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The Cook County Local Foods Market takes place on Thursday afternoons from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center at 317 W. 5th St. The Market is a lively destination for community members and visitors alike to find local produce, homemade products like kimchi and pickles, wild rice, maple syrup, bread, baked goods, and more. All the vendors at the market grow, harvest, or make everything they sell and shopping at the market is a great way to support the local food economy.
Starting this week, the Local Foods Market can accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) as payment at the market. To use SNAP benefits, customers will first visit the Welcome Booth at the market. At the Welcome Booth they will be able to swipe their EBT card (the card that holds their SNAP benefits) in the amount of their choosing. They will be issued wooden SNAP tokens in the amount that they authorized on their EBT card to then use to shop at the market. Each wooden token is equivalent to $1. SNAP tokens can be used for all food available at the market including fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey and maple products, baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, sauces, and seeds and plants that produce food.
In addition to getting SNAP tokens, SNAP benefits users will also be eligible to get Market Bucks to spend at the market. Market Bucks are a great way to increase the buying power of SNAP users at the market. Each week, SNAP users can access a free match of $10 of Market Bucks and $10 of Produce Market Bucks to spend at the market. Market Bucks can be spent on all food at the market and Produce Market Bucks can be spent on fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) only. That means SNAP users can triple their dollars; by swiping their EBT card for $10 they will be able to spend $30 at the market. Market Bucks and Produce Market Bucks are programs offered at farmers markets across the state and are funded by the state of Minnesota and the USDA.
The Cook County Local Foods Market is a collaborative effort between the Cook County Community Center, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, University of Minnesota Extension, and the Northwoods Food Project.
For more information about the market, including how join as a vendor, call the Community Center at 218-387-3015 or visit co.cook.mn.us/government/departments/community_center/food_market.php
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