A common question we get at the info booth is, “why should I get tokens to shop the market? Don’t the vendors take cash and card?” Today we’re diving into tokens – when they’re needed, why you might consider using them, and how they are used.

The wooden tokens available at the info booth are our market’s version of an ATM. You can use your credit, debit, SNAP, or EBT card to collect tokens, which you then use like cash in the market. Each token is marked with “Hillsdale Farmers’ Market,” and are only useable at our market. Our tokens never expire, which means you can use this currency season to season as you shop.

Our tokens come in $5 denominations for credit, debit, and EBT transactions. The SNAP tokens come in $1 denominations. When you use these tokens in the market, any change needed is given in cash. If you were to use a $5 token to purchase $3 worth of honey sticks, the vendor would then hand you two $1 bills in change.

The token program started in Hillsdale in 2006, as a way to allow shoppers without cash on hand to participate in our market. At the time, this service was vital. Most of the vendors were cash only businesses, as the machines able to accept credit and debit cards were costly or unreliable, or both. As technology progressed, it became easier and easier to accept cards anywhere. The Covid 19 pandemic pushed many farmers towards cashless transactions, for public safety reasons.

The token system is still thriving at Hillsdale for a myriad of reasons. While the majority of our farmers do accept cards, there are a few cash-only businesses still serving our market shoppers. For those customers without cash on hand, tokens are often the only way to make those purchases.

For our customers using SNAP or EBT cards, tokens offer an enormous advantage through the Double Up Food Bucks program. This program, available through the financial support of the Farmers Market Fund, allows our market to match up to the first $20 withdrawn at our info booth. If you come to the info booth and use your SNAP card to access $16 from your account, we will you give you additional $16 in vouchers that you can spend on fruit, vegetables, dried beans, and vegetable starts. This will give you twice the spending power, just for shopping at the market using tokens!

For our vendors, the tokens as opposed to card transactions can make a huge difference. When you purchase tokens at the info booth, a one-time $2 service fee is charged to you. If you used that exact same card, and spent the same overall amount, spread out at four different vendors’ stalls, each of those vendors would have to pay a service fee in order to accept your card. While those fees are often small, the cost can add up quickly over the course of hundreds of transactions on a market day. For that reason, many of our regular customers prefer to take on one-time fee themselves, instead of passing the cost off to the farmer. In the 2022 socio-political climate, many of us are becoming increasingly aware that our loudest voice is speaking when we spend our money, and those small choices matter.  For that reason, it is not uncommon to find shoppers wielding tokens in Hillsdale, as opposed to credit cards.

Our newest tote bag was designed with token, DUFB vouchers, and PoP bucks in mind. You’ll find a roomy pocket on the side of our gorgeous new cream and green canvas bags, perfect accessing all sorts of currency while you shop the market.