our CBT Club is for seniors participating in the FMNP program. Seniors who receive SFMNP are eligible to receive $20 in crescents if they complete a series of conditions. The conditions include: (1) Playing Farmers Market Bingo with CCFM staff at their senior center. Farmers Market Bingo, provides an opportunity to engage and educate seniors about nutrition, purchase options and seasonal items before they arrive at the market; (2) Visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market for a "Meet Me @ the Market" guided tour and a chance to spend their FMNP coupons; and (3) Spending all $20 worth of SFMNP coupons before Nov. 30th. If all three conditions are met, the value of the SFMNP program to the participating senior is doubled; instead of $20 in vouchers the participants will receive $20 in vouchers plus $20 in crescents for a total of $40 to spend at the market. We plan to bring a complimentary program to WIC FMNP recipients in 2009.