At a time when most Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits seem to be shrinking, those offered through the Fresh & Local Market at N.C. A&T State University are increasing. That’s good news for people in the local community who are trying to stretch their dollars.
For every $1, SNAP recipients can receive $4 worth of fresh produce at this year’s market, which concludes on Aug. 26. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays outside of the Alvin V. Bount Jr. Student Health Center.
The market began in 2023 and is funded by a grant from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program’s Produce Prescription and Nutrition Incentive, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
“It started out as double bucks, then we tripled it, and then this final year, we're quadrupling it,” said Shewana McSwain, Try Healthy coordinator for Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T. “The grant will run out at the end of August, so we really want to go out with the bang and serve as many families and students as we possibly can,” she said.
The Fresh & Local Nutrition Incentive Program, led by Rosalind Dale, Ed.D., vice provost for Engagement and Outreach at N.C. A&T, is a collaborative initiative. This multidisciplinary project team includes McSwain; Yolanda Nicholson, DNP, of Student Health Services; and Dr. Raymond Samuel, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biology in the College of Science and Technology.
The project initially offered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes from local farmers to the SNAP participants at half price, said Dale. However, the team has adapted it over time to allow the sale of individual items, including produce, eggs and meat.
“We have always had the market here on our campus. Once we saw (how many of) our students were participating, we changed the project to also include them,” Dale said. She stressed that only SNAP recipients can get the four for a dollar deal. People can sign up for SNAP benefits at the market.
McSwain said she sees families coming back again and again. “They’re benefiting from the produce,” she said. “They talk about how their families are eating better.”
