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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program (formerly known as food stamps) that provides assistance to families and individuals with low incomes. All LEAP markets accept SNAP benefits. Thanks to funding and support from Virginia Fresh Match, LEAP markets also double SNAP benefits.
Click to learn moreRoanoke Food ResourcesHow do you use SNAP/EBT at a LEAP Farmers Market?
SNAP customers visit the market manager’s table and swipe their EBT card through our mobile credit card machine. Next, we give the customer “LEAP Market Tokens.” Each token is a wooden nickel with a value of $1.00. The Market customer then uses the tokens just like cash to purchase SNAP-approved items from any of our market vendors. SNAP tokens are used for any SNAP-approved item (black token, middle row in the below photo), and match tokens funded by Virginia Fresh Match are used to purchase fruits and vegetables only (red tokens, top row). SNAP customers can match up to $30 at each market. The vendors then turn in their collected tokens at the end of the market and LEAP reimburses the vendors for those sales with real money. Pretty cool!
Bonus Bucks
A program designed to help our regular SNAP customers at the end of the month when funding may be tight. Simply shop with your SNAP card during the first few weeks of the month at any LEAP market and receive a free $10 Bonus Bucks voucher (limit: one per SNAP user per month). On the last market day of the month, turn that voucher in with your market manager in exchange for $10 Fruit and Veggie tokens. See the market manager to learn more!
How does the SNAP double-value program work?
Using support provided by Virginia Fresh Match, LEAP matches each SNAP purchase, dollar for dollar. In other words, if a SNAP customer decides to get $10.00 worth of market tokens with their EBT card, the customer actually receives $20.00 worth of market tokens!
More information about SNAP-EBT:– How to use the EBT card and SNAP benefits at Virginia Farmers Markets (SNAP-EBT VA Brochure)
Virginia Fresh Match is a statewide network of farmers markets, mobile markets, farm stands, and community retail outlets that offer double the value of SNAP at their venues as a way to make fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable. Click to learn more about the network and to find participating outlets.
Click to learn more
Just as SNAP recipients can double the value of their food dollars, individuals and families who receive Medicaid and WIC can also receive free vegetables and fruits with their purchases at LEAP's Grandin Village Farmers Market, West End Farmers Market, Farm Share, Online Marketplace, and at all LEAP Mobile Market stops.
Click to learn moreThere are times when federal aid doesn't reach every person lacking access to fresh food. Market Bucks allow LEAP to nourish more people in our community through partner organizations. To afford this support, we seek out grants, sponsorships, and individual donations. Click to learn more about how LEAP is strengthening our community's nutritional safety net.
In addition to operating our LEAP markets, we work Virginia Fresh Match to support markets in the Blue Ridge region of Virginia and the growth of our regional food system. In 2015, we were awarded a grant from the USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Program through Wholesome Wave, a Connecticut-based nonprofit. The FINI grant supports matching funds to SNAP-EBT (food stamp) purchases at farmers markets in Virginia. Matching funds or “incentives” help SNAP participants stretch their limited food budget by matching SNAP purchases. In other words, for every $1 spent on an EBT card, participating markets will match $1 in tokens that can be used to purchase fruits and vegetables.
Markets that accept and double SNAP in the Blue Ridge region include:
Grandin Village Farmers Market (LEAP)
West End Farmers Market (LEAP)
LEAP Mobile Market
Historic Roanoke City Market
Salem Farmers Market
Vinton Farmers Market
Catawba Valley Farmers Market
Bedford Farmers Market
Forest Farmers Market
Lynchburg Farmers Market
Blacksburg Farmers Market
Christiansburg Farmers Market and
Floyd Farmers Market
Make sure you check out all of the amazing markets in Virginia’s Blue Ridge!
