Using SNAP Benefits to Grow Your Own Food
A volunteer at the USDA People's Garden tends to Blossom and German Extra Hardy garlic. The USDA through its People's Garden encourages everyone to grow their own food whether it's a couple of tomato plants or an acre of biointensively grown vegetables. USDA photo by Lance Cheung
Every month, more than 44 million people use SNAP to get nutritious food. Most of us probably imagine participants buying items like tomatoes, squash, and apples with their benefits. But did you know that SNAP can also help people grow their own food? With SNAP, participants can buy seeds and edible plants. It’s a great way to get fresh produce right at home! All SNAP retailers, including Farmers’ Markets, can sell seeds and plants to SNAP participants.
For every $1 dollar spent on seeds and fertilizer, home gardeners can grow an average of $25 worth of produce. Growing food from seeds and plants makes SNAP benefits last longer, allowing recipients to double the value of their benefits over time. Supplementing SNAP with homegrown food makes it possible for families to buy food products that they wouldn’t normally be able to afford.
Being producers as well as consumers is an empowering experience for SNAP participants. It allows them to feel self-reliant. It’s also another great way to promote nutrition, enabling people to take pride in eating their own homegrown fruits and vegetables.
At T.C. Williams High School students learn green gardening methods USDA photo
Participants who have never gardened might be hesitant to take advantage of seed and plant benefits. Here’s how you can help folks get started:
- Start community gardening classes and clubs to help neighbors support each other in creating and caring for a garden.
- Host classes on how to grow small food bearing plants indoors and in small spaces like windowsills if you’re in an urban area.
- Consider donating space to SNAP participants who do not have room for gardening if your organization has open land.
- Encourage families to participate together. Growing food is an activity that can be fun for the whole family.
- Create recipe books that incorporate the foods commonly grown in your community with the help of program participants.
For more information on SNAP benefits visit www.fns.usda.gov/snap
This is a great thing and I think that reciepients probably don’t think of the fact that they could use their SNAP benefits to have food around throughout the winter. Thank you
Is this a change in policy? I didn’t know this was an allowable expenditure and I work closely with SNAP receipients
Loralee, I received food stamp benefits before and after it was called SNAP, and in those 7 years I was always able to buy food seeds and plants in places which accepted ebt food benefits. Many of the family services workers aren’t trained on the topic, so don’t even know that you can do that. As I understand it seeds have always been an option, but so few people use SNAP for seeds or plants that very few know you can. Many recipients as you probably know are urban or have never had a garden or been taught that you can grow food at home in your yard. More education is definitely needed in that area.
@Rose Most people also don’t realize that SNAP benefits roll over, month to month. So if people grow enough food in the garden in the summer months, they have more purchasing power to keep eating fruits and vegetables in the colder months. (And in some places, it’s quite easy to garden year-round!)
@Lorelee These have been allowable purchase items since 1973. Check http://www.SNAPgardens.org for more information. SNAP Gardens cultivates awareness that SNAP benefits can buy food-producing plants and seeds and facilitates successful gardening experiences among SNAP recipients across America.
I think that this is great! I believe that we should all grow our own food no matter how much money we make.
how can we get the USDA to encourage the Landlord to give its tenants access to the water spickets for the tenants’ enclosed unpaved patios?
It looks like SNAP is a great program. I don’t buy seeds too much, but I do have a modest garden at home. Not enough to last me through a crisis though I’m sad to say.
To Daniel @rose “SNAP benefits roll over, month to month” My son had SNAP benefits that he had not used for one month and his worker called up complaining that the state has to pay interest on the unused benefits (to whom ?) and she would remove him if he did not use them. I think the worker was full of bull, but she was real nasty about it.
I wish I had known about the gardening 3 months ago. My garden is quite small this year but the saving would have been huge. what I spent on tomato and pepper plants plus the fertilizer was over $70.00, out of $200.00 each month I had to budget the garden supplys over a 2 month stretch. next year I’ll add more above ground boxs and start searching this winter for stores that carry the plants and take snap. thank-you for doing the story in the Erie times this week.