Bellingham Farmers Market SNAP program needs a boost in wake of federal cuts
The Bellingham Farmers Market is asking community support to fund the SNAP Market Match program in 2026 after federal funding cuts.
The SNAP Market Match program allows people using SNAP benefits to boost their benefits when buying from local farmers markets. Shoppers can come to the market, tell market organizers how much they plan on spending with their SNAP or EBT benefits, and the market will match it.
The state provides markets with funding for $25 per person, but at the Bellingham Farmers Market, the amount they can match is unlimited, Market Director Chloe Knox told The Herald in an interview.
Unlimited matching has been in place at the Bellingham Farmers Market for two years and is possible through funding through local grants. The Bellingham market is one of 11 Washington markets outside of Seattle that has unlimited matching. However, federal spending cuts will make it harder to maintain the unlimited program, Knox said.
Knox said the market averages about 75 customers a day who take advantage of the market match program. The program specifically targets customers trying to buy food such as fruits and vegetables, therefore it also helps local farmers make sales.
“We hear every week from shoppers and farmers about how the Unlimited SNAP Market Match makes a real difference. It allows families to fill their bags with fresh, local food and helps farmers sell more of what they grow. With government support dropping, we need our community’s help to keep this program fully available for everyone,” Knox said in a press release.
In 2025, the Bellingham Farmers Market received around $70,000 to fund the Market Match Program, and for 2026 there will be less than $20,000 in funding. This means state funding per person will drop from $25 to $10, Knox said.
“In addition to helping the community make their EBT money go farther, it (Market Match) helps our farmers. Because it’s an incentive program, specifically for fruits and veggies, all of that money — 100% — goes into the pockets of our farmers,” Knox told The Herald. “It’s a big impact on market farmers; it’s almost 10% of what we see for their sales.”
To make up the difference, the Bellingham Farmers Market is asking for community donations, from now until the foreseeable future.
“We are not setting a hard and fast goal because basically this could continue for several years, so anything that we can fundraise, if it doesn’t go toward next year it will go to the following year,” Knox said. “As much as we can get to support our program.”
Donations can be made at the Chuckanut Health Foundation website. There is also a QR code posted at the market that can take market goers to the donation page. There will also be a fundraising booth where people can learn more and donate to the market every Saturday through the end of the season on Dec. 20.
The Bellingham Farmers Market is open every Saturday from April through December.
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