EBT at Farmers Markets: How It Works and Double Up Food Bucks

Quick answer: Many farmers markets take EBT, and you can look up the ones near you in USDA's SNAP Retailer Locator.¹ Most markets swipe your card at an information booth and hand you tokens to spend with vendors.² Programs such as Double Up Food Bucks then add free matching dollars for fruits and vegetables, and anyone who gets SNAP is automatically eligible where they run.³

This guide covers the market side of the SNAP program: how to find a market, how checkout works, what you can buy, and which states match your dollars. Details are as of October 30, 2026, and match programs change often, so confirm with your market or state program before you go.

Do farmers markets take EBT?

Some do, and some do not, so check before you go. USDA's SNAP Retailer Locator lists markets that accept SNAP, and USDA's National Farmers Market Directory shows each market's location, hours and accepted forms of payment.¹⁴

To search the locator:

1. Open the SNAP Retailer Locator and enter your address or ZIP code in the top search bar.¹
2. Under "SNAP Store Type Classification," filter by "Farmers and Markets."¹
3. Click "apply" to see the markets near you that accept SNAP.¹

The directory is at usdalocalfoodportal.com.⁴ Markets may also post their own EBT and match details, so a quick look at the market's page or sign saves a wasted trip.

How do you use EBT at a farmers market?

Go to the market's information table or tent first. Each market handles SNAP a little differently, and the person there will explain which of three methods it uses.⁵

Method	How it works
Tokens	You pick an amount, staff swipe your EBT card, and you get tokens (also called scrip) worth that amount to spend with vendors.25
Receipts	You shop first, vendors set items aside and give you receipts, then you pay the total with EBT at the booth and collect your items.5
Pay at the stand	You swipe your EBT card directly with the vendor, as in a grocery store. Not every vendor or market can do this.5

If your market uses tokens, keep these rules in mind:

• Whole dollars work best. Markets commonly tell vendors never to give change back on SNAP tokens, and many use $1 tokens so you lose less when a purchase comes in under a token's value.²
• Leftover tokens are not lost. You can spend them on a later visit to the same market or ask for a refund to your EBT card. The refund goes to the card, not to you in cash.²
• Tokens stay with their market. A market may not accept tokens from another market.²
• Your home state does not matter. A market may accept an EBT card from an out-of-state SNAP user.²

What can you buy with EBT at a farmers market?

You can buy any food for your household that SNAP covers.⁶ That includes fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish, dairy, breads and cereals, snack foods, non-alcoholic drinks, and seeds and plants that grow food to eat.⁶ Maryland's market program adds baked goods, jams, pickles, syrup, honey and vegetable plants to its list of SNAP-eligible foods.⁷

Yes with SNAP	No with SNAP
Fruits and vegetables6	Beer, wine and liquor6
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy67	Foods that are hot at the point of sale6
Bread, baked goods, honey and jam67	Vitamins, medicines and supplements6
Seeds and plants that grow food6	Nonfood items such as soap, paper products and pet food. Fresh flowers also do not qualify.56

Match dollars often cover less than SNAP does. Double Up Food Bucks matches spending on fruits and vegetables, and Massachusetts excludes produce with added salt, sugar, fat or oil.³⁸ For a longer list of SNAP-eligible foods, see what you can buy with SNAP.

What is Double Up Food Bucks, and who qualifies?

Double Up Food Bucks matches the SNAP dollars you spend on fresh fruits and vegetables, so you bring home twice as much.³ Anyone who receives SNAP is automatically eligible, so there is nothing to apply for.³

The program was piloted in Detroit in 2009. Its national site says it now runs in dozens of states at more than 900 locations, from farmers markets to grocery stores.³ The name and the rules change by state. New Jersey calls its version Good Food Bucks, and Hawaii calls it DA BUX.³

How does a SNAP market match work?

A market match gives you extra dollars for each SNAP dollar you spend, up to a daily or monthly cap. In a dollar-for-dollar program, $10 of SNAP earns $10 in match tokens.⁷ Double Up Food Bucks applies its match to fresh fruits and vegetables.³

Caps and rates differ by program:

• Maryland Market Money matches dollar for dollar, up to $20 per person per day.⁷
• Oregon's Double Up matches dollar for dollar, up to $20.³
• Double Up Oklahoma gives a matching dollar, up to $20 per day, at participating grocery stores and farmers markets.³
• New Hampshire and Hawaii take 50% off fruits and vegetables instead of a dollar-for-dollar match.³

Some programs match more than SNAP. Maryland Market Money also matches Summer EBT (SUN Bucks), WIC fruit and vegetable benefits, and the senior and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Programs.⁷ For those coupon programs, see farmers market coupons for seniors and WIC.

What is the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)?

HIP is a Massachusetts program that uses state funds to cover your fruit and vegetable purchases at participating farms when you pay with EBT.⁸ If you live in Massachusetts and get SNAP, your household can use it automatically, with no separate sign-up.⁸

SNAP household size	Monthly HIP amount
1 to 2 people	$408
3 to 5 people	$608
6 or more people	$808

Four details trip people up:

• You need some SNAP balance on your card, even one cent, to use HIP.⁸
• HIP works at farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets and CSA farm shares. Traditional grocery and convenience stores do not take part.⁸
• Your amount resets on the first of each month and does not roll over.⁸
• Not every farm at a market takes part, so look for the HIP logo or ask the vendor.⁸

Which states match SNAP at farmers markets?

Double Up America's state list shows Double Up Food Bucks in 27 places as of October 30, 2026.³ In 19 of them it runs as the standard program: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.³ Eight listings come with a twist:

State	What the Double Up page says
Hawaii	DA BUX gives 50% off local fruits and vegetables at over 100 locations3
Massachusetts	Double Up in Boston only. Statewide, use HIP (see above)3
Minnesota	Double Up only at the Bluff Country Co-Op in Winona. Market Bucks matches SNAP at participating farmers markets3
New Hampshire	50% off fruits and vegetables at retail locations, plus Granite State Market Match at dozens of farmers markets3
New Jersey	Now called Good Food Bucks, at grocery stores and farmers markets3
North Carolina	Western North Carolina3
Oklahoma	Double Up Oklahoma, up to $20 per day3
Oregon	Dollar for dollar, up to $203

The same page says Double Up is not available in the states below, and names other programs that match SNAP there. Delaware and Wyoming list none.³

State	Other program named
Alaska	Alaska Farmers Market Association Market Match3
Arkansas	Northwest Arkansas Double Dollars3
California	Market Match, Food Bucks, California Nutrition Incentive Program and others3
District of Columbia	FRESHMATCH3
Florida	Fresh Access Bucks3
Georgia	Fresh for Less3
Illinois	Link Up Illinois3
Kentucky	Kentucky Double Dollars3
Louisiana	Market Match3
Maine	Farm Fresh Rewards3
Maryland	Fresh Checks3 and Maryland Market Money7
Montana	Double SNAP Dollars3
Ohio	Produce Perks3
Pennsylvania	Fresh2You Veggie Bucks, Fruit and Vegetable Bucks, Food Bucks3
Rhode Island	Bonus Bucks3
South Carolina	Healthy Bucks3
Vermont	Crop Cash3
Virginia	Virginia Fresh Match3
Washington	SNAP Market Match3
West Virginia	SNAP Stretch3
Wisconsin	Double Dollars3

Connecticut's entry points to End Hunger Connecticut's farmers market page instead of a named program.³ Look up your own state on the Double Up America site for the current program name and locations.

Many of these programs are paid for in part by federal grants. USDA's Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) funds projects that increase fruit and vegetable purchases by SNAP participants, and reports more than $330 million to over 250 projects from 2019 to 2024.⁹

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to sign up for Double Up Food Bucks?

No. Anyone who receives SNAP is automatically eligible.³ Massachusetts says the same about HIP: there is no special sign-up for households that get SNAP.⁸

Do farmers market tokens expire?

Usually not. The Farmers Market Legal Toolkit says you can come back to the same market any time to spend leftover tokens or ask for a refund.² Customers must be able to redeem tokens whenever the market is open.² The toolkit adds that some markets report FNS told them expiration dates are not allowed.² Ask at the booth if a market prints a date on its tokens.

Can I get cash back for unused SNAP tokens?

No. Unused tokens are refunded to your EBT card, not paid out in cash.² Federal rules allow up to 99 cents in cash change on SNAP purchases, but most markets never give cash change for SNAP, so plan purchases in whole dollars.²

Does the match come out of my EBT balance?

It depends on the program. In Massachusetts, a fruit and vegetable purchase covered fully by HIP leaves your SNAP balance unchanged on the receipt, and anything not covered, such as honey, comes out of your SNAP balance.⁸ Ask your market how its match shows up.

Does Double Up Food Bucks work at grocery stores?

In some states it does. The national site says locations range from farmers markets to grocery stores, and Oklahoma and New Jersey name both.³ Massachusetts HIP is different: traditional grocery stores do not take part.⁸

Can I use WIC or senior farmers market coupons too?

Yes, where your market accepts them. USDA runs the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program separately from SNAP.⁴ The coupon guide explains how to get them.

How we checked this

On October 30, 2026 we opened the nine sources listed below and confirmed each page states the fact attributed to it. Seven are government or program pages. The other two, the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit and NCOA, are independent guides used for how checkout works.

The state tables repeat only what Double Up America's state list and the Maryland and Massachusetts pages say on that date. We did not call markets, and we could not confirm current caps for states other than those cited, so we left them out. Program names, caps and locations change, so confirm with your state program before you go.

Next step: if your groceries run short before the month ends, search the PantryPath directory for a nearby pantry, and read the SNAP guide for how to stretch your benefit.

To learn more, see other EBT discounts and which stores accept EBT.