Community Farmer’s Market and BRHD partner for pop-up farmer’s market

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -The Barren River Health Department and Bowling Green’s Community Farmer’s Market partnered to put on a pop-up market in celebration of Public Health Awareness Week.

Shoppers at the pop-up market were encouraged to use their “Double Dollars” from the farmer’s market, a program that allows individuals struggling with food insecurity to expand their opportunities for what they can buy.

“So, for example, if you receive SNAP benefits and you have an EBT card, you can swipe your EBT card for $20, and we’ll give you an additional $20 on top of that, that can only be spent at our market on meat, eggs, dairy, and fresh fruits and veggies,” said Elaine Losekamp, market manager and farm hand at Need More Acres.

As part of Public Health Awareness Week, Losekamp said that much of the market’s goal is to remove barriers, like cost, and make fresh produce more accessible.

“It’s definitely a huge barrier that people aren’t often able to access healthy foods, and so that’s a big part of the work we do at Community Farmer’s Market,” said Losekamp. “We try to have as many programs as we can to try to make fresh food really accessible to populations that might not have that access.”

The Community Farmer’s Market is open on Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on Tuesdays, 2 to 6 p.m., though they plan to partner with more community groups to put on pop-up markets throughout the summer.

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