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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Food stamps, WIC program and credit card acceptance

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  • From: Willie McKemie <mf AT austinfarm.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Food stamps, WIC program and credit card acceptance
  • Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 16:57:40 -0600

On Tue, Jan 03, 2006 at 12:10:22PM -0900, Mike Emers wrote:
> WIC vouchers represent about 10%-15% of our farmers' market sales, an

I, too, am most appreciative of the WIC dollars I've received.

However, the WIC farmer's market program in Texas has evolved into
primarily a peddler's subsidy and is a subverting influence on honest
farmers. Here is how it goes:
The program is administered by the Texas Department of Health with
bureaucrats that, for the most part, have little empathy for honest
farmers and little understanding of the conflict between honest farmers
and peddlers. In the Dept of Health's view, high redemption rates
are desirable. They cut funding to areas that have low redemption
rates and fund areas that have high redemption rates. Anyone see where
this is going? The low redemption rate areas are likely to be those
served only by honest farmers markets and the high rate areas are
likely to be served by peddler markets. When the areas whose funding
has been cut or threatened seek advice from the program administrators,
the advice is along these lines: "Keep your markets open year-round,
longer hours, more days, etc", "Sell what your customers want: out of
season tomatoes, out of season peaches, never in season bananas, etc".
In the areas where peddlers markets coexist with honest markets, the
peddlers are likely to out sell to WIC customers by a factor of ten.

Here is how I would characterize your typical WIC customer:
1) doesn't want to shop early in the day
2) doesn't know how to cook, or want to cook
3) they want food to be eaten "out of hand", apples, bananas, peaches,
etc.
Don't get me wrong; we treat our WIC customers very well and we attempt
education. But, it seems hopeless.

--
Willie, ONWARD! Through the fog!
http://counter.li.org Linux registered user #228836 since 1995
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