SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — People who shop at any of the four North County Farmers Markets (Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero and Los Osos) during the month of May using their CalFresh card will get an extra bonus – more money to spend at the market.
NCFMA is offering additional money to their CalFresh clients through a program called Market Match. During May, CalFresh Awareness month, they are increasing the money they will match from their normal $15 maximum per market per week to $20. With this offer a shopper could spend $20 on their CalFresh card at each of the four markets and receive an additional $80 in fresh produce.
“NCFMA supports market match because it provides the opportunity for recipients to purchase farm fresh produce, and also brings income to the farmers in our community,” says NCFMA Manager Robyn Gable.
In San Luis Obispo County, about 44,000 residents are eligible for CalFresh benefits, but the CalFresh utilization rate in SLO is the 7th lowest in California (Community Health Assessment). If 100% of eligible households in San Luis Obispo County actually received CalFresh, over $35 million would be brought into our local economy (Lost Dollars, Empty Plates).
“The number of families and community members that could benefit from the CalFresh program, but that are not currently receiving it. And the amount of money that our local economy loses every year because of it, is really unfortunate,” according to Jen Miller, Program Manager at Public Health and founding member of the CalFresh Alliance.
For more information about using CalFresh (EBT) and Market Match at local farmers markets, visit https://ecologycenter.org/fmfinder/. For more information about CalFresh, visit getcalfresh.org.