Over the past year, shoppers at the Viroqua Farmers Market who receive federal food assistance have been able to make their money go twice as far.
The Viroqua program, called “Double Up Food Bucks,” is designed for those who receive federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is housed under the farm bill currently moving through Congress.
“It’s super exciting to see people show up really eager to be a part of that,” said Elena Bird, a vegetable farm veteran and local member of the Vernon-Crawford Farmers Union of the Wisconsin Farmer’s Union. “We match people’s SNAP dollars that they receive to spend at market,” Bird said, up to $35.
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“If somebody came to spend $35 of EBT (electronic benefits transfer), they’re able to spend $70 at the market that week,” Bird said. “And we’re seeing a lot of return shoppers.”
But after a proposed federal farm bill — the massive package of legislation that includes support for farmers as well as federal food assistance — moved out of committee last week, Bird and other farm workers are worried about the trickle-down effect of cuts to SNAP passed under the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. Democrats have called for those cuts to be delayed in the farm bill, but the GOP-passed version left them intact.
Bird is sure there will be a direct impact to her community — and the Viroqua Farmers’ Market.
“Absolutely,” Bird said. “I think our local food co-op, other retailers, they’re all going to be affected if we lose access to SNAP even to the same degree that people have had it.”
Upwards of 70 percent of the cost of the farm bill goes toward nutrition programs, according to the U.S. Congresssional Budget Office.
Bird said that since the Double Up program launched last year, the market has seen at least a 20 percent increase in visitors. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, new work requirements went into effect this year. As of October 2027, the federal government would no longer guarantee full funding of the program.
“I think it all comes down to just people having choice and not needing to make these compromises that are really hard,” she said.
Dollar-for-dollar matching, helping shoppers and farmers
Bird said she felt some of the recent success and connection between local farmers and residents is tied to the Double Up program.
Under the program, the Viroqua Chamber says the bucks can be used on fresh fruits and vegetables, and other qualifying products, including certain dairy items.
The program works because farmers at the market are able to accept SNAP/EBT payments, also known as Food Share in Wisconsin, Bird said.
Farmers markets across the state take SNAP payments, and the Double Up program isn’t unique to Viroqua. Many other organizations and farmers markets across Wisconsin use a similar idea under different names.
For example, the Verona Downtown Farmers Market has its own Double Dollars program. If a shopper spends $10 on SNAP approved foods, they receive an additional $10 for other SNAP items.
Nationwide, the Fair Food Network operates Double Up Food Bucks programs in multiple states.
“If you receive SNAP benefits, you’re automatically eligible for Double Up Food Bucks,” the Fair Food website states.
“Not only does this program help low-income individuals and families afford healthy food options, but it also supports local farmers and businesses,” the Verona Market website states.
Bird said the ripple effect of SNAP changes will stretch past the farms and market stalls. She’s worried about how convenience or small stores may be impacted by further SNAP cuts.
Rural folks use SNAP more than others
Rural communities are strong users of SNAP programs and their benefits, according to research from the Food Research and Action Center.
And, researchers found the impact is most critical in smaller communities.
“One in seven rural households relies on SNAP, compared to one in eight in metropolitan areas,” researchers wrote in their review.
Bird said she knows there are many residents of Vernon County on SNAP or other assistance programs.
In August, 2,536 people in Vernon County received FoodShare benefits, according to state data. The Census Bureau estimates the total population is about 31,000.
“All those people are going to be shopping in really different places,” she said.
Most were white, more than half were women and the majority of recipients were between 6 and 17 years old, according to state data.
“They’re going to have less choice. Our farmers are going to feel that, and our farmers markets will feel that,” Bird said.
Farm Bill has support and complications
Despite concerns about SNAP, the Farm Bill covers many other aspects of rural industries — including farming, ranching and even forestry.
Typically on a five-year cycle, Congress has not passed a new farm bill since 2018.
“There’s just been incredible partisan gridlock over this, and the Farm Bill coalition,” Rachel Shin, food and Agriculture reporter at Politico told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
Shin said Democrats and Republicans have multiple competing priorities for the large bill, worth somewhere around $140 billion dollars.
Despite the deadlock, members of the Senate Ag Committee and agricultural leaders have expressed hope for a bipartisan bill before next year.
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s President Zippy Duvall applauded the Senate Ag Committee’s passage last week.
“A new, modernized farm bill will help give farmers the tools they need to survive continued and unforeseen challenges ahead,” he said in a statement.
Duvall noted that over 100 farmers and ranchers headed to Washington last week to send messages of support for a bipartisan farm bill, some noting the challenges of tariffs and economic factors.
However, other groups were not supportive of the action, including the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, who said it failed on many of the key issues of their members.
“The bill also does nothing to protect the safety of workers across the food supply chain, support union jobs, or strengthen rural communities,” the union wrote in a statement.
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