Why does Market Match invest in Small Farmers and Farmers’ Markets? Interview with Efren Avalos, owner of Avalos Farm

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Why does Market Match invest in Small Farmers and Farmers' Markets? Interview with Efren Avalos, owner of Avalos Farm
Market Match provides extra money to CalFresh recipients to afford fresh fruits and vegetables across the state at over 290 sites to make fresh and nutrient dense food more affordable. But why does Market Match prioritize produce grown by California small farmers instead of just any large-scale industrial farm? It’s because we know we need… Read more »

Food Access in the Central Valley – Introducing F-Street Bakersfield Farmers’ Market, new partner with Market Match

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Food Access in the Central Valley - Introducing F-Street Bakersfield Farmers’ Market, new partner with Market Match
Ecology Center’s Market Match Program partners with farmers’ markets all over California. Some counties—like Kern County, despite its location in the southern Central Valley—don’t have many farmers’ markets or Market Match locations. April Verhoef operates F Street Bakersfield Farmers’ Market, the only Market Match site in Kern County. This site launched in 2021, and the… Read more »

Big Victory for Market Match, but the Fight Isn’t Over!

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Big Victory for Market Match, but the Fight Isn’t Over!
We’re excited to share some great news! Last week, advocates of the Ecology Center-led Market Match program celebrated a significant victory. After months of hard work opposing Governor Newsom’s proposed funding cuts to the program informing legislators about its benefits, the California Legislature announced a plan to protect the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) in… Read more »

An Interview with Gabriel Cortez—Ecology Center Poet-in-Resident

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An Interview with Gabriel Cortez—Ecology Center Poet-in-Resident
Gabriel Cortez is a unique Bay Area transplant—raised in Maryland, Virginia, and Los Angeles and of Afro-Panamanian descent, his childhood trained him in navigating the contradictions between his Panamanian and United States cultures. But when you are young and don’t yet have the words to express the daily challenges you face, you just deal with… Read more »