Accepting Food Stamps at Farmers' Markets

Last year 59,000 New Hampshire residents received more than $62 million in food stamp benefits, nearly all of which was spent supermarkets and convenience stores.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire fruit and vegetable growers have increasingly turned to marketing their crops directly to consumers through farmers' markets and farm stands. This summer, 75 or more New Hampshire communities will host farmers' markets.

Growers typically receive only about 20 percent of a retail shopper's food dollar, so direct marketing not only enables consumers to get fresh, locally grown food, but it also allows farmers to capture more of the profit.

In 2004, UNH Cooperative Extension received a three-year grant from the Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) to connect food-stamp recipients with local growers by piloting the process of accepting food-stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards at farmers' markets.

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Seacoast Youth Leadership Project: "Building the merry-go-round while we're on it"

When Rockingham County 4-H Educator Rick Alleva began work in the fall of 2002, he began by asking around about programs for youth in what he calls the Lower Seacoast--Seabrook, Hampton, North and South Hampton, and Hampton Falls.

"The answer? 'Not much,'" Alleva says.

Responding to the need
"Forty percent of adult males in Seabrook never finished high school, and the town has one of New Hampshire's highest unemployment rates. Hampton has one of the state's highest homeless and transient populations, including a lot of kids. Drug and alcohol issues are huge across Lower Seacoast towns. Yet the whole area had no special youth development programs for kids who needed them most," he says.

So Alleva convened a November meeting of all the local agencies that deal with young people: social service agencies, schools, police. "Like many such community initiatives, we decided to apply for a grant to fund a comprehensive program of youth development services," Alleva says. "We didn't get the grant, but we had energy. We kept on meeting. In fact we've met monthly ever since."


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Planning on Canning (Freezing, Drying, etc.)?

We've noticed more lawns and backyards sprouting tomatoes, beans and zucchini this year.

Even small gardens can produce an overabundance of vegetables at the peak of their harvest season. Preserving the overflow can help you store high-quality food for later use.

Canning, freezing, drying, and common storage are the four main methods of preserving homegrown food. The method(s) you choose will depend on whether you can find safe preservation guidelines for the foods you want to preserve, whether you have the equipment and space needed to process and store your garden crops, how much it will cost, and whether you and your family like the preserved products.

If you have questions about preserving food safely, call our toll-free Into Line (1-877-398-4769), or check the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

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