Governor Cuomo Expands FreshConnect Checks Program
Over 1.5 million New York State residents, forced to travel far and wide for milk, eggs, and bread, have minimal access to supermarkets.
Low income participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program must scrape by on a limited budget for basic staples, let alone healthy produce.
Farmers in New York State, competing with heavily-subsidized corporations nationwide, depend upon sales at regional farmers’ markets to break even.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo tackled all three of these issues facing his constituents by expanding the FreshConnect Checks Program this month. Infusing the program with over $350,000 in public funding, Governor Cuomo committed to not only heightening its impact across the state, but also to adding a number of new dimensions.
FreshConnect Checks, in its most straightforward sense, improves the purchasing power of SNAP participants by 40 percent at member farmers’ markets. In other words, a $5 transaction with one of these checks at a farmers’ market gives consumers an additional $2 to spend. 152 farmers markets across the state have qualified for the program, which saw $3.2 million in sales last year alone, and many stay open throughout the year.
“The FreshConnect Program allows New Yorkers in need to access locally grown fruits and vegetables, and this year we’re going above and beyond to help people eat healthy,” Governor Cuomo said. “By increasing the amount of funding available and adding year-round partners to the program, we are promoting healthier habits and making a difference in communities across the state.”
Following a successful and highly-acclaimed pilot program in 2014, the New York Division of Veterans’ Affairs will also continue to distribute FreshConnect checks to Veterans and current Service Members, as well as their immediate family members. Governor Cuomo has allocated $60,000 for this particular program, which veterans can take advantage of on a first-come, first-served basis at VA offices across the state.
“Providing this benefit for Veterans and their families, and expanding the program this year to include all active duty Service Members and their families is a way that New York State can thank these men and women for their service,” claimed New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs Director Eric Hesse.
Furthermore, Governor Cuomo has earmarked $50,000 to supporting the supplier side of the FreshConnect Checks Program. The Market Manager Certification Program, organized and implemented by the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York, SUNY Cobleskill and Cornell Cooperative Extension, functions as professional development training for farmers’ market managers.
“The program will teach best practices for farmers’ market management, and tactics and techniques for expanding farmers’ markets,” said Farmers’ Market Federation of New York Executive Director Diane Eggert, in reference to the Market Manager Certification Program. “Certified managers will be in a position to leverage additional support for the market and ensure its overall success.”
A number of state commissioners, industry leaders, and activists fighting income inequality have commended the FreshConnect Checks Program for targeting many issues of inequity all at once. The program’s website (freshconnect.ny.gov) includes a user-friendly map of all participating farmers’ markets and VA offices.