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Wednesday, September 16, 2009 from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (ET)
EBT and Farmers Markets: Practical Advice from Successful Programs
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) can be a boon to your farmers and reinforce your commitment to expanding healthy food access to those who need it most. But successfully incorporating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) requires planning, budgeting, and and determination! Michael Hurwitz, Director of New York's Greenmarket Farmers Markets, and Diane Eggert, Executive Director of the renowned Farmers Market Federation of New York, have been using EBT in their markets for years. The Farmers Market Federation of New York coordinates EBT at farmers markets statewide, offering These experts will begin with a description of how to set up EBT at your market from scratch, and will address some of the day to day procedures you'll need to know about. Acknowledging that the adage "If you build it, they will come," seldom applies to EBT, Diane and Michael will also speak in detail about strategies for marketing and promoting SNAP at their markets in order to increase benefits redemption.
About the presenters...
Diane Eggert is the Executive Director of the Farmers’ Market
Federation of New York and has been since its inception in 1998. Under
her leadership, the organization has developed a variety of programs
and services to support and advance the farmers market industry in New
York State, including a commercial general liability insurance program
for markets and participating vendors, market manager training
programs, new market development in partnership with community
organizations, market promotional programs, and a statewide farmers
market wireless EBT program. Diane also works with several statewide
organizations, committees and local agricultural boards of directors to
focus attention on direct marketing farmers and the farmers market
community. Michael Hurwitz, the director of New York City’s Greenmarket program. Greenmarket, founded in 1976, is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City, a nonprofit group that promotes sustainability. Greenmarket operates 46 producer-only farmers’ markets throughout t
he city and works with 180 producers to preserve 30,000 acres of regional farmland. Before joinin 
g Greenmarket as director in February 2007, Mr. Hurwitz was the co-director of Added Value and Herban Solutions, a nonprofit youth and community development organization that he co-founded in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and that operates a 2.5-acre urban farm and two independent farmers’ markets as well as a local community-supported agriculture, or C.S.A., project. Mr. Hurwitz, who grew up in Pittsburgh, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1990 and received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. He graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, where he was a Public Service Scholar, in 2007. He was a 2006 Union Square Award, given to grass-roots activists, and a 2004 Petra fellow.
The Farmers Market Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening farmers markets for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and communities. Join on-line, visit or submit to the Farmers Market Resource Library, support our work, or learn more at www.farmersmarketcoalition.org.
The Wallace Center supports entrepreneurs and
communities as they build a new, 21st century food system that is healthier for
people, the environment, and the economy. The Center builds and strengthens
links in the emerging chain of businesses and civic efforts focused on making
good food-healthy, green, fair, affordable food-an everyday reality in every
community. Learn more at www.wallacecenter.org.
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