Funding to buy from farmers’ markets for low-income families comes to Southeast

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This article was published 07/07/2025 (249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Families and individuals who are low income will see a boost to their nutritional needs as a new program in the southeast will make access to fresh food possible.

Direct Farm Manitoba, formerly known as Farmers’ Market Association of Manitoba, is a co-op of famers’ markets and small-scale farms. There are 100 farms across the province that are members of the co-operative, working with 27 community organizations and 13 farmers markets across the province. More than 700 households benefit from the initiative in rural and urban communities in Manitoba annually.

For the first time since Direct Farm Manitoba’s Manitoba community food currency program was established six years ago it will be benefiting two Southeast organizations: Steinbach Community Outreach and ROC Eastman.

“We have so many hungry people out there that have dietary needs and they can’t access good healthy food on EIA they don’t make enough money to be able to eat healthy. So, this is a great program for us that we can actually serve our guests with healthy food options,” said Madeleine Thiessen, executive director of Steinbach Community Outreach (SCO).

SCO will give 25 families or individuals $30 a week in food currency vouchers over the course of the farmers’ market season in Steinbach. The redemption rate for the food currency vouchers is 95 percent. The farmers who are participating in the program will be reimbursed 100 percent for the food they sell.

“The feedback we get from people is pretty tremendous,” said Kristie Schertzer, executive director of Direct Farm Manitoba. “We’ve heard that it provides a really important source of fresh food and people might be using other sources of food such a food hampers and with this, folks can go to the farmers market and can buy farm fresh meat and eggs and fresh vegetables. And we’ve heard that it stretches people’s budgets and it’s so hard and the cost of living is so high.”

Funding for the program is coming from the province through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. For the period between 2023 to 2025 Direct Farm Manitoba has received $1.1 million, or $360,000 annually.

“We really like to talk about how this program is a triple win. It’s a win for households in Manitoba who are facing food insecurity and could use better access to foods. It’s a win for farmers because it directly supports farmers, and it’s a win for farmers’ markets and communities because there are people who come to the famers market and feel at home with the farmers’ markets and the more inclusive and welcoming those markets become,” said Schertzer.

Organizations that wish to participate in the farmers’ market program should visit directfarmmanitoba.ca.