CitySeed, Generous Supporters Greatly Expand Farmers Market Access For SNAP Recipients Who've Lost Benefits

NEW HAVEN, CT — The plan was CitySeed would distribute $50 worth of food stamp tokens to the first 50 people who showed up at the Saturday and Sunday farmer's markets, at Wooster and Edgewood, respectively.

The measure was to help mitigate the November (and possibly beyond) end of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as ordered by the Trump administration. CitySeed was able to offer the opportunity for SNAP beneficiaries, 50 of them at each site, over the weekend, to receive the tokens to purchase produce at the markets.

What CitySeed did not anticipate was that at the Saturday market, more than 150 people would line up seeking help.

"We were surprised, but also not surprised. When we originally released information on the program. we thought. 'Yeah, we'll probably get 50.' But it was far, far more than that," Agricultural Manager Blaise Berglund said. "The need is evident."

CitySeed, on its own, as Berglund told Patch, does not have the financial resources to make those tokens available. But members of the community had stepped up in a big way to support those families who lost their food benefits with donations. And that changed everything.

There would no longer be a 50-person limit.

Sunday, at the Edgewood market, 30 minutes before the market even opened, more than a dozen people were in queue at the CitySeed tent. And to those in line, and those who would come flooding into the park parking lot and create long lines for produce, the usually fairly busy market was now packed. And SNAP recipients, and even those who were not but in need, were given 50 tokens. Each of those doubled for the purchase of produce.

Here's the letter from last week announcing the program:

Dear friends,

At CitySeed, we believe that a healthy food system is foundational to a thriving community, which is why we break down barriers to food access. Our markets were the first in Connecticut to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and we continue to proudly accept and double these benefits every week, processing over 1,000 SNAP transactions annually.

Due to the government shutdown, many of our neighbors will lose access to this life-saving resource as of November 1. The loss of SNAP amounts to an almost incomprehensible crisis for 360,000 of our most vulnerable Connecticut neighbors, including many who rely on CitySeed markets to access fresh, local food.

In response, starting this weekend, CitySeed will provide $50 in market tokens to up to 50 people who show their SNAP card at each of our markets These tokens can in turn be doubled for up to $100 in produce. Thanks to a generous donor, we can stand in the gap with our community for as long as SNAP benefits are inaccessible during the month of November. But we know that more may be needed.

Because of uncertainty regarding the future of SNAP stemming from the government shutdown, we need your help. Your contribution is crucial to ensuring that CitySeed can continue to provide fresh, local food for all.

In partnership,

Sarah Miller
Executive Director

Donations began pouring in

Blaze said the influx of donations that allowed for the distribution of tokens to those in need came from "many of our longtime supporters of the program who saw a problem that needed to be solved and so used their resources to make it happen. And just the promotion of the program increased the outpouring of additional donations."

So, whomever was in need, was helped — with two white envelopes containing $25 in SNAP tokens. People lined up for squash, lettuces, peppers, onions, potatoes and the like.

At the popular Sunset Farms booth, the line was the longest this editor, who frequently visits the market on Sundays, had ever seen.

"This is really about building a more sustainable food system. We're really grateful we can offer the support not only for customers and that piece of the community," Berglund said, "But it really has an impact on the farms and small businesses that come to the market. It really is an ecosystem."

An elderly woman named Evie, who preferred not to share her last name, said she was grateful for the tokens: "Very."

"We can eat well ...this week, anyway."

Berglund said the program will continue for as long as may be possible.