SNAP and AARP Fre$h Savings Program Starts at Morristown Farmers Market

Swipe your SNAP EBT Card and get Tokens for Farmers Market Foods and Get Additional Tokens to Spend for Fruits and Vegetables from AARP’s Fre$h Savings Program.

The Morristown Farmers Market located at 130 W. Morris Boulevard in downtown Morristown (corner of W. Morris Blvd. and S. Henry St.) is pleased to announce that it has been approved by USDA to provide tokens to SNAP customers so that they can purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, vegetable plants, bread, eggs, and other foods at the Morristown Farmers Market. A representative of Crossroads Downtown Partnership will be at the market every Friday and Saturday from 10AM to 3 PM to swipe SNAP EBT cards and provide tokens. These tokens can be taken to any farmer at the market to purchase food and other consumables and can be spent during any market day. The Morristown Farmers Market is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5:30 PM, and on Saturdays from 8AM to 3:30PM. This program begins Friday, May 20th and will go to the end of the market season.

At the same time, volunteers for AARP’s Fre$h Savings Program will be there so that SNAP recipients can get additional tokens to purchase fruits and vegetables. Once the SNAP recipient has swiped their card and receives SNAP tokens, they can show their receipt to the AARP Fresh Savings Representative to receive up to 10 additional tokens to spend at the market. It is a one to one match up to $10 for each SNAP transaction.

Both SNAP and AARP tokens have the value of $1 and are not exchangeable for cash or other monetary consideration. These programs combined are a great asset to the customer and to the Farmers. The customer can get fresh foods for their families straight from the person that grew it. Since more customers will be attracted to the market, the Farmers have more of an opportunity to sell what they grow. Both programs are available to SNAP recipients, regardless of age.

The Morristown Farmers Market is one of five markets in East Tennessee where both SNAP and AARP’s Fresh Savings programs are available. Only 17 markets in the state have been approved for the Fresh Savings Program. AARP received a grant from USDA for the Fresh Savings Program and it goal is help combat hunger for folks that are eligible to participate.