Buy Local, Support Our Farmers During COVID-19

As farmers' markets have been declared essential business, we have a strong and ever-more vital mission to uphold to our community. Some of our markets will redesign in response to COVID 19 to offer pick-up/drive-through, online ordering, or a combination; others will continue the traditional farmers market in the safest way possible.

The Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative and its member markets will continue to provide the SNAP Incentive and Bridgeport Bucks programs. The SNAP Incentive program allows for SNAP/EBT recipients to double their SNAP purchase of fresh fruit and veggies. The Bridgeport Bucks program is a sponsored $5.00 voucher/coupon for the purchase of fresh fruits and veggies. All of our markerts accept SNAP, WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program checks.  

The Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative was established in 2014 to convene and encourage collaboration among local farmers markets and farm stands that sought to address the critical gap in food access in Bridgeport's most under-resourced neighborhoods. The Collaborative has expanded to 8 mission-driven markets and farm stands all with one common goal, to increase access to healthy, local fruits and vegetables for all Bridgeport residents, regardless of income. 

We know our community wants and needs local food, we will find a safe way to provide it!  

All the while supporting our farmers and vendors in the 2020 season we have to put safety as a high priority. During these troubling times of COVID 19, our processes have to change to assure our market visitors, our farmers, our vendors and our market staff are kept safe by putting clear steps in place to ensure we can continue to safely fulfill food access. Our markets will redesign to meet the needs of their prospective neighborhoods. 

With the unanticipated costs related to redesigning markets the expenses for items such as disposable gloves, disposable masks, sanitizer solutions, sanitzer wipes, safetly protocols signage and handwash stations will be our major expenses. And with some markets possibly redesiging to an online ordering platform, those unforseen expenses will be covered by the funds from this campaign as well. Lets not forget the staff that it takes to support every-day market needs.     

With supporting our farmers and vendors from our markets, we are not only providing an outlet to local, fresh affordable food, we are connecting a community in a time of need during this pandemic.

"We don't need to cure hunger, we know how to solve hunger- it's food, it's nutrtition and it's really a question of access." - Lauren Bush