How one indie avoided the SNAP benefits cliff

Northern California’s Mendocino County is known for its rugged cliffside, ancient forests and tourist-drawing coastal views. Located a few hours north of San Francisco, the sought-after area is also home to Harvest Market, the Mendocino Coast’s beloved local grocer.  

And just like the ever-changing landscape it resides in, the independent retailer’s operation reflects a unique blend of product offerings: conventional, specialty, organic, domestic, international and local.  

Harvest Market is a family-owned business that was started by Tom Honer in May 1985. The grocer now operates two grocery stores in California, one in Fort Bragg and the other in Mendocino, where it also runs a hardware store.   

Since it first opened its doors, the independent grocery retailer has maintained its family roots. In fact, in 2005, Honer’s daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Tim Bosma, joined the business and developed a solid understanding of the communities the grocery retailer serves.   

“Ten percent of our shoppers are SNAP eligible,” Jennifer Bosma, Harvest Market’s VP, told WGB.  “Eighty percent of the kids in our community are free or reduced lunch.”  

Avoiding hunger cliffs 

The rollbacks of SNAP Emergency Allotments (EA) have reduced pandemic-related funding by about $95 a month from the average recipient's benefits.  

With SNAP recipients facing this benefits cliff, Harvest Market was ahead of the curve by what Bosma credits as “lucky timing.”  

In 2020, the grocer was asked to participate in a healthy food pilot program that officially launched March 7, 2023—six days after SNAP EA ended. 

“In 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), reached out to me to participate in the CalFresh pilot program,” she said. 

Through partnerships and persistence of getting all the transactional vendors on board, Harvest Market became the inaugural grocery store in California to bring healthy food incentives straight onto a SNAP customer's EBT card, less than a week after the rollback.  

“They are the first grocery store in the state of California to do this type of program, which provides the rebate back onto the EBT card,” Grecia Marquez-Nieblas, SPUR food and agriculture program manager, told WGB. 

Through the pilot program with SPUR, instant rebates are provided to participants in CalFresh (California’s federally funded food assistance benefits program, also known as SNAP), who earn matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables. In other words, if a shopper buys $5 worth of local produce, they receive $5 on their EBT card.   

“We all knew that eventually all of the pandemic benefits were going to end,” Bosma said. “We hoped they wouldn’t be and that our government would see that inflation and everything that was happening was hurting people, especially those who are on food benefits.” 

Spearheaded by SPUR, the program allows shoppers to earn up to $60 in rebates per month at participating grocery stores.  

Healthy food incentive proves successful 

“Right now, with inflation, a reduction in public assistance benefits and pandemic benefits ending, people need help. And they need help on eating fresher, healthier food,” Bosma said. “This program gets fresh produce into more homes and encourages people to eat healthier. They get more food for their EBT dollar, and it helps California farmers.”  

The CalFresh pilot project will run through December. But Bosma said it has been so successful, she hopes it continues.  

“This was a huge win for our community,” she said.  

California Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula introduced a $94 million proposal (AB 605) in the California Legislature to expand this rebate to reach hundreds of thousands of people at grocery stores and farmers markets across the state.  

Adaptability and having the right tools have allowed independent grocers nationwide to find a work-around for the SNAP rollbacks.  

“The SNAP program plays an important role in providing a safety net for those in need, including families with children, the elderly and disabled,” Stephanie Johnson, VP of government relations for the National Grocers Association (NGA), said. “America’s independent supermarket operators have long been partners with federal and state government entities in the SNAP food delivery system. Since the program’s inception, grocers have worked collaboratively with the USDA, Congress and industry partners to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the program.”  

SNAP recipients, however, aren’t the only ones encountering roadblocks. Grocery retailers are also facing new challenges, forcing them to pivot.  

“People have had to make hard choices based on pricing,” Bosma explained. “And so, I think independents have to learn to compete on a different level.”  

Representing 21,000 independent grocers throughout the U.S., the NGA said most independent grocers were already anticipating the rollback.  

“While SNAP allotments and distribution dates vary from state to state, we’ve heard from our members that a majority had prepared for the termination of emergency allotments,” Johnson said. “Our members have seen SNAP customers make fewer shopping trips, pull back from certain food categories like produce, and are purchasing more private-label products.”  

Grocery retailers operate on thin margins, and independent grocers during these inflationary times have been challenged. But staying ahead of the curve is one way they can chart the course successfully.  

“As independent retailers, we all have to be creative on how we go to market and help our community,” Bosma said.  “Our job is to feed our community—that's our No. 1 priority.”  

Advancing SNAP online 

Earlier this year, in a move to advance SNAP online programs for independent grocers, the National Grocers Association Foundation (NGAF) was awarded a $5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).  

“Small stores are the heartbeat of towns across America. They’re often individually owned and operated, create local employment opportunities, and provide essential resources for their community, but they also may not have the same resources that bigger stores have at their fingertips,” said Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.  

NGA echoed these sentiments about the important role independent grocers play when it comes to SNAP customers.  

“Independent community grocers are the bedrock of many communities across the country and are often the closest available provider of nourishing food at an affordable price,” said Johnson. “Legislation impacting the future of SNAP must consider the critical role independent grocers play across America so they can continue expanding food access and supporting local economies.”  

SNAP will continue to be a lifeline for millions of Americans for years to come.   

“SNAP is a fundamental safety net program for millions of Americans and has largely been a success due to the private-public partnership it shares with supermarket operators to improve access to food and encourage healthy eating behavior by providing incentives rather than restrictive mandates,” Johnson said. “As lawmakers work toward a new Farm Bill, NGA favors maintaining SNAP Choice, which offers flexibility to both retailer and participants, and ensures families can choose foods appropriate for their unique situation.”  

Marquez-Nieblas credits Harvest Market for its agility to provide avenues of assistance like the CalFresh pilot program to assist low-income families using SNAP benefits. “Working with Jennifer and her team has been awesome,” she said. “They're so dedicated to their community, and I think what we realized was so awesome and special about working with someone like Harvest Market is that they were willing to be innovative.” 

Click here to view WGB's full SNAP report.