According to Wholesome Wave and Maine Farmland Trust, final details about the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive funding will probably be released the first week of June. The participating markets will each be working with a partner from the Maine Local Food Access Network. The partner organizations will be arranging contracts or MOUs (memoranda of understanding) with each market. (Be sure to read those contracts carefully, because they will spell out how the funding can be used, what the market needs to keep track of, and more.)
Markets that are ready can begin offering the incentives as soon as June 15th. Those markets that are starting or re-starting program might want to check the resources on our “Low Income Access” page. And remember, thanks to a grant we received last winter, MFFM has free lawn signs for markets that point to the market and note, “EBT Accepted.” (If your market needs signs, give us a call at 487-7114.)
Remember, the FINI funds can
only be applied to fruits and vegetables. Also keep in mind that we have to track this funding carefully, and report how it is used directly to Wholesome Wave. The tracking can be done on paper and then entered online later, or it can be entered into an iPad at the market. (Here’s the manual tracking form) Keep in mind that much of the data requested in the form is optional. Wholesome Wave understands that busy markets won’t be able to track this level of detail. However, all markets accepting FINI funding will need to report on how much SNAP sales they have each week, how many dollars of incentives redeemed, how many SNAP-eligible vendors were at the market, how many produce vendors, etc…)
Here is the list of FINI partners for the farmers’ markets. Stay tuned for more news about FINI from your partner organization in early June!
| Partner Organization | Farmers’ Market | Contact person | Contact Email |
| Cultivating Community | Lewiston Kennedy Park Farmers’ Market | Stephanie Aquilina | stephanie@cultivatingcommunity.org |
| Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets (MFFM) | Bangor FM /Bangor Winter | Leigh Hallett | director@mffm.org |
| Food AND Medicine | Brewer/Penobscot FM | Jack McKay | jack |
| FAM | Ellsworth FM/ Ellsworth winter | ||
| FAM | Ohio Street FM-Bangor | ||
| Healthy Acadia/Maine Farmland Trust | Bar Harbor Eden | Shannon Grimes | shannon |
| HA/MFT | Bucksport Bay Farmers’ Market | shannon |
|
| HA/MFFM | Eastport – Sunrise County | director@mffm.org | |
| HA/MFFM | Blue Hill FM (Fairground) | director@mffm.org | |
| HA/MFFM | Calais- Sunrise County | director@mffm.org | |
| Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets | Augusta FM at Mill Park | Leigh Hallett | director@mffm.org |
| MFFM | Dover Cove FM | ||
| MFFM | Norway FM | ||
| MFFM | Portland FMA/ Portland Winter | ||
| MFFM | Princeton FM | ||
| MFFM | Skowhegan FM/ Skowhegan Winter | ||
| MFFM | Waterville/ Waterville Winter | ||
| MFFM | Fairfield FM | ||
| MFFM | Hermon FM | ||
| MFFM | Houlton Community Market (pending) | ||
| MFFM | Madison FM | ||
| Maine Farmland Trust | Belfast FM/Belfast Winter | Shannon Grimes | shannon@mainefarmlandtrust.org |
| MFT | North Berwick | ||
| MFT | Sanford & Springvale | ||
| MFT | Unity Market Day | ||
| Access Health/ St. Mary’s Nutrition Center (SMNC) | Bath FM | Colleen Fuller | cfuller@midcoasthealth.com |
| AH/SMNC | Brunswick Topsham Land Trust FM (Crystal Springs) | ||
| Saint Mary’s Nutrition Center | Bethel FM | Sherie Blumenthal | sblumenthal@stmarysmaine.com |
| SMNC | Gardiner FM | ||
| SMNC | Lewiston FM at Bates Mill/ Lewiston Winter | ||
| SMNC | River Valley Farmers’ Market | ||
| SMNC | Poland Farmers Market |