Food Assistance Information Fair

Opening Day will feature our fifth Food Assistance Information Fair. We’ll see you there from 2-6:30 PM on June 4, 2026!

The Information Fair has something for everyone:

  1. Provide information about food assistance benefits to help families get enough healthy food, and

  2. To let the community know that food insecurity exists in Belmont as it does everywhere.

We expect staff from statewide, regional and local organizations to talk about how you can use SNAP (Food Stamps), Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons (FMNP) and other benefits to help put more healthy food on your table.

As Congresswoman Katherine Clark said at the event in 2023, “Hunger in this country is a policy choice, and we have to make the choice that says, ‘Everybody should have what they need to eat.’ ”

That same idea led Market organizers to develop the Information Fair — put it on your calendar!

A woman with gray shoulder-length hair, wearing a white blazer speaks with a microphone in her left hand

Congresswoman Katherine Clark spoke at the 2023 event

A man in shorts cuts a red ribbon with very large scissors

Select Board memberTaylor Yates cuts the opening ribbon at the 2025 event

Participants

We’re working on the lineup for the 2006 Information Fair. Last year’s event included representatives of these great statewide and local organizations:

  • Mike McCarthy, SNAP Outreach, Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). Mike can help people learn about applying for SNAP and answer questions.

  • Rebecca Davidson, MDAR’s Director of Climate & Food Equity (2:00 - 4:00 pm). Rebecca will let people know about Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons for WIC families and eligible seniors

  • Khady Addison, Community Outreach Coordinator, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). Khady will have information about WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

  • Brandon Fitts, Belmont Council on Aging (2:00 - 4:00 pm).

  • Joan Donellon, Springwell. Services for seniors.

  • Laurie Graham, Belmont Food Pantry. Bring food donations on opening day for the pantry.

  • Amy Kirsch, Co-Founder, Belmont Helps. Belmont Helps aids Belmont residents dealing with food insecurity and other pressing needs.

Subscribe to our newsletter so you get all the details.

Food assistance programs at the Belmont Farmers’ Market

BFM’s food assistance program is one of the best around.

“SNAP matching is an amazing program and I was SO grateful you did that!!”
— A shopper using the BFM food assistance program

  • SNAP match: We double SNAP (formerly food stamps) up to $25 weekly for each shopper.

  • FMNP match: We double Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons (FMNP) for eligible seniors and WIC families – we’re one of the few markets to do this.

  • HIP: The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) gives all SNAP shoppers free produce from enrolled farmers. (HIP is funded by the state, we fund the rest.)

  • HIP+: When HIP was cut last year, we wanted to find a way to help, so we created our own program, HIP+. Shoppers can get an extra $20 every month for produce from any of our vendors. No other market has a program like this. It took a lot of fundraising to make this program work, but we were glad to do it (you can help with individual donations and business sponsorships).

Mireia Carpio, Market Manager, said, “We have four HIP farmers, and six vendors in the FMNP program.We’re glad to offer so much variety.”

According to Dr. Suzanne Johannet, president of the Belmont Food Collaborative, “The Food Assistance Information Fair is an essential part of our mission. Far too many people are not aware of the food assistance to which they are entitled. At the Fair, and at our manager's tent throughout the season, we let people know how to access food assistance and use it to stretch their dollars further.” (Belmont Food Collaborative is the parent organization of BFM.)

“Our second goal is to inform people that food insecurity is a problem in every community, and to emphasize the role that farmers’ markets play in combating it,” said Hal Shubin, Chairperson of the Farmers’ Market Committee

 As Project Bread website says, “One of the biggest barriers preventing families from accessing food resources is, they don't know about them!” This event is a way to address that problem.

A Black woman sitting at a table with a purple tablecloth and brochures

Khady Addison of Cambridge Health Alliance talked with shoppers in 2023 about the Farmers Market Nutrition Program for WIC families

Support food assistance at the Market

Donations from the community and sponsorships from local businesses help pay for the matching program, while the Commonwealth reimburses vendors for HIP purchases. Spending those additional funds at the Market also supports local farms and businesses.

With our SNAP and FMNP matches and HIP rebates, the Belmont Farmers’ Market helped shoppers stretch their food budgets by $57,000 in the 2024 season.

“We are committed to alleviating food insecurity in our community, through our matching programs; by educating people about the needs that exist in the community; and how to get help to put more food, and healthier food, on their tables,” said Johannet.

Cambridge Savings Bank gave us a grant to support food assistance.
Steve Savarese, Senné realtor, is our lead sponsor for emergency food assistance.

A woman standing behind the Market's logo (a red tomato) speaking into a microphone. A woman is to her right, and two men on her left.

Leah Shenkel, Project Bread’s Hotline Outreach Manager, speaking in 2023. On the left is Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and at the right are State Rep. Dave Rogers and State Sen. Will Brownsberger.

Opening Day schedule

Shopping and the Food Assistance Information Fair run through the entire Market day, from 2:00 until 6:30 on June 4, 2026. Come talk with participants to learn about available programs.

The SNAP match and HIP+ are available at the Manager’s Tent. FMNP coupons will be distributed by outside agencies during the summer.