Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship program
In 2023, a Vermont nonprofit launched a program to make it easier for people receiving food assistance to shop at local farmers markets.
By matching SNAP benefits, Crop Cash Plus lets recipients triple their buying power at farmers markets, increasing access to fresh food and sending more dollars into farmers’ pockets. The program is run by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
But the state funding that the program relies on isn’t guaranteed. This year, NOFA-VT successfully lobbied for $500,000 to be added to the House-approved version of the state budget, which would cover Crop Cash Plus and two other programs. But the provision would still have to survive the Senate and Gov. Phil Scott’s review.
NOFA-VT, however, remains optimistic that lawmakers will keep the bill intact.
“There’s a lot of hard decisions to be made, but food is a basic human need. And I think that a lot of legislators understand that,” said Johanna Doren, NOFA-VT’s local food access program director.
Crop Cash Plus supplements the older, partially federally funded Crop Cash program. At over 40 eligible farmers markets, Crop Cash will double a customer’s spending amount, with a current spending cap of $20. Then, Crop Cash Plus will add the same amount again.
Making farm-fresh food more affordable can support community wellbeing. A study by the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development found that people who receive food assistance, especially people of color, reported a “feeling of exclusion” when shopping at farmers markets.
But when both Crop Cash and Crop Cash Plus were available, Vermont market managers witnessed the largest crowds, according to Jana Murphy, a food systems researcher at the University of Vermont.
Crop Cash Plus also boosts nutritional variety.
Crop Cash is restricted to fruits, vegetables, herbs and seeds, which can be impractical for recipients without cooking time or access to a kitchen. Crop Cash Plus goes further and covers any SNAP-eligible food item. At a farmers market, that’s almost anything but hot, prepared foods.
And, Crop Cash Plus feeds the local economy. Doren calls this a “win-win.”
“[Farming] is not a high-profit business,” she said. “Farmers are often among those who receive SNAP benefits.”
But these benefits have been jeopardized since the program’s pilot. Crop Cash Plus’ funding has been neither guaranteed nor consistent. In 2024, it received no funding at all.
This inconsistency makes already “overwhelming” programs more difficult for customers to navigate, Doren said. That’s why NOFA-VT hopes to eventually land Crop Cash Plus in the base budget, for consistent future funding.
NOFA-VT began lobbying for next year’s allocation even before Gov. Scott introduced his budget on Jan. 20. Earlier that month, NOFA-VT representatives testified in front of the Senate Committee on Agriculture to ask for state funding, noting that the money is critical for both farmers and low-income Vermonters involved in their program.
Scott didn’t include the request in his budget proposal, but lawmakers in the House swiftly added $500,000 to the budget bill to support the program. The chamber passed the bill on March 27, sending it over to the Senate Committee on Appropriations where it currently sits.
Despite NOFA-VT’s early success, its biggest obstacle remains this year’s tight budget, according to Doren.
“There’s a perception among a lot of policymakers that if you fund something, you have to find where that money is — what other program that money is coming out of,” she said.
But Doren disagrees that social services must be “pit against each other,” even when there are limited funds.
NOFA-VT is working with the Vermont Food Security Coalition, a collection of organizations working to make all Vermonters food secure by 2035. The members advocate for each other’s programs, explaining to legislators why they should exist together.
Their message seems to be landing, at least with Crop Cash Plus. Doren said that more legislators than ever are aware of the program.
Rep. David Durfee, D-Bennington-3, chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency and Forestry, said the program received “strong bipartisan support” in committee, saying it was “at or near the top of their list they wanted to fund.”
While Crop Cash Plus has received strong support for one-time funding, making it into the base budget is a different matter, according to Durfee. His committee would have to make a budget request to the House Committee on Appropriations.
But Durfee said that any addition to the base budget is contingent on an ongoing increase in state revenue, making lawmakers cautious about any new proposals.
“The challenge is that they’re competing with many other requests, and it is a higher hurdle to get funding moved from one-time funding [to the base budget],” he said.
Durfee noted the program’s popularity among legislators and that its appropriation is “relatively small.” If Crop Cash Plus is to be considered one day for the base budget, these factors may work in its favor, he said.