On the hunt for good news this week, I came across the best news ever in a Facebook post from Honey Haven Farm: “Farmer John is excited to announce that his sweet corn is ready!” Only days ago, the corn was “knee high by the Fourth of July,” and now it’s ready to douse with butter and enjoy. Woohoo!
One of the benefits of living in Ohio is the availability of fresh summer produce, and one of the best places to access that produce is through farmer’s markets at the weekly Saturday morning gathering at Christ United Methodist Church and downtown on Wednesday afternoon in the municipal parking lot. Fresh local produce is also available at Honey Haven, Mitchell’s Orchard and Farm Market, and Local Roots, as well as at roadside stands and some of our local grocery stores.
I’ve been spoiled for sure, growing up near the best farmer’s market in North Tonawanda, New York, and accessing the many options in Ashland. Now that we’re living in North Canton, I’ve been on the lookout for farmers’ markets, and visited my first one last Wednesday. With signs all around the community, a parking lot filled with cars, and at least thirty multi-colored tents and canopies, I was excited to sample the produce available for purchase. But many of the vendors didn’t have fresh fruit or vegetables. Lots of homemade breads, dog biscuits, and spices, but only four or five produce stands.
As I was whining about the low number of real farmers there, I read about a more serious struggle facing many farmer’s markets across the country. I’m not sure how many of Ohio’s markets are impacted, so check with your local vendors to see. What’s happening is that a company providing the technology to process EBT cards at some farmer’s markets is closing, thus threatening the ability of farmers to accept that form of payment through the SNAP program (formerly food stamps). Apparently the most recent USDA contract was awarded to a company who chose not to use the Novo Dia software, effectively putting them out of business.
What’s going on? As is often the case with government contracts, it’s complicated. As I understand, the coalition that previously had the contract wasn’t allowed to bid because they were a non-profit, and so another vendor was selected for the 1.3 million-dollar job, a brand-new company with only one employee at the time of the contract award. They won’t be ready to provide the needed services for at least a few months, and so the farmers will have no way to accept EBT cards.
Who was FTM and its CEO Angela Sparrow, this one-person small business? My minimal detective skills couldn’t figure that out, even with Google’s help. I remember the struggle I had when attempting to complete an application to provide summer lunches through the USDA program at the Kroc Center. I felt I needed to promise the government my first-born child in return for reimbursement for a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. How does a new, one-person company get this award? Reminds me of the two-employee Whitefish Energy Holding group selected to restore the Puerto Rico power grid.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo isn’t happy, and pointedly told the secretary of agriculture, “USDA’s failure to maintain an EBT system for SNAP benefits is the worst of government ineptitude and is a rejection of your agency’s core principles.” Should Cuomo be encouraged because Ms. Sparrow promises “to work with my partners with a maniacal focus on executing in a manner that will quickly resolve this . . . problem”?
On vacation, the lovely Madelyn Simone had a ten-dollar bill she wanted to use to purchase a snack from the hotel’s vending machine. Without the technology to accept her payment, she was out of luck. SNAP benefits provide badly-needed food to those with minimal resources, and being able to use the EBT card at the markets has been a tremendous help to its users. Here’s hoping solutions can be found so the most vulnerable among us aren’t “out of luck,” but instead, can enjoy the bounty our land produces. Including juicy tomatoes and Farmer John’s corn.
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