When it comes to purchasing food, it’s not always easy to buy what is healthy and sustainably-sourced because, quite frankly, less healthy, processed, cheaper alternatives are much more readily available. Unfortunately, this struggle is especially difficult among low-income populations. There is a close correlation between income level and health–as income goes down, the nutritional adequacy of the household’s diet goes down as well. At the Land of Goshen Community Market, we are dedicated to providing all residents of our community access to local, sustainably-produced, healthy, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, meats, and baked goods, sold in their freshest possible state.
As a means of providing better access to these benefits to all residents, the Goshen Market Foundation has implemented a Double Value Coupon incentive program for Illinois SNAP/Link (food stamp) customers in partnership with the Link Up Illinois program supported by the Illinois Farmers Market Association, Experimental Station, and Wholesome Wave. In a nutshell, the Link Up Illinois incentive enables Link card users to double the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables they can purchase. For example, if a customer deducts $10 from his/her Link card at the Goshen Market, he/she will be given $20 in market tokens (sold at our information tent every Saturday) to buy additional fresh produce, with a matching limit of $25.