BY RIVER FLEISCHNER
Mayor Mamdani has announced a 40% increase in the city’s Health Bucks program, which allows food stamp users to spend at farmers markets and farm stands. In a statement, the mayor’s office said the increase will address a lack of fresh produce in the diets of hungry New Yorkers.
“New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity often report not having eaten enough fruits or vegetables,” Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga said in the statement.
The Health Bucks program, which began as a pilot program in the Bronx in 2005, works by matching consumers’ spending at farmers markets using SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) with money provided by the city. The program relies on a $5.7 million grant from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program. The increase, which will go into effect starting in January 2027, will raise the daily spending limit that can be matched from ten dollars to $14.
Anyone enrolled in the city’s SNAP program is eligible for Healthy Bucks. According to the New York State Comptroller website, that includes 1.8 million New Yorkers.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin pointed out the connection between chronic diseases and a healthy diet, but conceded that “knowing that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and being able to afford them are two different things.” He added that the daily spending limit increase would put more “purchasing power in the pockets of New Yorkers,” while also supporting local farmers.
While the Mayor’s office lauded the four-dollar increase as meaningful to those using the SNAP program, others have voiced concerns. “A couple of things prevented me from using it,” said Reddit user u/NYanae555, describing their experience with a matching funds program. First, they said the high prices at farmers markets narrow the options for what can be purchased. They also said the program was a gamble. “There were no refunds if you spent less. And if you went over, you had to have cash money to make up the difference,” they said. This made using Health Bucks a real risk, “because going over or going under were serious, money losing prospects.”
When asked if research had been done into how far the benefits could go for SNAP users at farmers markets, the Mayor’s office did not respond.
Limited operating hours at most farmers markets presents another challenge. Most farmers markets are only open one or two days a week. Of the 99 farmers markets in the city that accept EBT, 45 operate on only either Saturday or Sunday, meaning people who want to take advantage of the program have to wait a full week before they can use their SNAP benefits at a farmers market again. Of these, only 27 markets operate year round.
Reddit user u/NYanae555 said the challenges of using the matching funds program was discouraging. “Ask yourself – considering the crazy high prices in the farmers market – how good are your math skills, and how good are you at estimating the weights of fruits and vegetables?”