With the Federal government ending the emergency allotment of extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits and the higher cost of food at the grocery store, many more people are facing food insecurity.
Massachusetts is on schedule to replace some of the lost SNAP benefits to residents. However, thus far only three months of funding (for April, May, and June) have been allocated.
We need your help to replenish the fund as the Winchester Famerms market season approaches! You can give:
Last season, well over 100 SNAP customers came to the market each week, and we expect similar numbers this season.
Right now, our funds are depleted. Last year we gave out more in matching funds than we took in from donations. In the past, we provided a match of $15 per SNAP customer per week. This year we are starting with a reduced match of $10. Please give generously and help us be able to return to our $15 match.
Anna’s Fund is the conduit. Contributions from local organizations and individuals to Anna’s Fund allow SNAP customers to receive up to an additional $15 each week to the benefits they receive when they process their SNAP card at the market manager’s tent.
Contributors to Anna’s Fund help SNAP customers have greater access to fresh and healthy food in a way that provides dignity.
Leo Castro, SNAP table intern and a 2023 graduate of WHS:
The LaViolette family continues to support the fund, & daughter Linda highlights the importance of SNAP & Anna’s Fund:
SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Previously known as food stamps, it is the federal government’s largest nutrition benefit program. SNAP supplements the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food. It helps people buy food from places as varied as supermarkets, farmers markets, and convenience stores.
HIP is the Healthy Incentives Program in the Commonwealth of Massachusettss. It rewards SNAP recipients with extra benefits when they use SNAP to purchase fruits, vegetables, and food-producing plants at farmers markets, farm stands, CSAs, and mobile markets.
Each SNAP customer receives matching money from Anna’s Fund when they process their card at the Market Manager’s tent. They then can use their SNAP tokens to make eligible purchases from any of the market’s produce farmers. The Winchester Farmers Market also provides, through the Massachusetts Healthy Incentive Program, an instant rebate into SNAP customers’ accounts for purchase of fruits and vegetables.
We also accept Women, Infant and Children (WIC) coupons and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program FMNP) coupons.
The Anna LaViolette SNAP Matching Fund was created to honor the memory of our great friend, Anna LaViolette. Anna, an 85-year-old volunteer, was with us only two short years but she rarely missed a Saturday staffing the manager’s tent. She embodied the spirit of what the Market aspires to be: always welcoming, inquisitive, and vibrant. She was a strong believer in our mission of providing healthy, fresh food to all families.
Anna’s Fund aims to double SNAP benefits up to $15 per customer card, per market day. However, the matching amount depends on what the Fund can sustain. Every dollar paid out comes from contributions from local organizations and individuals. Help us achieve this goal of $15 per customer per market day.
Anna’s Fund was created to support the Winchester/Woburn community and neighboring towns. If the demand is greater and the Fund can accommodate it, we will increase the amount we can match per market day.
The Anna LaViolette Matching SNAP Fund is supported by the LaViolette family.
Winchester Savings Bank sponsors our program that hires interns to administer the SNAP program. Each week, an intern can be found at the manager’s tent at the market. Qualified shoppers can stop by to pick up tokens for shopping. At the same time, they can get matching funds from Anna’s Fund.
In 2022, many in our community bought raffle tickets to support the farmers market’s efforts to raise money for Anna’s Fund. After a drawing on November 19, the raffle winner, Leslie Kennedy, received the beautiful queen-size quilt created and contributed by local master quilter Denise Konicek.
In 2022, contributors gave more than $21,000 through the raffle and other donations, and all of it went directly to SNAP customers. The raffle was invaluable to building our program. We are grateful for your continued generosity.
2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
