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More folks in Honolulu will be able to purchase affordable fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at farmers’ markets, thanks to new EBT machines at a handful of markets in the area, including the People’s Open Market (POM) sites . EBT machines make it possible for food assistance recipients to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at the market. 15% of SNAP participants in the United States are Latino.
The City and County of Honolulu currently has four market sites accepting EBT: On Tuesdays, at Waipahu District Park and Wahiawa District Park; on Friday, at Ewa Beach Community Park and on Saturday, at the Kalihi Street parking lot at (Kalakaua District Park).
Hawaii participation in SNAP is currently at a historic high. An average of 94,649 households per month received SNAP benefits in FY 2013. An average of 187,062 individuals per month received SNAP; and the State of Hawaii issued an average of $484.9 million per year in SNAP benefits.
In February 2014, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Hawaii a $724,134 bonus for the most improved SNAP Program Access Index (PAI) in the Unites States. The PAI Index measures the average number of number of low-income persons, at or below 125% of the federal poverty line, who receive SNAP benefits. In 2012, the PAI index ranked Hawaii as the 11th best performing state in the nation with participation rate of 88%.
By The Numbers
1
Supermarket
for every Latino neighborhood, compared to 3 for every non-Latino neighborhood
