FARMINGTON — The Farmington Farmers’ Market will participate in Maine Harvest Bucks, a statewide program that helping thousands of Mainers eat more fruits and vegetables.

People buying food using SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, have an average of $4 a day to spend on food. Maine Harvest Bucks doubles that amount of money and encourages shoppers to buy fruits and vegetables.

The market operates every Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Farmington District Court on Main Street. Any person who shops with SNAP is welcome to participate.

The United Way of the Tri-Valley Area is the fiscal sponsor for the Farmington Farmers’ Market’s Harvest Bucks program. The organization is helping recruit volunteers to staff the information booth, process EBT and debit/credit cards and provide valuable resource information.

To volunteer, contact volunteer@uwtva.org or call 207-778-5048.

When a shopper spends a dollar with SNAP, they will receive a dollar voucher in Maine Harvest Bucks which goes toward a dollar-for-dollar match for fresh fruits and vegetables at the market that day or shoppers can also save the Harvest Bucks vouchers for when their SNAP/EBT funds are low. This helps to ensure families can buy food at all times of the month.

Maine Harvest Bucks is a program of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets, which supported the program for the past three years under USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant.