Farmers’ Markets and Roadside Stands

Farmers’ markets and roadside stands provide New Yorkers with fresh nutritious food and support regional farmers. Markets provide healthy, reasonably priced vegetables, the chance to meet the growers of your food, and oftentimes a rewarding sense of community. To be accessible to lower income community members, farmers markets need to be affordable, be easily reachable by public transit or on foot, and sell foods appropriate to the communities they serve.

Many people can purchase food at farmers’ markets with the help of the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. The program provides special checks to low-income, nutritionally at-risk families enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) and Senior Meals Nutrition Program. The checks are redeemable for fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets. Several farmers’ markets are also accepting Food Stamp benefits, with more to join the program this year. To see if your local market is offering the Food Stamp EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) payment option, click here.

Conducting outreach in your community on the programs can help low income people gain access to healthful food each week. Click here to download a promotional brochure on Farmers Markets. The USDA's Community Food Security Toolkit also has useful recommendations. For a general list of farmers markets, contact the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. or the Farmers Market Federation of NY.

Northside Food Network Puts HANNYS Mini-grant towards Farmers’ Market
Second Sale

Click below for more information on the following topics:

• Ending Hunger through Community Food Organizing
  
• Seed and Seedling Distribution Program & Community Gardens
  
• Community Supported Agriculture
  
• Food Rescue and Gleaning Programs
  
• Grow an Extra Row!
  
• Food Buying Clubs
  
• Useful links for more Community Food Security information