Food Assistance Match

2024 Food Assistance Match

As In 2023, the match this year will be funded by Food Assistance Match Inc., a 501(c) looking to expand the local model to other regional markets. For more information, visit FoodAssistanceMatch.org.

We expect to offer a 1:1 (double the purchasing power of food assistance benefits) in the 2024 season.

Food Assistance Match History

Through a partnership with Just Harvest, Bellevue Farmers Market has been offering a match for SNAP benefits since 2018 by leveraging the Fresh Access program. In the 2018 and 2019 seasons, this match was the entirety of food assistance available at the market.

In 2020, Bellevue Farmers Market created the Feeding Neighbors Program. This food delivery service started at the beginning of the pandemic, providing more than 10,000 meals to nearly 300 families by leveraging more than 250 volunteers and $100,000 of contributions from individuals, foundations, and in-kind contributions.

Thanks to the generous support of the Heinz Endowments and Pittsburgh Foundation, the remaining funds were redirected to create a safe market (temporarily housed at Suburban Hospital due to the closing of Bayne Park) and provide a match for all food assistance benefits (SNAP, WIC, Senior Bucks, etc.) in 2020. This concept was the foundation on which the Food Assistance Match (FAM) Program was built.

In 2021, the community supported the FAM Program on its own through contributions from local individuals and businesses, and a successful crowdfunding campaign that netted more than $5,000. Contributions from as far as Ireland helped to feed our neighbors in Bellevue.

Bellevue Farmers Market was awarded a federal Community Development Block Grant for the FAM Program the following year. As a result of this significant support, the market could offer a 2:1 match (triple the buying power of food assistance benefits) from August onward after offering a 1:1 match in June and July.

While the program has been exceptionally successful, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the match means a greater level of effort and a new approach. As a result, Bona Fide Bellevue and Bellevue Farmers Market spun out the FAM Program into its own 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which is expanding the model to other farmers markets in the region. Look out for more information about Food Assistance Match Inc. in 2024!