A Growing Need: The economic crisis and mass unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic has increased financial stress for thousands of Bay Area families. In the midst of this global health crisis, access to healthy food is more important than ever. But for families cut off from their regular income and from the meal supports they received through their children’s school, access to the affordable, healthy food has become an additional challenge for the family to face.
A Proven Response: Since 2009, PCFMA has helped Bay Area families stretch their food dollars by matching the amount of CalFresh benefits that families spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at their local farmers’ market. Over the past 5 years, this Market Match program has helped more than 40,000 families to purchase nearly $2.5 million in fresh, healthy, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
How you can Help: To meet this growing need, PCFMA has added more staff to speed up customer service at its farmers’ markets and secured a grant to expand Market Match to support customers shopping with Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers issued by local WIC agencies, in addition to assisting customers shopping with CalFresh. But the extent of the need in the Bay Area due to the pandemic is so great that PCFMA’s funding for Market Match may not last until the end of the year. You can help to sustain this essential program with your donation. Every $10 you donate supports a Market Match benefit for a local family in need.
A Little About Us: This fund raising effort is a partnership between California Food Education (FoodEd), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA), a 501c5 nonprofit organization. FoodEd and PCFMA share a commitment to stronger, more resilient, and healthier food system that provides abundant nutrition and variety for consumers, while supporting and sustaining local small-scale and family farmers. Your contribution to FoodEd is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and 100% of your donation*, will go to support Market Match efforts at the farmers’ markets operated by PCFMA.
*When you make your donation you will be asked if you would be willing to cover the cost of the credit card fees charged to FoodEd. Saying yes allows for greater support for Market Match.