A good eats program is putting a smile on underprivileged people's faces and fresh food on their tables. Good thing too, because getting good food is great, but not when sinking your teeth into a hand picked onion means a bite out of your bank account. "Most everybody says eating healthy is expensive," said the Sioux City Farmers Market, marketing manager Dee Polak.
Food at farmers markets may be high for some, but there's a national program that's designed to help get this good food to almost everyone who want's it, without the price tag. It's called the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. A state and federally funded voucher system that hands out these vouchers for farmers market fruits and vegetables to low income seniors and mothers with kids under five.
"They choose anything that's a fresh produce, not processed," said vendor Janna Wesselius. The vouchers are each for a specific amount, and can be spent like cash to buy produce at any vendor stand participating in the program. In Sioux City that amounts to around 20.
"I think in Woodbury County alone we helped over 2,100 families last year," said Polak. And they took in between $60 to $80-thousand in vouchers. Which vendors redeem for cash at participating banks.
"I take it and can deposit it just like any other money that I would take in," said Wesselius. It's a good feeling for many vendors, knowing they're giving families old and young a fresh taste of something good.
"When you see little fingers reach for cherry tomatoes or little fingers reach for fresh carrots then you know you are doing the right thing, because they are reaching for that instead of the cookies and the candy," said vendor, Audrey Brown.
It's good food at a great price. The Farmers Market Nutrition Program isn't the only program being used to get good food to folks. Market organizers in Sioux City said they have two stands that are also accepting food stamps.