Berkshire Agricultural Ventures Launches Fifth Year of Market Match Fund
GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV), a community nonprofit supporting farmers, launched the fifth year of its Market Match Fund.
This program supports dollar-for-dollar SNAP matching at 10 partner farmers markets across the Berkshires, enabling households in need to double their purchasing power up to $30 per transaction for fresh produce, meat, dairy, eggs, and other local foods. These purchases in turn support the livelihoods of local farmers and help keep Berkshire-area farmers markets inclusive and economically diverse community hubs.
BAV fundraises for the Market Match Fund year-round and conducts a community campaign each spring to raise public awareness and contributions. This year’s campaign will run during the month of April with the goal of raising $45,000 toward fully funding the Market Match Fund in 2026. Thanks to a generous donor, the first $20,000 raised in the campaign will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Individuals wishing to learn more and donate can do so at www.berkshireagventures.org/market-match-fund.
“Market Match programs are so important to our community. BAV is honored to play a role in helping feed families, support farmers, and strengthen farmers markets in the Berkshires,” BAV Local Food Systems Program Manager Jake Levin said.
BAV Executive Director Rebecca Busansky added that “this program is more important than ever in light of numerous federal cuts and uncertainty affecting both SNAP recipients and smaller-scale farmers. BAV and its partner markets are committed to helping strengthen food security, increase local food access, and expand economic opportunities for farmers in our region.”
Support from private and corporate foundations is critical to the success of the Market Match Fund. BAV looks forward to recognizing this year’s generous institutional funders once outdoor market season is underway. BAV will celebrate the opening day of the outdoor market season at the North Adams Farmers Market on Saturday, May 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All members of the public are invited to visit the market and stop by BAV’s table for market giveaways and to learn more about the Market Match Fund.
In Berkshire County, BAV supports the North Adams Farmers Market, Williamstown Farmers Market, Pittsfield Farmers Market (operated by Roots Rising), Lee Farmers Market, West Stockbridge Farmers Market, Stockbridge Farmers Market, Great Barrington Farmers Market, Sheffield Farmers Market, and Berkshire Grown’s Winter Markets. In Connecticut’s Litchfield County, BAV supports the New Milford Farmers Market.
BAV’s grants through this program currently cover 100% of SNAP doubling at partner farmers markets, strengthening the reliability and consistency of Market Match programs in the Berkshires and alleviating the need for community-run markets to devote time and resources to fundraising.
BAV’s Market Match Fund is one of just two centralized funds for SNAP matching at farmers markets across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The program was launched in 2022 with three goals: to help feed local families, support sales for local farmers, and strengthen farmers markets as viable and inclusive community hubs.