A nonprofit that supports Maryland’s farmers markets is shutting down after seven years in operation.
The Maryland Farmers Market Association will permanently close on Friday, its board of directors announced in a letter released this week. The announcement said the organization “has faced financial challenges the past year and, despite efforts to forge a path forward … lacks sufficient funding to continue operations.”
The decision could have repercussions for low-income market shoppers as well as vendors at farmers markets throughout the state. The MDFMA was the coordinator for the Maryland Market Money Program, an initiative that matched spending money for shoppers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Under the initiative, SNAP shoppers could take advantage of matching funds of at least $5 per person each market day.
MDFMA expanded the program from two pilot markets to 36 markets in 11 jurisdictions by 2019, and distributed more than $900,000 in market…
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