Farmers Market L.I.F.E. — A Consortium of Farmers Markets Working Together

Most farmers markets are shoestring operations that bring together small to midsize farm vendors while serving customers from all walks of life. Farmers Market L.I.F.E. is a consortium of local farmers market operators supporting each other, including by sharing information, operating shared programs, advocating together to government leaders and agencies, and more. Farmers Market L.I.F.E. is currently made up of five farmers market organizations operating 19 farmers markets, with Petaluma Bounty playing a connecting role.

Farmers Market L.I.F.E. participating markets

The Farmers Market L.I.F.E. consortium was formed when two Petaluma farmers market managers wished to work together to uplift and grow together. Petaluma Bounty was asked to play a neutral leadership role in the consortium, which has since grown to include five organizations operating nearly 20 farmers markets.

Currently, five farmers market organizations operating 19 markets are part of Farmers Market L.I.F.E. (Local Incentive for Food and Economy)

Farmers Market L.I.F.E. markets welcome customers participating in nutrition incentive programs including CalFresh, Market Match, WIC, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and more.

Farmers Market L.I.F.E. is in flux as Petaluma Bounty makes a transition.

Markets interested in joining can check out the process by clicking the button below.

Application Process for Interested Markets

Click here to see a schedule of all Sonoma County farmers markets and Farmers Market L.I.F.E. member markets in Marin County.

See a schedule of Farmers Market L.I.F.E. markets

Our Farmers Markets in Sonoma County

Farmers Market L.I.F.E. members not only support one another but work to lift up all farmers markets. With that in mind, Petaluma Bounty manages the website, OurFarmersMarkets.org. The website lists all Sonoma County farmers markets, including but not limited to Farmers Market L.I.F.E. member markets, to make it easy for customers to find a farmers market near them that works for their schedule.

CalFresh & Market Match at Farmers Markets

All Farmers Market L.I.F.E. markets welcome CalFresh customers. CalFresh customers can visit the market managers’ booth with their EBT card and take out a desired amount from their cards. Market managers will run the EBT card and hand over market money (tokens or paper scrip) that customers can use for CalFresh allowable purchases.

And Farmers Market L.I.F.E. markets run the statewide Market Match program, making locally grown, fresh food more affordable to CalFresh customers.

How Market Match Works

So, how does Market Match work? CalFresh customers who visit a participating farmers market are offered a dollar-for-dollar match up to a daily maximum, typically $15 or $20. Market Match is issued as a paper scrip and customers can use the Farmers Market L.I.F.E. Market Match scrip at any Farmers Market L.I.F.E. market.

What can you buy with CalFresh and Market Match at Participating Farmers Markets?

CalFresh can be used to buy:

Fruits and vegetables
Beans, fish, poultry, meat
Rice, bread, tortillas, cereal
Milk, cheese
Seeds and plants that produce food

Market Match can be used to buy:

Fresh fruits and vegetables
Fresh-cut herbs
Edible plant starts

Market Match is a program of the Ecology Center and is funded in part through the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For each $1 that the USDA awarded, we secured $1 in funds or in-kind contributions. Thus, we truly could not do this work without the ongoing contributions of local businesses, agencies, and contributors!

Watch the video below to learn how the program works for customers.

How Can Our Community Help?

Beyond shopping at farmers markets, community members can help in many ways.

Spread the word about Farmers’ Market L.I.F.E. to your community and service providers. CalFresh users need to know about this new initiative!
Click here to make a tax-deductible donation, or send a check with FM LIFE in the memo line to Petaluma Bounty, 1500 Petaluma Blvd. South A, Petaluma, CA 94952.
Leverage your contribution during our next grant application process. Your committed contribution will allow us to solicit a dollar for dollar match from USDA.

History of Farmers Market L.I.F.E.

Farmers markets have offered incentives for CalFresh users for several years, yet the problem was that incentive initiatives started and stopped as markets received intermittent and small awards of funding. In the fall of 2012, Petaluma Health Care District partnered with the Petaluma East Side Farmers’ Market to provide a $10 match incentive for CalFresh users. In early 2013, Petaluma farmers market managers met with Program Director, Suzi Grady to brainstorm collaborative opportunities for funding a shared incentive program in Southern Sonoma County. Our goal in working together was to stabilize funding sources and expand the offering to multiple markets in our community.

In August 2014, Farmers Market L.I.F.E. started as pilot with initial funding from Sonoma County Health Dept. and Human Services Dept. Petaluma Bounty partnered with Petaluma Eastside and Westside Farmers’ Markets, along with Foodies Project, Petaluma Healthcare District, Kaiser Permanente and other funders to provide up to $10 incentives for CalFresh users at all Petaluma Farmers’ Markets.

In the fall of 2014, Petaluma Bounty reached out to all certified farmers’ markets of Sonoma County to participate in a federal grant application under the state-wide Market Match Consortium, coordinated by the Berkeley Ecology Center. Not all markets were ready, interested, or had the capacity to collaboratively submit an application in late November of 2014.

In 2015, Petaluma Bounty launched the collaboration as part of the statewide California Market Match Consortium led by the Berkeley Ecology Center. Supporters included Kaiser Permanente, St. Joseph Health, Petaluma Healthcare District, Slow Food Russian River, Sunrise Rotary Club Santa Rosa, and other donors that preferred to remain anonymous. U.S. Department of Agriculture grants allowed us to expand the initiative.

As of February 2025, customers collectively spent more than $1.8 million in CalFresh and Market Match at FM LIFE farmers markets. That’s more than 3.6 million servings of locally produced, fresh fruits and vegetables on the tables of limited income folks, straight from small to midsize farmers who use sustainable farming practices.

For more information, please see our One-Page White Paper and our Funding Flowchart.

Outreach Initiatives

CalFresh Farmers’ Market Tours
National Farmers’ Market Week
CalFresh Awareness Month

Program goals into the future

This initiative improves access to locally grown produce at farmers’ markets by providing an incentive to CalFresh users. It increases CalFresh users’ purchasing power, the economic viability of local farms, and keeps money in our local economy.

Indicators for impact include EBT Sales, change in the number of CalFresh customers, new CalFresh customers, farmer interviews, number and type of outreach efforts, number and type of food education events held, and educational materials distributed through the market.

The FINI grant funding was awarded to Farmers’ Market L.I.F.E. through the California Market Match Consortium through the end of 2016. Through the fall of 2016, we will work on submitting a new proposal to the USDA and hope to include more farmers’ markets from Sonoma County. If you run a market and would like to participate in Farmers’ Market L.I.F.E., please contact us!

Contact us

If you have questions, ideas for raising funds, or want to learn more, please email Suzi