Maine Farmland Trust is thrilled to share that over the next few months, Good Shepherd Food Bank will transition into leading the Farm Fresh Rewards program moving forward. As MFT looks to focus on our farmer-facing work in the next few years, we are very excited to see how Good Shepherd will expand and build upon the Farm Fresh Rewards program! For more information, please visit farmfreshrewards.org or contact Good Shepherd at farmfreshrewards@gsfb.org
HOW IT WORKS
Get a $5 fruit and veggie voucher for every $10 you spend with SNAP/EBT on local food at participating stores.
Participating Stores
Berry Fruit Farm (Livermore Falls)
Gardiner Food Co-op (Gardiner)
Ginny’s Natural Corner (Skowhegan)
Jordan’s Farm (Cape Elizabeth)
Portland Food Co-op (Portland)
Rising Tide Community Market (Damariscotta)
Rosemont Market: Munjoy Hill (Portland)
Royal River Natural Foods (Freeport)
Tips for using the program:
- Buy more, get more: Get a $5 voucher for every $10 you spend on local food
- Look for labels identifying local products
- Vouchers are good for fresh, frozen, and dried Maine-grown fruits and vegetables with no added sugars, salt, or fats. Local food-producing seeds and plants count too!
- Use your vouchers to preserve the harvest! Check with your local participating store about opportunities to spend the vouchers on bulk local produce orders.
- Earn and spend vouchers in $10 increments, so look for small local items (like garlic) to help you round up!
- Spend vouchers in $5 increments (you are not able to partially redeem a voucher).
- Vouchers can be spent on your next purchase or saved up for when benefits run low
- Note the expiration date on your vouchers
- Spend vouchers at any participating store
Visit farmfreshrewards.org for more information, including Frequently Asked Questions.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
This is similar to another program in Maine, Maine Harvest Bucks, which provides extra money to buy local fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets, CSAs, farm stands, and a mobile market. Maine Harvest Bucks is managed by our friends at Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets.
Cooking classes, recipes, tips, and more:
- Maine SNAP-Ed: Helps you cook, shop, and eat on a budget! Offers recipes, cheap meal tips, cooking classes, and more.
- UMaine Cooperative Extension offers workshops and tips on preserving and canning food.
- Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Cooking Matters (cooking class and shopping on a budget store tours) program
- Journey to Health cooking classes
- Maine General Healthy Living cooking classes
- Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4 /Day: Cookbook available online, with more recipes online too, a selection of cheap meals so you can eat healthy on a budget
- List of what produce is in season when
- Cooperative Extension’s video series: 5 Ways to Cut Food Costs
- Cooperative Extension’s “Eat Well” program also offers newsletters with handy tips about buying and preparing food on a budget
WHAT WE HEAR ABOUT FARM FRESH REWARDS
“This program is on many levels a life-saver, in that I get to eat…good quality food, I get to support my local farmers and vendors, and in my mind all of that is a win-win. Overall the mental and physical health benefits and the opportunity to get more food is huge for me. It’s a big deal.” –Customer
“We really love that our local food co-op offers nutrition incentives. It is a win for our farm and fellow farmers in that more people are encouraged to buy local products and great for our community that folks can utilize these programs to support our local co-ops and small businesses, and fantastic that families get to see their benefits stretched further and are able to enjoy fresh local fruits and veggies grown in their communities.” –Farmer