The Kansas City Beans&Greens Program Makes Healthy Produce More Accessible and Affordable for SNAP (Food Stamp) and Senior Farmers Market Program Subscribers

Kansas City, MO—The Kansas City Beans&Greens program announces the launch of its partnership program with five (5) local area farmers’ markets to encourage shoppers that participate in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) to use their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards or coupons to purchase locally grown, healthy vegetables and fruits. The electronic benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps) are called Quest Cards in Missouri and Vision Cards in Kansas. The program seeks to make local produce more accessible and affordable to both SNAP and SFMNP recipients.

“Many families who rely on EBT cards for purchasing food live in communities with limited access to fresh produce. Typically, these communities face higher rates of chronic illness resulting partly from this lack of access. Our program addresses the barriers imposed by food deserts by improving access to healthy, locally produced food, making it affordable and supporting the incomes of our local farming community,” says Gayla Brockman, one of the collaborators developing this program and the Executive Director of the Menorah Legacy Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation. “We are excited because this program is a win-win for everyone.”

The program will become formally available over the weekend of June 25 during each market’s normal hours of operation.  On June 25, the program launches at the Troostwood Youth Garden Market located at 51st and Paseo (3pm-8pm). On June 26, the program will be available at the following markets: City Market located at 5th and Delaware (6am – 3pm); The Independence Farmers Market located at the corner of Truman Road and Liberty (5am – 1pm); and the KCK Greenmarket at 6th and Tauromee (8am-1pm). On June 27, the program begins at The Rosedale Farmers Market located at 340 Southwest Blvd. (12pm-4pm). On June 28, the program starts at the second KCK Greenmarket located at the Third Street Church of God Parking Lot at 3rd St. and Richmond KCK (11:30am-4:30pm).

Subscribers to the SNAP program can swipe their cards at the market’s information booth for their desired dollar amount and, in exchange, receive that amount in tokens for transactions with farmers at the market. In addition, the Beans&Greens program will match the amount charged against the SNAP subscriber’s EBT card, up to a maximum of $30 per week, to encourage shopping at the local markets for fresh locally grown produce.

Eligible items under SNAP include fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, baked goods, jams, jellies, honey, vegetable plants and potted herbs. For information regarding application for food stamp benefits, call 1-800-221-5689 or visit:  http://www.dss.mo.gov/fsd/fstamp/ in Missouri or http://www.srskansas.org/ISD/ees/food_stamps.htm in Kansas.

As the SFMNP program is only available in Kansas this year, seniors enrolled in this program can use their SFMNP coupons at the KCK Greenmarkets and The Rosedale Farmers’ Market and receive the matching benefit from Beans&Greens. For information on applying for the Kansas Senior Farmers Market Nutritional Program, call The Kansas Department of Aging at (785) 296-1324 or visit http://www.agingkansas.org.

Funding for the Beans&Greens program has been generously provided by: The Menorah Legacy Foundation, the Health Care Foundation, the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, and the William T. Kemper Foundation, and others.

For more information about using the Vision Card at Kansas Farmers Markets, please click here.

To see the Kansas Farmers Market EBT Video, please click here.