Increasing Access and Affordability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables through the Market Bucks Incentive Program

Introduction: Olmsted County Public Health Services (OCPHS) received a federal Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant to promote access to healthy foods and physical activity. To attract more low-income customers to the local farmers market, OCPHS helped launch the Market Bucks incentive program in August 2010, which increased the purchasing power for customers using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program electronic benefit transfers (EBT) and Women Infants and Children (WIC) vouchers. Methods: A comprehensive evaluation assessed the impact of the Market Bucks incentive on EBT sales and collected feedback from stakeholders to evaluate program administration. Evaluation activities included: tracking EBT sales, monitoring Market Bucks distribution and redemption, administering a randomized community survey, interviewing market staff, and surveying vendors and Market Bucks customers. Results: EBT sales significantly increased with the initiation of the Market Bucks incentive program and the increase was sustained throughout the 2011 season, with a monthly average of $395 in EBT sales before Market Bucks to $847 after Market Bucks started. Most vendors reported that by accepting EBT/WIC, they feel that they have more new and repeat customers, have increased sales, and provide a benefit to the community. Customers value this program, having redeemed over 95% of Market Bucks distributed, totaling nearly $10,000 in additional fresh fruits and vegetables. Discussion: These findings suggest that incentivizing food benefit payments at farmers markets through a program such as Market Bucks can expand the customer base to include more WIC/EBT beneficiaries, resulting in greater access to fresh and locally-grown produce for low-income households.