Empty EBT card? Nashville Farmers Market will still match your spending

The government shutdown seems to be ending, but it’s still unclear when 700,000 Tennesseans will get their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Those who have run out of money on their EBT cards can find some relief at the Nashville Farmers Market. Specifically, the outdoor farm stands at the location on Rosa Parks Boulevard outside of downtown Nashville.

The state re-loads EBT cards on a staggered schedule; each recipient gets the money sometime between the 1st and the 20th of the month. That means about half of Tennessee’s SNAP recipients should have gotten their benefits by now and haven’t.

And the Senate has made moves to re-open the government, but there hasn’t been any announcement about the timeline for SNAP benefits.

The Farmers’ Market “Fresh Bucks” program has been around for a while, but it could be especially helpful this month.

It’s meant to double SNAP shoppers’ buying power. Here’s how it usually works. Several vendors in the outdoor farm stands participate. SNAP shoppers buy what they want from those vendors using their EBT cards. They take their receipts to the information booth, where they get a token for each dollar they spent. They can then shop with the tokens.

But there’s been an update, said Courtney Cotton, the marketing director.

“Even if somebody doesn’t have any money left on their EBT card, all they have to do is prove they are part of that program and we will match their personal dollars,” she said.

Although the term “farmers market” might bring to mind only fresh produce, there are several other items available to SNAP shoppers.

“Those farmers offer anything from fruits and veggies to meats, eggs, and bread — all locally sourced,” Cotton said. “And all someone needs to do is to just bring their receipts from those farmers and bring it to our information booth on Saturdays or Sundays between 10am and 2pm.”