The Best Months to Visit Your Local Growers Market in New Mexico

Orozco family at Santa Fe Growers Market (Photo NMFMA)

Visit your local growers market in New Mexico during August and September, and you'll find the stalls overflowing with cucumbers, tomatoes (of all colors), onions, chiles, bell peppers, melons (of all kinds), sweet corn, carrots, squash, apples, peaches, grapes, eggplant, radishes, potatoes, string beans, pinto beans and much, much more. (You can even find jujube at the Santa Fe Growers Market).

All of those items and more are eligible for the Double Up Food Bucks program, which provides participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with a 100 percent match on any produce acquired at farmers' markets, farm stands and select retail sites. There are nearly 90 locations around the state participating in the program.

In the eyes of the U.S. Department of  Agriculture (USDA), the Double-up Food Bucks program is a very effective means to provide working families in New Mexico with greater access to produce. That is why the USDA awarded a grant to the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association (NMFMA) to keep this valuable program going  for at least another four years.