Easier SNAP Payments Increase Fresh Produce Sales at Local Farmers’ Market

Source: Science in Action, March 16, 2012 A study conducted at Clark Park Farmers’ Market by Alison Buttenheim collected SNAP (Food Stamp) payments through an easy electronic point-of-sale system. This easier method of payment increased fresh produce sales to SNAP recipients by 38 percent during the study; however, farmers’ markets would not be able to break even on sales if they paid the costs associated with this system. Buttenheim hopes this study will “inform policymakers about the specific mechanisms driving SNAP redemptions and about the need for subsidies for wireless POS technology at farmers’ markets.”