MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — State officials and activists walked around the Middletown Farmers Market on Friday, highlighting food assistance programs that help increase access to fresh, locally grown food at farmers' markets across the state.
Bryan Hurlburt, Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner, explained that farmers markets bring fresh food and a sense of community to towns and cities everywhere.
"It's about making sure residents in Connecticut all have access to healthy, nutritious foods," Hurlburt added.
Addressing food insecurity head-on, state officials and partnering organizations have worked tirelessly to expand that accessibility through various programs better.
One program is the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. It's for women, infants, children, or seniors 60 and older who meet specific guidelines to have the opportunity to receive up to $32 in farmers market checks.
"That's essentially free dollars that the state is paying for," said Hurlburt.
All of which can be used to purchase fresh Connecticut Grown fruits, vegetables, eggs, cut herbs, and honey.
The second program is the CT Fresh Match program, from anti-hunger organization End Hunger CT. It doubles snap benefits at participating farmers markets.
"SNAP doubling extends their purchasing power; it gives them more money to spend at a market," explained Hurlburt.
This season, the program has expanded and received new funding through the department of agriculture.
"And that has given us the opportunity to not only include more farmers markets across the state in our program but also include non-produce matching," said Molly Stadnicki, community resource coordinator for End Hunger CT.
In a news release from Gov. Ned Lamont, it stated that at the Middletown Farmers Market, approximately 90% of the customers are seniors who use these programs, which include the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and CT Fresh Match.
“Every individual should have access to nutritious food regardless of whether they live in a rural, suburban, or urban neighborhood, and by expanding our food assistance programs to increase the ability to accept these benefits at farmers markets, we can get healthy food to everyone,” Lamont said.
While they are helpful, officials explained that the programs have a ripple effect.
“Additionally, supporting farmers' markets means supporting Connecticut’s agriculture industry and the jobs that this sector maintains. I strongly encourage everyone to visit one of our state’s many farmers' markets and get some Connecticut Grown products,” said Lamont.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: End Hunger Connecticut expands SNAP match program to ensure families can have access to fresh food
"It increases access to community members who are on SNAP, and it also supports local farmers and the large Connecticut agriculture economy," added Stadnicki
Farmers said while it helps keep them going, it's also great to see it come full circle.
"It's a great feeling to be able to help and to be able to offer the ability to use the different programs the state has and the doubling because otherwise, people wouldn't be able to buy as much as they do," said Koehley Czech with Forest City Farms.
State leaders say they've already seen this impact on a national level— with more than $100M in federal nutrition benefits redeemed at farmers' markets last year.
Raquel Harrington is the race and culture reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at rharrington@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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