Listen to the broadcast version of this story, which aired on Kootenay Morning on June 15, 2026
By Jaime Frederick, Local Journalism Initiative
It’s a beautiful summery weekend, and many people are out enjoying their local Farmer’s Market. Some of them might be doing so with the support of the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon program, a province-wide initiative that helps provide lower income families and individuals with access to nutritious and locally grown food.
Alisha Stubbs, executive director of Kootenay Kids Society, one of the program’s community partners in Nelson, says it provides a “huge benefit” to many of the people they serve.
“It’s an important support for lower income families,” says Stubbs. “And for Kootenay Kids, serving families with young children aged zero to six and pregnant people, it definitely helps families access fresh nutritious, locally grown food. And we also know that things are tight, right? So household budgets are scarce, and this makes healthy food more accessible.”
Kootenay Kids is one of four community partners for the coupon program in Nelson, alongside the Nelson Community Food Centre, the Nelson and District Women’s Centre and the Nelson & District Seniors Coordinating Society. These community organizations provide coupons to families or individuals on the basis of demonstrated need. Recipients then redeem the coupons to purchase up to $27 per week of fresh food at participating farmers’ markets, including the Nelson Farmer’s Market. The farmers involved accept the coupons as cash and then submit them to the program for reimbursement. The program also operates in Creston, Trail and New Denver, as well as in dozens of other communities throughout the province.
Last year’s data from the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM), which operates the program provincially, revealed that 22,041 coupons were distributed in Nelson in 2025. The City of Nelson says that more than 97 per cent of those were redeemed, for a total cash value of $67,922. City markets coordinator Alisson Schlosser said in an email that “the high redemption rate demonstrates both the strong demand for the program and the important role it plays in helping community members access fresh, local food while supporting [local farmers].”
Stubbs agrees and notes that, at Kootenay Kids, the program is usually fully subscribed every year. She says this year her organization will receive funding to support 58 households and they have already had strong interest from more than 40 families.
“We’ve had people reaching out since early in the year, way before registrations were even opened,” she says. “There’s a significant level of interest and that just reflects what we’re seeing more broadly across many community services. Families continue to face significant financial pressures and that there’s a growing demand for supports that help meet basic needs.”
Ministry of Health funding not meeting demand
This difficulty for many families to meet basic needs is one reason why some critics are suggesting that the program should have its funding expanded to serve more people. Funding for the entire program, provided by the BC Ministry of Health and delivered through the BCAFM, is $4.25 million in 2026. But the ministry hasn’t increased that amount since 2024. And last week they admitted that funding for the program currently does not reach everyone who may benefit. This is despite the fact that the BCAFM’s 2025 annual report showed growing demand last year–the program had a waiting list of more than 3,600 families across the province who could not be served with current funding.
Stubbs agrees that more funding for the program would be welcome and says that Kootenay Kids is always supportive of any increased investments that improve the health and well-being of children, families and communities.
“So programs like the Farmer’s Market nutrition coupon program are essentially preventative in nature because they support healthy child development, improve access to nutritious food, strengthen community connections, [and] support local agriculture,” she says. “So yes, continued investment in these types of initiatives absolutely have benefits that extend far beyond the immediate value of the coupons themselves.”
Columbia Basin Trust support fills the gap
Fortunately, for communities in the Columbia Basin Trust’s service area, including Nelson, the Trust has stepped in to fill part of the gap left by insufficient government funding. Will Nixon, director of the Trust’s delivery of benefits program, outlines their support for food security initiatives.
“Columbia Basin Trust supports a range of initiatives that help people access fresh, locally produced food while also strengthening opportunities for Basin food producers,” says Nixon. “This includes funding for the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program as well as long-term support for food banks and food recovery efforts.”
Last year, the Trust committed a total of $1.1 million over three years, from 2025 through 2028, to support the nutrition coupon program. Of that, $660,000 will go to support the core program, while another $500,000 supports program expansion in the Trust’s service area. This expansion includes providing coupons to seniors living in non-profit operated affordable housing, as well as licensed childcare providers who have 10 or more spaces and provide food as part of their programming.
Stubbs says this kind of support for food security initiatives is more than welcome and goes a long way toward helping to address the underlying systemic issues that she sees at the root of the problem.
“More broadly, the conversation does reflect a larger systems issue,” she says. “Across many of our programs and services, we are seeing increased demand from families who are navigating rising costs and increasing financial pressure. So supporting food security is one part of addressing these broader challenges.”
