Carrboro Farmers’ Market new programs off to big start
By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
Carrboro – The signs are everywhere. Everywhere at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market that is.
That’s where the Truck Bucks logo is on display at 47 stands nestled alongside cheeses, flowers, vegetables and just about everything else the market has on hand.
Truck Bucks are wooden tokens, and are both literally and figuratively the currency of a new set of programs aimed at increasing sales for farmers and encouraging participants in the federal SNAP program (you may know the program as food stamps) to take advantage of the market’s offerings. So far, $3,250 in market sales have come via the tokens.
Last Saturday, under a warm sun, the Truck Bucks were flowing. Volunteer Marian Sadler stayed busy at the currency exchange set up at the market’s booth swiping credit, debit and EBT cards and handing out the small, wooden “truckies.†(EBT stands for electronic benefit transfer, for those with federal benefits.)
After several hours and at least one run back to the bank to replenish the Truck Bucks in circulation, Sadler, a school of public health graduate working with the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, turned to market manager Sarah Blacklin and reported a distinct jump in SNAP participants.
“It’s more than double last week,†she said to Blacklin.
Sadler said that after only two weeks into the program, she’s been impressed with the way the tokens have taken off.
“It’s going surprisingly well,†she said. “People already know them as Truck Bucks.â€
Chapel Hill Creamery’s Barbara Taylor noticed the jump in the use of tokens as well. “I’ve quite a few today,†she said late in the market day on Saturday. “It’s definitely picked up this week.â€
Sabrina Lopez, who is coordinating the program along with Blacklin, said it’s gratifying to see the program start off so well.
In addition to her role as banker on market days, Lopez is preparing to get the word out about the program to more SNAP participants. “We’re going to be doing a lot of outreach, including the Latino and Karen community,†she said.
Blacklin said the program, funded by a $17,000 grant from Pittsboro-based Rural Advancement Fund International and administered through the Leaflight Foundation, a Chapel Hill nonprofit, proved a logistical challenge since it’s aimed at a variety of customers.
Part of the program, she said, is intended to fill the market’s long-running need to allow customers to use credit and debit cards in what has been a cash-only market.
“We still want customers to use cash as much as possible,†she said. “The idea is that this will help folks who want to buy more.â€
Since the credit and debit transactions cost a fee, the farmers will only see about 96 cents on the dollar with the rest to cover the cost of the transaction. Blacklin said one of the logistical challenges in setting up the program was to create ways to track the use of the tokens and be able to prove they are increasing sales and not just replacing cash with credit.
After getting a chance to tally the numbers, Blacklin said in an interview Wednesday that the market saw one of its busiest Saturdays, with 4,700 visitors. The market prior to Mother’s Day is always big, Blacklin said, but the Truck Bucks certainly played a part. The market saw $1,245 in credit card and debit card use, about the same as the Saturday before. The increase in overall use of the tokens came from a rise in SNAP sales from $90 to $210.
“The word is getting out,†she said. “We had someone call from Fayetteville to see if the program was up and running. She was pretty excited about coming up and shopping at the market.â€
Another incentive for SNAP participants is the new Market Match program, which matches $20 in purchases with another $20 in Truck Bucks. It’s similar to programs at New Orleans’ Crescent City Farmers’ Market and the DuPont Circle Farmers’ Market in Washington, D.C., both of which have been successful in recruiting SNAP customers.
Carrboro’s match is paid for by using $2,000 of the grant money and will be offered until the money runs out. After that, Blacklin said, the market will likely seek additional grants to keep Market Match going.
The logistics of working within the federal food-program guidelines and effectively creating, marketing and circulating a new form of currency has been a challenge, Blacklin said. But the experience in Carrboro may provide other markets in the state and elsewhere with a template for how to set up a similar program.
“Other places will have to have different set ups,†she said. “Our goal is to figure out what works, refine it and work with other markets as they develop their systems.â€