Market Match Is Under Threat. Here’s What You Can Do to Help.
April 10, 2026
One of California’s most effective food safety net programs is in danger of disappearing. Funding for Market Match, which doubles CalFresh EBT participants’ benefits at farmers markets across the state, was cut from Governor Newsom’s proposed 2026-27 budget. If Market Match is not reinstated in California’s budget, funding will run out in early 2027, and the program will end.
Amid rising food prices and recent federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Market Match is more important than ever. H.R. 1 (the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) enacts sweeping cuts to SNAP, with reduced benefits, stronger work requirements, and new eligibility restrictions going into effect this year.
A coalition of 200+ farmers market organizations, farmers, and food and health advocates are fighting to keep Market Match in California’s budget and expand funding to meet the demand for years to come.
What Is Market Match?
Market Match makes fresh, healthy, food affordable by doubling CalFresh participants’ EBT benefits at the farmers market. Each year, the program feeds thousands of low-income families and generates millions of dollars for California farms.
The program, which was founded in 2009 by Roots of Change, has a decade-plus proven track record of helping California’s low-income communities gain access to healthy food while supporting local farmers. Since 2012, the program has been led by the Ecology Center, with funding through the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. State funds also get federal matching dollars from the USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program.
Market Match has been described as a triple win for farmers, low-income shoppers, and local communities. Statewide, the program served 660,000 CalFresh shoppers and directed $25 million to small California farms at 300 farmers markets, CSAs, and farm stands. Every $1 in Market Match dollars spent at the farmers market has a multiplier effect of $3 in California’s rural communities, as that money helps small farms hire more staff and expand their operations.
Investing in California Farms and Families
Foodwise began participating in the Market Match program in 2015, and currently offers a match at all of our farmers markets. When shoppers visit the Foodwise Info Booth to redeem their CalFresh EBT benefits for market tokens, they can request additional Market Match tokens for free (up to $10 or $15, depending on the market) to spend exclusively on fruits and vegetables.
Accelerated during the years of the pandemic, the demand has continued to grow year after year, as more shoppers discover they can stretch their EBT benefits by getting additional dollars to purchase fresh, local produce at the farmers market.
In 2025, Foodwise served more than 9,540 CalFresh shoppers, who spent $141,819 in Market Match at our farmers markets, or a total of $303,568 combined with CalFresh spending. Those numbers are expected to double this year, as Foodwise recently took over the management of San Francisco’s Alemany Farmers Market.
“Market Match has been essential to our farm’s sustainability, and it directly supports our sales and allows us to keep showing up week after week at the farmers market,” say Maria Gonzales and Rudy Jimenez of Green Thumb Farms, who participate in Foodwise’s Ferry Plaza and Mission markets, and other San Francisco markets like the Heart of the City.
Last year, Green Thumb received the most Market Match funds of any farm in Foodwise’s markets, with their wide variety of vegetables at affordable prices. “Many of our regular customers rely on Market Match, and we see firsthand how doubling their CalFresh dollars makes it possible for families to choose fresh, healthy food from small farms like ours,” they add.
San Francisco native Katy Barnhill is a CalFresh participant who has been shopping at Foodwise’s Mission Community Market for years. ”Fruits and vegetables are the number one thing I feed my son,” she says. “CalFresh and Market Match make it more affordable, and we get to support the farmers directly.”
The Statewide Effort to Protect Market Match
Last month, Katy traveled up to Sacramento with Foodwise and other farmers market operators, CalFresh shoppers, farmers, and advocates to share the importance of Market Match and urge legislators to protect this vital program in the state budget.
Led by the Ecology Center, Roots of Change, NextGen Policy, California Market Match Consortium, and the California Farmers Market Alliance, the coalition is advocating for permanent, ongoing funding for Market Match and CNIP in the 2026-27 budget, with a gradual increase to meet the overwhelming demand at farmers markets across the state.
California Assemblymember Damon Connolly and Senator Josh Becker have championed the budget request. San Francisco has also passed a resolution urging the Governor and the state legislature to protect and invest in Market Match. San Francisco is the largest recipient of the program in the state, with 14 farmers markets and 110,000 CalFresh recipients.
For farmers and shoppers, the impact of losing Market Match would be devastating. As farmers Rudy and Maria share, “We often hear from our customers how much this program means to them—the relief, the gratitude, and the difference it makes in feeding their families each week. Lately, we’ve also felt their concern about the future of programs like this, and we share that worry, which is why we are committed to speaking up and supporting efforts to keep Market Match alive for our community.”
Take Action to Save Market Match
Here are some steps you can take to save Market Match:
- Email your legislators (1 minute or less).
- Call your legislators (3-5 minutes). This takes a little more time but has a much higher impact! The tool on the website makes it easy.
- Sign on to the Save Market Match Coalition’s letter.
Subscribe to the Foodwise e-letter for future action alerts.
Topics: Equity, Farmers, Food access