double market bucks program of the bloomington community farmers' market 2015 annual report

Double Market

Bucks Program

Bloomington Community Farmers’ MarketCity of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department

Prepared by Katie LayIndiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Service Corps Fellow

Reducing Local Food

Insecurity and Strengthening

the Local Food Economy

2015 Annual Report

In our third full season of implementing the Double Market Bucks Program, we have continued to witness an increase in the success and scope of our doubling program. Thanks to a private donor’s generous contribution to the Bloomington Parks Foundation, we were able to offer Double Market Bucks at our Saturday and Tuesday Markets again in 2015. This program aims to develop the customer base for our farmers while incentivizing vulnerable families to use federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase healthful, local foods available at the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market.

We are encouraged by the continued growth of the Market Bucks program, particularly in light of the reduction of SNAP benefits due to reduced federal spending. Within our Congressional District, over half of households receiving SNAP benefits include children under the age of 181. Approximately 24% of Monroe county residents live in poverty, as compared to the national average of 15%.2 With such a high rate of individuals living with the reality of poverty, services to support this population are needed.

In 2015, there were approximately 60,000 fewer individuals in Indiana receiving SNAP benefits compared to 2014, and benefits issued in the state were $67 million less than in the previous year.3 However, the number of individuals using SNAP benefits at the Farmers’ Market is higher than ever before.

In this report, we describe trends for the following outcomes of interest: 1. Increased SNAP purchases 2. Increased SNAP customers.

To highlight a few findings from our 2015 data, we found:• A total of $41,976 was spent through SNAP purchases during 2015.• Purchases at the Tuesday market increased to $4,629 in 2015, up 23% from the 2014 season.• More than 1,200 transactions were carried out by SNAP customers in the 2015 season.• 355 households participated in the Double Market Bucks program in 2015.

In a time when federal support for nutrition assistance programs is volatile, we want to do everything we can here in our town to make our neighbors’ lives less chaotic and uncertain. None of this important work would be possible without our amazing community partners who helped us spread the word about the program.

Best regards,

Marcia VeldmanFarmers’ Market Coordinator

A Message from the Farmers’ Market Coordinator

Marcia Veldman,Bloomington Community

Farmers’ Market Coordinator

1 Double Market Bucks 2015 Annual Report Double Market Bucks 2015 Annual Report 2

1 http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ops/Indiana_9.pdf2 http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/interactive/saipe.html?s_ appName%2Bsaide&map_yearSelector=2014&map_ geoSelector=aa_c&menu=grid_ proxy&s_state=18&s_county=18105#view=StateAndCounty3 http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market was founded in 1975 and has been growing ever since. For 41 years, the Farmers’ Market has enriched the lives of the community by providing a place for residents and visitors

to come together in a festive atmosphere to buy local produce and other farm products directly from the growers. The Farmers’ Market’s mission aims to support small farmers and gardeners, securing a local food source. To further the mission and increase access to the Market for all residents regardless of income, the Farmers’ Market began accepting SNAP benefits in 2007 through the Market Bucks program. Participation in SNAP has been on the rise throughout Indiana as more and more Hoosier families rely on SNAP to feed themselves. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in December 2015 there were 831,470 residents (approximately 13% of the state’s population) enrolled in the SNAP program in Indiana.

The Farmers’ Market, with the support of the Bloomington Parks Foundation, in 2013 began an incentive program called Double Market Bucks to match SNAP purchases at Market. When SNAP customers purchase Market Bucks, they receive a matching dollar amount (up to $18 per visit) in additional Market Bucks to use at the Farmers’ Market. Market Bucks are paper vouchers that come in $3 increments and may be used like cash to purchase fresh, locally produced fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, eggs, and cheeses. SNAP customers purchase Market Bucks during Farmers’ Market hours by swiping their Hoosier Works debit card on the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) machine.

Double Market Bucks has several goals:• Long-term goal 1: Reduce local food insecurity.• Long-term goal 2: Strengthen local food economy.• Long-term goal 3: Promote healthy lifestyles among SNAP customers.• Short-term goal 1: Increase access to nutritious foods available at

Farmers’ Market.• Short-term goal 2: Increase direct marketing opportunities for Farmers’

Market vendors. We are primarily interested in evaluating the following outcomes,related to some, but not all, of the overall program goals:

• Outcome 1: Increase purchases by SNAP customers.• Outcome 2: Increase total number of SNAP customers.

We must note that the statistics included in this reportare descriptive only. We are unable to make causal claimsuntil a more rigorous evaluation takes place.

The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market and the Double Market Bucks Program


“ I would not be

able to get so much

at the Market if not

for this program.”

-Market Customer

Outcome 1: Increase purchases by SNAP customers.Saturday MarketDuring the 2015 Market season, we recorded both the frequency of SNAP customers and the amount that they purchased. In 2014, the second year of the doubling program, the total amount of SNAP purchase and Market Bucks matching reached $38,937 at Saturday Market, and customer purchased an average of $33 in Market Bucks per capita. In 2015, the amount of Market Bucks purchased reached $37,347, a decrease of 4%. Average purchases of Market Bucks per capita remained constant in 2015 at $33.

Double Market Bucks 2015 Annual Report 4

Figure 1. Total SNAP purchases permonth at the Saturday Farmers’ Market

Tuesday MarketDuring the 2014 Tuesday Market season (held each Tuesday, June through September, from 4-7 p.m.), the total amount of SNAP purchases and Market Bucks matching was $3,759. Customers purchased $34 worth of Market Bucks per capita on average in 2014.

In 2015, the total amount of Market Bucks purchased at Tuesday Market was $4,629, an increase of 23% from the previous year. Customers purchased $36 (+6%) worth of Market Bucks per capita on averagein 2015.

Figure 2. Total SNAP purchases permonth at the Tuesday Farmers’ Market


Outcome 2: Increase total number of SNAP customers.Saturday MarketIn 2014, there were a total of 1,191 SNAP transactions at the Saturday Market over the course of the season, with an average of 34 SNAP customers per Market. In 2015, there were a total of 1,086 transactions, a decrease of 6% from 2014. There were an average of 30 SNAP customers (-11%) per Saturday Market in 2015.

Figure 3. Total SNAP customers permonth at the Saturday Farmers’ Market

Tuesday MarketIn 2014, there were a total of 113 SNAP transactions during the Tuesday Market season, with an average of 6 SNAP customers per Tuesday Market. In 2015, Market staff administered 102 (-6%) total SNAP transactions at Tuesday Market, with an average of 6 customers per Market.

Figure 4. Total SNAP customers per month at the Tuesday Farmers’ Market


Collaboration with the Indiana University School of Public Health

In 2015 we worked with the Indiana University School of Public Health on an in-depth survey of participants in the Double Market Bucks program to assess the impact it has had on the lives of SNAP customers. This community-based research project was funded by the Community Health Engagement Program (CHEP).

The survey of SNAP customers who shopped at the Farmers’ Market revealed the following information:• More than 60% of SNAP customers shopped at the Farmers’ Market either 2-3 times a month or every Saturday• More than 30% of SNAP users would not shop at the Farmers’ Market if the Market Bucks program did not accept SNAP benefits.• More than 40% of SNAP customers who shopped at the Farmers’ Market learned about the program because of a Market staff member or staff advertising.• Attending the Farmers’ Market increased the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by SNAP customers more than non-SNAP customers

The information from the community survey reveals the importance of the Market Bucks Program and helps Market staff identify ways to continue to grow the program.

“This program has been a huge benefit to me and my family. It has made it possible for us to get

more fresh produce and support local farmers.” -Market Customer

5 Double Market Bucks 2015 Annual Report

Marcia VeldmanBloomington Community Farmers’ Market CoordinatorCity of Bloomington Parks and Recreation [email protected]

Katie LayIndiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs Service Corps FellowBloomington Community Farmers’ MarketCity of Bloomington Parks and Recreation [email protected]

Contact Information

Bloomingfoods Market & DeliBloomington Housing AuthorityCity of Bloomington Community

and Family Resources DepartmentCommunity KitchenHabitat for HumanityHoosier Hills Food BankIU Health BloomingtonMonroe County CASA

Thanks to our community partners


Monroe County Health DepartmentMonroe County Community School CorporationMonroe County United MinistriesMother Hubbard’s CupboardSalvation Army of BloomingtonSouth Central Community Action Program

Bloomington CommunityFarmers’ Market

City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department

bloomington.in.gov/farmersmarket

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double market bucks program of the bloomington community farmers' market 2015 annual report

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