Natalie Blais, a candidate for 1st Franklin House seat, has called on Gov. Charlie Baker to enter into a multi-year contract to process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Healthy Incentives Program benefits at farmers’ markets.
The Sunderland Democrat’s letter to Baker follows reports that the Austin-based company that processes roughly 40 percent of SNAP (food stamp) transactions at farmers markets around the country plans to end its service by Aug. 31, potentially ending the program’s operation at about 1,700 markets around the country. That date represents a month’s reprieve for the Novo Dia Group, which was provided funding by the National Association of Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs to keep it operating beyond July 31.
“The closure of a company which processes these transactions for 1,700 farm retailers across the country, and is the only wireless option for processing HIP, shows the vulnerability we face if we rely on solely on federal programs rather than developing our own contracts with providers,” Blais wrote. “Massachusetts can continue to serve our vulnerable families and our farmers by entering into a multi-year contract with a provider that will commit to providing uninterrupted processing services for EBT transactions through smart phones and tablets.”
Blais argued that the contract “must include the terminals necessary to process SNAP payments and HIP benefits, and the transaction fees should be covered free of change or be substantially subsidized by the state. This system must be in place before the 2019 growing season so that consumers and farmers who have come to rely on the program remain committed to participating in it.”