Our Fresh Access program enables farmers market shoppers to use their food stamps – as well as credit and debit cards – to buy fresh, nutritious, and locally-produced food. Food Bucks give food stamp shoppers an extra $2.00 to spend on fruits and veggies for every $5.00 they spend.
Fresh Access services are available in Allegheny County at 14 farmers markets during the 2024 farmers market season. The season runs May to November, and at one Pittsburgh neighborhood market through March 2025.
Scan this QR code to take the 2024 Fresh Access Farmers Market Customer Survey and share your market shopping experience with us!
How Fresh Access works at the farmers market
At Just Harvest’s red market tent or at the market manager’s tent (just look for Fresh Access signs!), shoppers can swipe their electronic benefits transfer (EBT/SNAP/SUN Bucks) cards or their credit or debit cards. They will then receive tokens they can use just like cash to purchase a variety of fresh produce, baked goods, meat, and dairy products.
Tokens are accepted by nearly all the market vendors, though the same rules apply to what EBT users are allowed to purchase. So, shoppers can’t use their benefits to purchase hot or prepared foods or alcohol at the market. EBT shoppers also can’t use their card to buy flowers BUT they can use their benefits to buy fruit or vegetable plants and seeds!
Why farmers markets?
Farmers markets have long been a popular source of healthy food. Typically open half the year from May to Thanksgiving, local farmers markets attract thousands of shoppers to locations around the city.
Just Harvest, along with Pittsburgh Citiparks and participating local farmers, launched Fresh Access in May 2013 at the East Liberty and North Side farmers markets. The program is now in its 11th year and operates at a total of 14 locations in Allegheny County.
Fresh Access helps address hunger by expanding access to fresh, healthy food. The program also helps support our region’s small farms and the Pittsburgh area communities that host farmers markets.
We hope to see you at one of the Fresh Access markets soon!
Farmers Market Nutrition Vouchers
People aged 60 and older (by December 31, 2024) who meet the income guidelines are eligible to get $50 in Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) vouchers to be used at farmers markets and farm stands. The county distributed SFMNP vouchers in-person at Allegheny County senior centers on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Mail-in applications will be added to a waiting list managed by the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging (AAA) which you can contact at (412) 350-5460. The five $10 vouchers expire November 30 and recipients must spend each in their entirety – market vendors will not provide change.
Eligible WIC recipients will receive FMNP vouchers with their WIC checks at their quarterly visit sometime between May and September.
You can find a list of the farmers markets and farm stands near you where you can redeem these vouchers at this state website.
More info on local farmers markets:
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- The locations and schedule for Fresh Access farmers markets
- More info on the City of Pittsburgh’s four farmers markets
Get involved!
Like the outdoors and fresh, local food? Volunteer with Fresh Access!
VolunteerQuestions about Fresh Access? Contact Fresh Access Coordinator Amanda Sloane at [email protected] or 412-676-7036
Our Sponsors
Major support for Fresh Access in 2023 is generously provided by:
The Allegheny County Health Department through a cooperative agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control
The Safe and Healthy Communities Program of the Allegheny County Health Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Health
Fresh Access Food Bucks are made possible in cooperation with The Food Trust through a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to:
- mail:
Food and Nutrition Service, USDA
1320 Braddock Place, Room 334
Alexandria, VA 22314; or - fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or - email:
[email protected]
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
