SNAP Benefits Doubled At Saturday Morning Market

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — As Tampa Bay residents continue to recover from Hurricane Irma, St. Petersburg’s Saturday Morning Market has announced a plan to help people stretch their food budgets.

From now through Oct. 31, the market is accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for hot foods and foods meant to be consumed on the premises. The market is also doubling SNAP benefits through the end of the month with a few restrictions in place. (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from St. Pete Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

To help benefits stretch even more, hot foods purchased with SNAP benefits will not be subject to sales tax, market officials wrote in an email to media.

“Licensed market retailers are encouraged to post notices informing customers that they may use SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods or food to be consumed onsite at the Saturday Morning Market,” the email noted. “The Market is USDA licensed to accept SNAP benefits in Pinellas County.”

The doubling of SNAP benefits comes in thanks to an offer from the Florida Organic Growers association. That group will match SNAP benefits up to $40 a week through Oct. 31 for purchases made at the market. After buying hot foods, SNAP recipients will receive “Fresh Access Bucks” so that they may buy Florida-grown fruits and vegetables. A SNAP recipient who spends $10 of their benefits at a participating retailer for hot foods will receive $10 in access bucks to use for fruit and vegetable purchases.

SNAP provides low-income families help with covering grocery bills. The program is overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Saturday Morning Market is open every Saturday from October through May, starting Oct. 7. The market runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Al Lang Stadium parking lot, 101 First St. S.E. This Saturday marks the kickoff of the market’s 15th season.

For more information about the market, visit the Saturday Morning Market online.

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