On a recent rainy Saturday afternoon, music, laughter and a hum of activity filled the Chico farmers market. Kaylyn Hand, with the Center for Healthy Communities, waited under the bright awning of the Market Match booth.
At the booth, people with CalFresh EBT benefits, or food stamps, can convert money from their electronic benefit account into tokens they can use at market stalls. Market Match then matches that money up to $15. Hand said she loves seeing recipients' reactions when she explains how the program works.
“To see their face light up like that, really just solidifies that I love what I do. And I love being a part of something that can be so positive for so many people,” she said.
The program is facing an uncertain future amid a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall in California. It’s slated for major budget cuts as lawmakers try to balance the state’s checkbook.
Hand is one of many program workers trying to keep it alive.
“Having been on CalFresh in the past, it really makes or breaks your diet,” she said. “Having access to those nutritional values is a really big game changer.”
Improving access to fresh produce
Across the market, farmer Ally DeSoto sells her produce from a colorful booth stuffed to the brim with onions, beets and tubs of leafy greens. DeSoto has been farming for almost six years and selling her produce at the market for nearly as long. She’s a newer farmer compared to most who have been farming in Butte County their entire lives, she said.
DeSoto grew up going to market with her parents and shopping locally. She said supporting local farmers and businesses is crucial for the economy.
“I just fell in love with the act of actually growing food. It's really special to see where it comes from,” she said. “Also being able to interface with the people that you’re feeding. It feeds a part of myself.”
DeSoto said she used to receive EBT benefits and they were a lifesaver. Now, she gets to give back.
“For the farmers I've worked with, there's no downsides for them,” she said. “I've always thought it was amazing. When I've been on EBT I'm like, ‘this is an awesome program for me too.’ So I've been on both sides of it."
DeSoto is far from alone. Over 12% of Butte County’s population was on a food assistance program in 2021, which far exceeds the state average.
Losing the additional funds for fresh produce that Market Match provides wouldn’t just impact benefit-holders, but farmers as well.
Market Match provides reliable income for local farmers
Jennifer Dye, project director for the Center for Healthy Communities and head of the Market Match program in Butte County, said Market Match provided over $100,000 for people to spend at farmers markets last year.
“That's gone if the program is gone,” Dye said.
Many farmers selling at Chico farmers markets said about a fourth of their revenue comes from the program. Chris Saeturn said the program has helped his business and thinks every farmers market should have an EBT program like Market Match.
“I think every farmers market should include it,” he said. “It helps the vendors and it helps the community.”
Dye said the program is a double win for local communities. The money goes to EBT recipients who can buy fresh fruits and vegetables they otherwise might not be able to afford and it supports small local farmers who can count on market sales.
“This is a massive scale cut to the safety net program of Market Match,” Dye said. “If this went through, it'd be a huge change for tens of thousands of Californians that help them afford healthy food.”
If Market Match loses its funding, Dye said communities like Butte County would be hit especially hard. Like other rural areas in the state, the county faces higher rates of poverty and food insecurity. Just over half of the county's population made a living wage in 2021, with 18% of the county living below the poverty line.
Looking to the future
Despite a potentially grim future, Dye, Hand and other program workers say they still have hope. Hand said the program helps build a sense of community at farmers markets. She fears without it, many who rely on Market Match will lose that community as well.
“We have so many people that walk through this market and come to our services,” Hand said. “We have a regular family that comes in and the kids love to hold the tokens.” So it's not only going to affect the access to food, but really affect the sense of community that really brings all of us together.”
What will happen with the program is a question Hand and Dye can’t answer. Dye said her team is putting up a fight by showing lawmakers what losing Market Match could mean.
The state legislature must pass a final budget by June 15.
