Summer has officially just begun, but on June 30, a produce coupon program at the West Side Market has already ended. That’s all according to plan, though – a plan that’s still in the making.
The West Side Market is a Cleveland staple, with over 100 vendors serving one million visitors annually. On the days that the market is open (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, except holidays), visitors flock to this beloved institution for meats, prepared foods, desserts, and fresh produce.
The produce section, which is home to 16 vendors, has been plagued with vacancies in recent years. Mayor Bibb’s administration is working on a plan to turn the market over to nonprofit managers and use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to invest millions in upgrades and repairs. Part of the mayor’s plan is to repurpose vacant produce stalls for other uses, including a long-sought food hall where people can grab a sandwich or bite to eat, sit down, and relax.
At the same time, the city wants to bring in more shoppers, including those with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Recognizing people’s need for produce and vendors’ need for additional customers, the Produce Perks program at the West Side Market was piloted in 2022.
On May 20, the market and its partners kicked off a second pilot program to distribute free, $240-value produce coupon books to lower-income shoppers. Within two hours, all coupon books were claimed. As the coupons expire on June 30, FARE (Food Access Raises Everyone), a partner in the program, is collecting data from vendors, shoppers, and usage patterns to measure its success and plan for future initiatives to expand Produce Perks programs at the West Side Market.
How Produce Perks works – and which are available at the West Side Market
“Produce Perks” are benefits that make it cheaper for lower-income people to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, but it’s actually three distinct statewide programs run by the nonprofit Produce Perks Midwest. Each arm of Produce Perks operates with separate funding, and each program has different goals, eligibility rules, and shopper benefits.
The traditional Produce Perks for grocery stores and farmers markets may be one of the more familiar programs: There is no sign-up necessary, and EBT/SNAP participants receive $1 for every $1 spent, up to $15 a day at participating grocers and $25 at farmers markets. That dollar-for-dollar match, which comes in the form of tokens, discounts, or coupons, can be spent on fresh fruits or veggies. This program operates year-round, and it’s funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Another arm of Produce Perks is the “produce prescription” program, also funded by USDA. This program provides additional benefits to patients who may be helped by a healthier diet (the current grant is for diabetic or pre-diabetic patients, said Morgan Taggart director of FARE) and who meet guidelines for food insecurity. Doctors write prescriptions for fruits and vegetables, and participants receive up to $150 in vouchers to redeem at partner organizations for produce for six months, said Taggart. The West Side Market is testing out the produce prescription program this year, too, she said.
Finally, the coupon program piloted at the market last year and again this year is yet another arm of Produce Perks, operated in partnership with the city of Cleveland, FARE, and the West Side Market. The coupons were funded by the federal program TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), but were allocated through the state budget. “We have to follow the state budget cycle. So when they (the state) end June 30, all the money has to be spent by June 30,” said Taggart, explaining why the West Side Market coupons have expired.
Eligibility requirements for the $240 coupon program are somewhat different from traditional Produce Perks, too – participants don’t need to be SNAP-eligible, and in that way the West Side Market program was able to reach some shoppers who earn a bit too much for SNAP, Taggart said. (Eligibility was determined at the May distribution event by asking participants about their income and household size.)
Overall, Produce Perks is growing. In 2022, Produce Perks served more than 31,000 people, an increase of 11% from 2021, and provided nearly $1.4 million in Produce Perks incentives, an increase of 19% from 2021.
Tevis Foreman, executive director of Produce Perks, said the program has grown more than 700% since it first launched in 2017. “First and foremost, it’s been word of mouth,” Foreman said of the exponential growth. “The actual beneficiaries share the program with their neighbors and family members, they say it’s real, they tell people it exists and hasn’t gone away and you should take advantage of it. To me, that’s been the primary catalyst of our growth.”
Foreman said the impacts of the program have been threefold: it’s helped improve household food access and nutrition security, it’s helped local markets and retailers, and it’s helped improve people’s health outcomes. Up to three dollars is generated locally for every dollar of Produce Perks money that’s spent, due to the ripple effect on local economies, Foreman said.
Evaluating the coupon program’s success
West Side Market vendors receive checks for the coupons they pull in. As of the third week in June, more than $16,000 in coupons had been redeemed so far this season, according to FARE’s Taggart.
Produce Perks at the market launched in 2022 with 265 participating families. According to research by FARE, 96% of participants said the program supports purchasing produce they already eat, while 90% said it helped their family try new foods and produce. FARE research also indicated that 90% of families found it easy to access the West Side Market, which is on major bus and rapid transit lines.
FARE’s goal is to improve access to healthy food across the city and other communities in Cuyahoga County, and Produce Perks is one attempt to do that. “We try to use an equity lens when we approach this work by really investing in people and grassroots organizations who are most affected by these issues,” Taggart said.
To evaluate the success of this year’s pilot, FARE will use a variety of data. They will have conversations with vendors, survey coupon shoppers about their experiences, and use a range of data encoded in the paper coupons – when coupons are scanned into FARE’s system, it can collect information about zip code, family size, and even at which of the two West Side Market doors the shopper signed up for the program at in May. Taken together, said Taggart, FARE can evaluate how the program is working for both vendors and shoppers, both of whom are stakeholders in the success of the program.
Customer and vendor response to the coupon program
Customers showed up en masse for the coupon books on May 20, according to Jason Scott of Greg’s Produce, a vendor at the market. “People were lined up outside at 5:30 in the morning,” he said. “It’s helped a lot of families. It helps us, too. It makes me happy to make some money, and I get a check every week. We’ve never done that before. With this program, I’ve had nothing but positivity. I’ve gained a lot of customers from it. They see it’s good, and they come back every week.” (The free coupon books, which expire June 30, are “sold out” for 2023. Eligible people can sign up to be notified about next year’s coupon books.)
Another vendor, George of Harb Produce, said he and his wife are also grateful for the Produce Perks program. “People are happy about the city and the program,” he said. “People need it, especially now. It’s a good program.”
At the West Side Market, customers get to engage with vendors in conversations about how the produce is sourced, the vendor’s history, ways to incorporate the produce into their day-to-day meals, and other topics, Scott said. “We had the best Saturday that we’ve had in a long time,” he said. “It’s helped a lot of people, and I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from it. People come everyday, and they buy stuff, and it brings people back again. It’s just been positive for everybody.”
What’s more, Produce Perks is putting the community back in community markets, some say. “I feel like at the grocery store no one talks to you anymore, but here my customers talk about sports and their life and things going on,” said Scott. “Whatever helps us is helping everybody.”
What’s next
In the long-term, FARE is dreaming of even bigger programs. Right now, just about half of the vendors in the West Side Market accept SNAP, says Taggart, so the traditional, year-round dollar-for-dollar match isn’t a possibility yet.
“That’s gonna need a different type of infrastructure,” said Taggart. “A Produce Perks that could be operated at the market on a regular basis like it is in Eastern Market in Detroit, or Findlay Market in Cincinnati – oftentimes, public market entities are running those SNAP transactions themselves and using a token system just like our farmers markets do here in Cuyahoga County.”
That’s just one option, though. “The possibilities are just endless,” said Taggart, mentioning one idea of vendors supplying small stores in neighborhoods without many (or any) full-service supermarkets. “There’s tremendous potential, and there’s an opportunity for a lot of innovation and support that can support local communities, but also support local vendors and local businesses.”
Rachelle Miller was a participant in The Land’s community journalism program.
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