Market Match

Market Match has a huge impact, supporting household grocery budgets, small California farms, and local economies!

1. Market Match encourages low-income families to spend their CalFresh benefits at farmers’ markets where customers can purchase healthy and locally sourced foods. Farmers’ markets provide better quality and more nutrient-dense produce than larger grocers, offer less processed foods and support our local farming community. 

2. Market Match stretches a food budget. CalFresh benefit allotments are not often reflective of the true cost of monthly groceries for a household. Market Match helps families get the most out of their benefits and is one of the few incentive programs in the state for CalFresh.

3. Market Match supports our farming families and stimulates our local economy. A USDA study showed that every dollar spent at a farmers’ market stimulates $1.79 in local economic activity. In 2022, Alchemist CDC directly distributed over $400,000 in Market Match at 8 local farmers’ markets and our regional network of partners across Sacramento and Yolo Counties distributed over $520,000!

4. The economic development potential is huge. By bringing more funds to our farmers’ markets, we help make them more sustainable. There is ample evidence that farmers’ markets have a positive economic impact on the community and businesses that surround them.