Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Central New York Regional Market can help with your grocery bill, starting today.
The market, which opens at 7 a.m., has $20 coupons available for anyone who feels they are struggling to pay for their groceries, said Bill Fisher, CEO of the Central New York Regional Market Authority. The authority runs the year-round market in Syracuse.
The coupons will be offered again next Saturday, Nov. 22, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Fisher said. They can only offer them once a week.
Fisher said people do not have to give their names or any other information to get one of the coupons, and if you have other people in your family, you can get a $20 coupon for each member present.
For instance, if a mother comes with her two children, she can get $60 in coupons. They will not give out coupons for family members who are not present, Fisher said.
The coupons have to be used at the market and can be used on any SNAP-eligible food item, which includes fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, milk, seeds and plants.
Many of the families who shop at the market receive food stamps and were hard-hit by the loss of their benefits this month. The coupons are in response to that and the federal government shutdown, which resulted in many workers going without a paycheck for weeks.
Fisher said that this year, the market expects to see more than $1 million in sales paid for by SNAP. The market, and others across the state, have helped struggling families afford fresh foods by offering incentives for spending their SNAP dollars there.
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets matches the first $50 families spend at the farmers market.
The $20 coupons are from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Fisher said the Syracuse market is getting $165,000 worth of coupons, more than 8,000 of the $20 vouchers.
The federal government shut off SNAP benefits two weeks ago as part of the government shutdown. New York restored benefits for people starting this weekend, and the courts have ordered the Trump administration to restore benefits at their full level.
But more than 100,000 families across Central New York struggled mightily to afford to feed their families. Food pantries were slammed.
Fisher said he expects the market to have the coupons available until Thanksgiving.
Markets across the state will be offering them, as well. But Syracuse is one of the first to roll out the program, Fisher said.
