Food-stamp recipients for the first time will be able to shop at farmers’ markets in Colorado using the ATM-type card the government gives them to buy food.
A federal grant will put wireless terminals that can scan the cards, known as Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT cards, into about 30 markets next spring.
That will allow more than 252,000 Coloradans to shop for the food the markets are known for, fresh fruit and vegetables.
“Without the electronic terminals, food-stamp recipients weren’t able to come to us,” said Sally Haines, executive director of the Colorado Farmers’ Market Association.
The group received a $57,930 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to participate in the EBT program.
There are about 80 markets in Colorado, 58 of them CFMA members. Only member markets can apply for the terminals.
EBTs at farmers’ markets aren’t a novel idea. They’ve been used in several states for years.
Food-stamp clients at times have been turned away from a Colorado market. In Boulder, shoppers unsuccessfully sought to use their EBT card in a credit-card terminal.
“I’ve got a waiting list of five people who want to know when their EBT card can be used,” said Mark Menagh, manager of the Boulder County Farmers’ Market.
Food-stamp clients have been seen browsing, unable to buy, said Sandra Brown, manager of the Uncompahgre Farmers Market in Montrose.
“Many will come in, walk through to look but not buy, or just have a few dollars on them because they can’t use their card,” she said.
There’s a big market to be tapped. The Colorado Department of Human Services in September issued $26.9 million in food-stamp benefits to 252,477 clients, state records show.
Farmers’ markets here typically open in April and close by early November, Haines said. There are 17 markets in the Denver area, she said.
The state’s largest, in Cherry Creek, is not an association member, but that might change.
“We’d love to offer our customers the opportunity to use food stamps,” market organizer Michele Burke said.
The federal food-stamp program in 1997 did away with the booklets from which users counted out coupons at the cash register.
The cards work like an ATM card, using personal identification numbers to credit purchases against an available welfare balance.
The farmers’ market terminals will not operate in the same way. Instead, clients will credit a block amount before shopping and receive vouchers they can use as money, but only for food items at that market.
Vendors will trade vouchers for cash from market managers, Haines said. Crafts and other nonfood items cannot be bought with vouchers, she said.
Some wonder whether this is a return to the stigma of using a coupon book, one of the reasons for the EBT switch.
“It’s ironic, but sometimes you just can’t get away from it to make it work,” said Gloria Stultz, manager of the Cañon City Farmers’ Market. “But we will stress that it’s important that we blend them in as much as we can.”
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
