One goal of the Oak Park Farmers’ Market is to make healthy regionally produced foods accessible to lower-income residents.
One way it achieves this is by encouraging eligible farmers’ market vendors to accept SNAP and LINK cards. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) was formerly known as Food Stamps.
The program, which in Illinois is known as LINK, provides financial assistance for food purchases. LINK is a credit card that can be used at eligible vendors, including at grocery stores.
Individuals can apply for these benefits through the Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) on the Illinois.gov website or by submitting a paper application. Eligibility is based on household size and income.
“The Oak Park Farmers’ Market really serves a broad area that includes Berwyn, Austin, and Forest Park,” said Jack Carmody, market manager. “Some of these areas have lower-income residents who may have a harder time trying to access fresh produce in their own neighborhoods. We are trying to serve a large group of people by making sure we have a diverse selection at our market.”
Back in 2010, then Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, an Oak Park native, came to the Oak Park Farmers’ Market to sign a bill that would make it easier for farmers’ markets to accept LINK cards. The following year, the Oak Park Farmers’ Market began accepting LINK cards.
“Any of the produce can be purchased using the LINK card,” Carmody said. “All of our vendors who have eligible produce accept LINK. Now, we partner with an experimental station that partners with the LINK Match Station where, if you spend $25 at the market, you get additional coupons to spend.”
Carmody began his job as farmers’ market coordinator in 2023. A native of the Philadelphia area, he volunteered at farmers’ markets across Philadelphia while growing up, and he went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics and nutrition. Working to enhance food access to residents in underserved communities was always important to him.
When the opportunity arose to accept a job working with farmers’ markets, he saw the opportunity to work toward expanding access to fresh produce for low-income residents so that they could have healthy food as well.