Eau Claire (WQOW)- A new program will help improve access to healthy food in Eau Claire and this is important because food insecurity is a big concern.
Food insecurity is a term that describes a lack of access, at times, to enough nutritious food.
1 in 4 children in western Wisconsin fall into that category.
The Farmers' Market is one place where families can buy healthy food. But until now, that may not have been an option for many.
"Many people do not realize that almost 1 out of 5 of our residents in Eau Claire County are using and participating in food share," points out Nutrition Coordinator Nancy Coffey.
The Farmers' Market is changing the way people buy their food.
Beginning this Saturday, area residents will be able to use QUEST and debit cards at the Downtown Farmers' Market in Eau Claire through a new token program.
"You'll take your Quest or your debit card to the booth and they'll swipe it and then be able to get the tokens," Coffey explains.
The QUEST program is also known as FoodShare or what was known as food stamps. The switch to tokens will allow more than 16,000 Eau Claire County residents in the QUEST program to be able to purchase fresh, healthy food for their families.
"Many families buy groceries obviously at the grocery store with their QUEST card, but they have not been able to go to the Farmers' Market and use it," Coffey says.
"I've noticed in the last few years, I've gotten more requests as time has gone on," points out Farmers' Market Manager Deidra Barrickman. "So I think that we are going to have a lot of people that want to use this program."
And it's not only customers who will benefit from the new switch.
"The vendors are pretty excited about this," Barrickman says. "I think they see it as another way they they'll get some new customers into the market."
A booth will be set up at the Farmers' Market every Saturday through September where you can buy a wooden token. Every token can be purchased for $1. The booth is only open from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Those responsible for creating the new token program say when money is tight, many people turn to fast food because it's cheap. The token program gives people another option to buy healthy food using their quest cards.
