“When [the Forysth Farmer’s Market] started in 2009, our numbers for EBT were less than one thousand. Now those numbers have doubled. Last year it was 22,000 in swipes and 45,000 in EBT doubling. So the numbers are not huge people-wise … if you think about the amount of people on EBT in Savannah. But for a farmer’s market, I think we’re doing pretty well,” says Teri Schell, the Forsyth Farmer’s Market community development coordinator.
Schell is right. For every $1 on a Supplemental Nutrition Assistiance Program beneficiary’s EBT card, The Forsyth Farmer’s Market matches that dollar — an invaluable resource for 35% of the population in Savannah who receive assistance.
The market has doubled and tripled its EBT sales annually since vendors began collecting on the south end of the park four years ago. But that doesn’t mean the organizers are capable of getting an accurate idea of how many people they’re serving each week, due to the market’s busy location.
“At first I would say we had around 500 a week. Savannah State did a study … and aggregated the results, and now we’re seeing roughly 1200 – 1400 people a week,” says Schell, who would like to see even more shoppers in the upcoming years.
The Forsyth Farmers Market has revitalized its approach to community education to better reach shoppers. Schell believes outreach is the key to incorporating healthy alternatives into food assistance programs.
Mixed Greens is a Forsyth Farmer’s Market-created education initiative that offers children the chance to grow their own plant every second Saturday of the month. Titled, “The Little Green Wagon Project,” volunteers take care of seedlings for children until they bud. The children may then take the budding plant home to care for themselves.
“I think people who are trying to eat healthy have figured out that eating these fruits and vegetables and less processed food is good for them. They’re looking for fresh food and I provide them with it, so it works out for both of us,” says Stanley Gruber, owner of Gruber Family CSA Farm.
Gruber’s feelings of mutual dependency are shared by other farmers at the market who have built their businesses around the weekly event.
Reed Archer, of Bethseda Academy Farms and Gardens, recalls a customer who explicitly buys arugula from their produce stand. It’s this type of relationship between shoppers and vendors that inspires the educational atmosphere Schell is looking to improve.
“I’d like to continue to see [the farmer’s market] grow. I’ve been here since it started and it’s definitely grown exponentially over the years. Vendors getting to build their businesses while growing with the community is really great,” says Archer, who manages Bathseda’s small farm as a part of the university’s education programs.
Georgia Buffalo Ranch and Trading Post uses the market as a chance to sell cuts of fresh and frozen buffalo meat, while educating visitors on the truth behind the “boss” of the Great Plains.
“Part of our job here is to educate people about the buffalo and to get people to try something new. There’s such a variety of people at this farmer’s market who are all into different things,” says Amanda Bivens, who says that several local grocery stores carry their products despite skepticism from some customers.
The market even offers an incentive program called My Market, which offers five dollars cash value in tokens which can be spent on produce for first-time visitors who sign up. After their second and third visits, visitors become “official members” of the market and receive t-shirts, as well as tote bags for groceries.
And the fresh produce, meat, eggs, dairy, fruit, and ready-made food products available at the market offer a well-rounded testament to Savannah’s interest in supporting local business. But many families who are on SNAP benefits still have yet to cash in on this community-implemented assistance. As the market grows, Schell hopes they will be able to provide more low-income families with the education needed to fully appreciate such a community asset.
When asked, in a purely hypothetical scenario, if university students might be able to use a small portion of the newly built SCAD Community Garden to grow and donate vegetables to support the community, Schell said, “we work closely with a program of people who provide our excess vegetables and produce to local soup kitchens and other programs… Unfortunately, our excess produce has lately become less and less… That could definitely be something that we could look into supporting.”
Perhaps students’ connection to the health and well-being of the community is closer than we think — if only students could visualize such growth.
