WIC program makes local produce affordable for low income families

http://www.enterprisenews.com/features/x1602636302/Wic-connecting-families-farmers


WIC program makes local produce affordable for low income families


EASTON —

For Marie Pray’s loyal customers, the perks of local produce outweigh the burden of higher prices.

By paying slightly more than they would at a grocery store, customers at Pray’s Easton farmers market booth get recipe suggestions, produce picked that morning, and a vendor who knows them by name.

But not everyone can afford the higher prices charged at farmers markets.

That’s why Pray, who co-runs Oakdale Farms in Rehoboth, is one of a growing number of Massachusetts farmers to accept government-funded coupons for low-income seniors, women and children.

Adam Tedeschi of Second Nature Farm in Norton also accepts the coupons at his Easton farmers market stand.

Through the state-administered federal program, which began in Massachusetts in 1986, about 99,700 participants in the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program will receive $10 per woman or child to use at farmers markets this year. And about 19,000 low-income seniors will receive $30 coupons to use at the markets.

The amount may be a drop in the bucket compared to a family’s food needs, said Lisa Damon, who coordinates the program for the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources. But the coupons serve the double purpose of supporting local farmers and introducing low-income people to local sources of produce.

“It’s a two-mission program,” said Damon. “It certainly provides fresh produce to low-income families. But it also directly benefits local farmers.”

Farmers at almost all of the state’s 200 farmers markets are now participating in the program, which is part of a growing movement to make farmers markets more accessible.

The state is also at work on a pilot program that would allow families to spend food stamps at both grocery stores and farmers markets. And the number of farmers markets that are equipped to accept food stamps increased from about 30 to 49 this year, Damon said.

Langwater Farm in North Easton is among the farms planning to purchase an EBT machine so they can accept food stamps at their farm stand.

Plus, a separate state program provides 4,000 homebound seniors with $30 worth of fresh, local produce delivered to their home.

“Hopefully it will create a bigger wave to make (farmers markets) more accessible,” Damon said.

Farmers say the programs are attracting many people who might not otherwise be able to afford local, fresh organic produce.

“I think it benefits their health and of course it’s benefiting the farmers,” said Carlton Smith, co-owner of C.N. Smith Farm in East Bridgewater. “We’ve got new customers that probably couldn’t have afforded to come to us.”

While participating in the program means extra paperwork for farmers, Smith said it’s worth the effort.

“There’s a lot of kids out there that deserve more than something frozen,” said Smith. “Eating healthy makes a big difference in how you grow up and how you finally live.”

Amy Littlefield can be reached at alittlef@enterprisenews.com.