Hilltown Community Farm Share
Sliding Scale
An important goal of the Hilltown Mobile Market is to be accessible to all! The full season value of your share is $180 of fresh fruits and vegetables from a neighboring farm, or about $15 per week. We understand this amount may not fit everyone’s budget. Thanks to grant funding and donations, we are again offering a sliding scale option to ensure that all our customers can participate and experience the joy of supporting our local farms. We use the honor system and ask that you choose the level that is most comfortable for your household using the following guide:
If you qualify for SNAP/EBT, you are automatically enrolled in HIP - Healthy Incentives Program. When you use SNAP benefits to pay for your Hilltown Community Farm Share, your SNAP balance will be automatically reimbursed by HIP at no cost to you. Depending on the share you choose, you may use some or all of your HIP monthly spending cap. Larger families may want to consider signing up for more than one share. If you have any questions at all about how to use HIP for pay for your share, please contact Seva at sevat@hilltowncdc.org or call 413-824-1840.
When you sign up for a share, your HIP balance will be automatically deducted on the 1st of each month in August, September and October. You must have a balance on your SNAP/EBT card in order to use your HIP. HIP benefits do not rollover. You will have until the last day of each month to spend the rest of your HIP monthly cap at an eligible HIP retailer. For more information visit www.mass.gov/hip
Other Life Factors to Consider…
Sometimes household income is not the best indicator of relative wealth or need:
Consider paying lower on the scale if you…
- are occasionally or frequently worried about meeting your basic needs for food, housing or transportation
- are supporting multiple children or other dependents with high needs
- have significant debt or no access to savings
- qualify for government assistance such as SNAP (food stamps), WIC, Fuel Assistance, etc.
- have medical expenses not covered by insurance
- are on a fixed income, such as senior citizens
- are impacted by state violence (e.g. refugees, asylees and injustice in our criminal system).
Consider paying higher on the scale if you…
- are comfortably able to meet all of your basic needs for food, housing and transportation
- own your home or rent a higher-end property
- are employed with access to health care benefits and/or a retirement plan;
- have investments or inherited money, or access to family money and resources in times of need;
- have expendable income for dining out, entertainment, new clothes, etc.
- can afford to travel or take time off for a vacation
- have a relatively high degree of earning power due to your education level (or other privileges you may have associated with race, gender, citizenship status, class background, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, etc.). Even if you are not currently exercising your earning power, we ask you to recognize when this is a choice and consider contributing more.
