Proportion of SNAP-accepting farmers' markets varies across U.S. regions

In recent years, the number of farmers’ markets that accept benefits from USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has grown—more than tripling between fiscal 2008 and 2012 and making it possible for more SNAP participants to use their benefits to acquire fruits, vegetables, and other local foods from these markets. Of the 8,158 farmers’ markets in the U.S. in 2013, 2,046 reported accepting SNAP, according to USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory. This translates to a national average of 25 percent of farmers’ markets, but the proportion of SNAP-accepting markets is not uniform across regions. In 156 counties, all farmers’ markets reported accepting SNAP benefits and in 242 counties, over half of farmers’ markets reported accepting SNAP. In 1,444 counties (66 percent of counties with at least one farmers’ market), no farmers’ market reported accepting SNAP. Areas in the Northeast, Southwest, and along the West Coast tend to display a relatively high percentage of farmers’ markets that report accepting SNAP. This chart is among the new maps in ERS’s Food Environment Atlas, updated on February 18, 2014.

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