By: Ryan Duey

The K-State River Valley Extension District has been awarded a “Hunger Free Kansas” grant by the Kansas Health Foundation totaling just over $6275 to help expand local food access to low-resource households in Cloud County.

Nutrition, Food Safety, & Health Agent Kaitlin Moore applied for this grant to help bring SNAP eligibility to Concordia’s local Farmer’s Market.

“There are currently 299 households receiving SNAP Benefits in Cloud County. Unfortunately, there are no Farmers Markets in Cloud County that accept SNAP, so a major goal of this grant is to set up the Concordia Farmers Market to accept SNAP Benefits.”

“That, of course, would not only benefit these households, but it would also benefit our local food producers, as it certainly has the potential to increase sales for them.”

Moore said while this project will be a large undertaking, with the new equipment, technology, and additional resources, she hopes that it will help boost local food sales to all in the community.  The new equipment will be able to take all debit and credit credits, not just SNAP.

“In addition to households that might be receiving SNAP Benefits, this equipment that will be able to be purchased with this grant also has the potential to increase sales, not just for households receiving SNAP, but the community at large.”

“This new equipment will also be able to process non-SNAP debit and credit cards, providing local produce to everyone. This is going to, we hope, bolster our local food system as well.”

Moore said the grant will cover all technology and equipment for the Farmer’s Market, along with marketing materials needed to spread the word about this new local resource. This new endeavor should be a great benefit to the county as a whole.