Local Food Marketplace Platform Now Supports Online SNAP/EBT

Software company partnered with Forage on solution

3/21/2024

Local Food Marketplace offers tech solutions for farms, food hubs, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, and aggregators and distributors.

In keeping with its commitment to local food accessibility, Local Food Marketplace (LFM), which offers tech solutions for farms, food hubs, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, and aggregators and distributors, has revealed that its software will now support online SNAP/EBT payment processing, in partnership with payment company Forage. The integration aims to deliver automated support for SNAP Match, intuitive payment experiences, insightful reporting tools, and dedicated technical assistance to enable the seamless adoption of online SNAP/EBT transactions.

Thanks to built-in automated SNAP Match support, the solution not only creates more sales opportunities for customers — making online SNAP more impactful — but also reduces admin time spent on managing and reporting SNAP Match-related tasks, according to LFM.

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The company is inviting the local food business community to an informational session on April 23 at 11am PT. The session will include a live demonstration, a Q&A, detailed insights into the timeline, and next steps, among other features.

“At LFM, we are continuously improving our technology to empower local food businesses,” noted Amy McCann, CEO of the Eugene, Ore.-based company. “By implementing online SNAP/EBT solutions with customizable SNAP Match, we are enabling our customers to broaden their customer base and improve access to local food for all consumers.”

San Francisco-based Forage is already working with such companies as Thrive Market (the first online-only grocer to received FDA approval to accept SNAP EBT), e-commerce platform Homesome, independent food retailers Little Red Box Grocery and Gong’s Market, and The Hub on the Hill, a New York state nonprofit.

“Until recently, SNAP benefits could only be used in-store,” noted Ofek Lavian, co-founder and CEO of Forage, when Thrive Market revealed its acceptance of SNAP EBT in February. “With one in five SNAP recipients on disability and 17.1 million living in food deserts, these shoppers stand to benefit the most from grocery delivery.”