Waukesha Farmers’ Market to Soon Take QUEST Cards
Food stamp pilot program being reviewed at 10 state farmers’ markets.
Those using QUEST Cards, which allow people to obtain FoodShare benefits from the state, will soon be able to use the cards to purchase fresh produce from the Waukesha’s Farmers’ Market.
The Waukesha Business Improvement District Board of Directors agreed to receive a federal grant Thursday morning that would allow the farmers’ market to participate in a pilot program with nine other farmers’ markets in Wisconsin.
The two-year contract would be good for this season and next year’s farmers’ market.
Some of the paperwork and system work are still being finalized so the exact start date is yet to be determined. The federal grant was applied for by the UW-Extension and is from the United States Department of Agriculture.
When it comes to food purchases at the farmers’ markets, there are rules in place. Basically, “nothing hot and prepared,” said Waukesha BID Executive Director Meghan Sprager.
“There are very strict guidelines,” she said. “When there is a question, we … clarify if they are an accepted vendor or not.”
Those with the QUEST card will be required to stop by the BID’s booth at the farmers’ market where the card will be swiped into a safe, electronic system. The BID will give $1 tokens that are unique to the Waukesha Farmers’ Market in return.
"We will have pre-approved farmers’ market vendors where they can use those tokens, and we will collect the tokens from the vendors and issue them a check for the produce,” Sprager said.
Other farmers’ markets in the nation have had vendors report up to a $16,000 increase in sales because of the use of food stamp benefits, Sprager said. But, those communities are at farmers’ markets in the southern area of the East Coast and West Coast where the growing season is significantly longer than in Wisconsin, so the results here could be different.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ market is nearing 70 vendors, including Oberweis Dairy, which recently joined the market.
Sprager estimated that about 2,500 people come to the farmers’ market on Saturdays during good-weather days. The market runs from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Oct. 29.
