Farmers Markets May have to Stop Accepting Food Stamps

[Leighbythesea]

At the end of this month, hundreds of America’s farmers markets will no longer be able to process payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps. The change will disproportionately affect markets in states that offer incentives to help low-income consumers buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

The reason for the service cut is not ideology, but bureaucracy. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled its contract with the Farmers Market Coalition, the organization that provides farmers with the hardware and software to accept SNAP payments. Partly as a result, one of the main companies offering this technology, Novo Dia, is canceling its service and going out of business. While this outcome has been clear for months, the USDA’s new contractor has not installed a replacement technology that would allow farmers to keep accepting SNAP payments.

There is no backup option,” said Ben Feldman, policy director for the Farmers Market Coalition. “July and August are the busiest times of the year. Farmers were promised that they would have functioning equipment and they don’t, and right now there’s no program to help them get it.”

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5b48f895e4b022fdcc5941c7

Apologies if someone already posted this.

[Historic NY]

1. The Markets are already complaining as stuff piles up unsold.

[Leighbythesea]

2. This is

So disheartening. For buyers and sellers.

[secondwind]

3. This entire Administration is just one big clusterfuck.

[Cha]

4. Thanks for posting this, Leigh.

That really too bad.. looks like it's a done deal.

[OhioBlue]

5. It seems to me that the problem is NOT bureaucracy but indeed ideology and incompetence

by the tRump admin. Why would they give a contract to a company with no experience and no employees? My thoughts are because they are grifting and that is in fact their ideology.

The current admin has no ideology other than to enrich themselves, their donors, their chosen ones and consolidate power. They do not care about our country, the diet of poor Americans, the viability of family farms or really anything that affects the people of this Country other than the few in the inner circle.

It is NOT bureaucracy. It is all incompetence and ideology.

[Leighbythesea]

7. My first thought too.

Was grift. Not red tape and disorganization.

Im a ohio blue too. Ive kept a house and a license there and hope to come back eventually.

[pansypoo53219]

6. WTF!?!? thank god there are no pets. we need to rescue the kid.