Press Releases

11/17/2023

CT DoAg Encourages Eligible Participants to use Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Benefits for Holiday Meal Purchases

Funds Expire on November 30, 2023

(HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is encouraging eligible participants to visit a certified farmers’ market or farm stand to use their Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) benefits before they expire on November 30, 2023. Unused funds will not rollover to 2024. Eligible participants include women enrolled in Women, Infants, and Child (WIC) through the Department of Public Health, as well as seniors over the age of 60 and disabled individuals who meet income and housing guidelines.

“As families prepare for the upcoming holiday, using their Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program benefits is one way to stretch their food purchasing dollars,” said Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt. “This enables at-risk individuals to have equitable access to buy fresh, locally grown food products to create meals while supporting new and beginning farmers, as well as established producers.”

Connecticut’s farmers are continuing to harvest an abundance of cold tolerant crops, such as broccoli and brussels sprouts. Many other crops such as apples, onion, potatoes, and winter squash store well, which enables farmers to extend their availability to consumers after picking. These and many other items, including eggs, cut herbs, and honey, can be found at certified Connecticut Grown farmers’ markets and farm stands throughout the state. View a current list of authorized redemption locations, including indoor winter markets and pop-up holiday markets, or visit our website for a map.

This year the FMNP program moved from paper benefits to a mobile closed loop, EBT payment system through a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Benefit Delivery Modernization Grant. Participants are issued benefits from senior distribution sites or WIC offices to redeem at authorized redemption locations to purchase fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, eggs (state funds only), and honey (seniors only). The program runs from July 1 to November 30 annually.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state's economy. For more information, visit www.CTGrown.gov.

 

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For Immediate Release: Friday, November 17, 2023
Contact: Rebecca Eddy, 860-573-0323, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov 

http://www.ctgrown.gov