Where to use CalFresh Market Match/veggie incentives in Bay Area & Central Valley?

There are a bunch of places that accept Market Match in both areas! In Oakland, you should definitely check out the Grand Lake Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Temescal Farmers Market on Sundays. They both give you up to $10 extra when you spend your CalFresh benefits there. In the Central Valley, the Modesto Certified Farmers Market does Market Match too - I think they're open Saturday mornings downtown. Just bring your EBT card to the info booth before shopping, tell them how much you want to spend on produce, and they'll give you tokens plus the matching amount in extra tokens. Super easy!

thers also the food 4 less in modesto does it i think. they call it something diffrent tho not market match. maybe fresh rewards??? idk but u get like $5 off when u buy $10 of producs with EBT there

To give you the full picture, there are actually several programs that offer these veggie incentives in California, and they have different names which makes it confusing: 1. Market Match - mainly at farmers markets, usually matches up to $10 per visit 2. California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) - at select grocery stores 3. Fresh Rewards - at some Food 4 Less locations 4. Double Up Food Bucks - limited locations in the Bay Area For a complete searchable list, the Ecology Center maintains an updated database at fmfinder.org where you can enter your zip code and find all participating locations. You can also download the 'Farmers Market Finder' app. In the Bay Area specifically, the Jack London Square Farmers Market and Alameda Farmers Markets also participate. In the Central Valley, several Fresno markets and the Stockton market (if you're willing to drive a bit from Modesto) have good programs too.

I tried using Market Match at Grand Lake last year and it was AMAZING! Seriously doubled my produce budget. Just remember some vendors don't take the tokens (like the prepared food stalls) but all the fruit/veggie farmers do. Also the line at the info booth gets long right when they open so either come early or be prepared to wait a bit.

has anyone notised that the qualitty of the produce at farmers mkts is WAY better than grocery stores?? i started using my ebt at berkeley farmers market and everything lasts like twice as long in the fridge. worth it even without the market match imo but the extra $ makes it affordable

I've been trying to reach someone at Alameda County for WEEKS to ask about these programs and can't get through. Always on hold forever or get disconnected. Super frustrating because I want to use these programs but need some questions answered first about how it affects my benefit calculation. Just discovered a service called Claimyr that got me through to a CalFresh worker in 15 minutes after weeks of trying on my own. They call the county office for you and then connect you when they reach a human. Saved me so much time and stress. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 and their website is claimyr.com if anyone else is struggling to get answers about these incentive programs.

Be careful with these programs! My sister used Market Match in San Jose and they calculated it as income on her next SAR7 and reduced her benefits!!! The county said any "free money" counts as a resource. She had to appeal to get it fixed. Make sure you get something in writing that says these incentives don't count against your CalFresh eligibility.

One more tip - a lot of these farmers markets have special events where they increase the match amount! Like at Oakland's markets they sometimes do "Double Match Day" where you get $20 instead of $10. Worth following their social media for announcements.

o ya forgot 2 say mandela foods coop in west oakland does somthing similar 2. not sure if its the same program but they give u extra $ 4 veggies when u use ebt

This thread has been so helpful! I'm actually a new CalFresh recipient myself (just got approved two weeks ago) and had no idea about any of these programs. I'm in Sacramento but travel to the Bay Area sometimes for my job. Does anyone know if Sacramento has similar Market Match programs? I'd love to stretch my benefits further, especially since I'm trying to eat healthier. Also wondering - do these programs work the same way everywhere or are there different rules depending on the county? Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community is amazing for newcomers like me who are still learning how to navigate all these resources!