Farmers’ markets across the province are again participating in a program meant to put fresh produce on the table for Manitobans who would ordinarily struggle to source it.
On June 27, Direct Farm Manitoba announced the 2023 launch of its Manitoba Community Food Currency Program.
The program partners with “community organizations who are already connected with people who would benefit from better access to fresh, local food,” according to the Direct Farm Manitoba website.
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Those partners then choose those that could benefit from the program. Chosen individuals or families are given an “alternate currency” that can be used on a dollar- for-dollar basis to buy farm products from participating farmers’ markets, according to the launch announcement.
“Participants are able to directly support their local market and farmers while benefiting from greater access to local, farm-fresh food. Everybody wins,” Direct Farm Manitoba said in the release.
This will be the fourth year of the food currency program. It was launched in 2020, modelled after the British Columbia Association of Farmers’ Markets Coupon Nutrition Program.
The program expanded over the next two years, according to Direct Farm Manitoba, with 230 people or families utilizing it last year.
The program has also been promised funding to keep it going until at least 2025. The Government of Manitoba announced $1.1 million for the program over the next three years, starting in 2023. That funding was provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and “quadrupled the program,” according to the June 27 release.
More funding came from the Winnipeg Foundation.
The organization estimates it will reach 700 households through 26 community partner groups and 13 participating farmers’ markets this year.
“This program gets more food to people who need it while building a stronger local food economy,” Direct Farm Manitoba executive director Kristie Beynon said. “As the cost of living continues to increase, making it easier to get out and buy good food from your local producers is a win-win.
“We are thrilled that Manitoba Agriculture has seen the value in this program and that our markets and community partners continue to support it.”
The organization says it is also looking for federal funding to grow the scope of the program again.
