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NEWPORT — The Newport Farmers Market has been awarded a $1,500 grant for its Kids Bucks program.
From AgWest Farm Credit’s Rural Opportunity Grant program, the grant will allow the Newport Farmers Market to host Kids Bucks weekly instead of only once a month.
Starting the first weekend of June, children who sign up for the program can earn Kids Bucks by participating in educational activities related to nutrition, such as crafts and scavenger hunts. The children can then use Kids Bucks as coupons to buy from vending farmers, many of whom offer affordable produce from cups of berries and corn kernels to small plant starts.
“We want to promote good, clean, healthy eating,” market board president Michele Masuen said.
Kids Bucks participants have the opportunity to learn about not only nutrition, but also fresh foods, gardening, entrepreneurship and fiscal responsibility, Masuen said. One weekend of the program will even allow participants to vend their own booth at the Newport Farmers Market, requiring them to obtain the same permits as adults.
Though designed for elementary schoolers, the Kids Bucks program is open to children of all ages.
“Most of the farmers markets try to do something like this, because we’re all in the same thing,” Masuen said. “We need to get kids involved, and we need to educate kids about agriculture.”
Kids Bucks originated from a Washington State University Extension program that came to Newport around 2020. Since then, Masuen said WSU has continued to cut its budget, forcing the Newport Farmers Market to host the program less frequently and consistently. So, the Newport Farmers Market decided to host their own version of the program.
Kids Bucks is just one program funded by AgWest Farm Credit, whose Rural Community Grants provide funds to nonprofit organizations like the Newport Farmers Market for projects that improve rural communities in Washington, Idaho and other states.
“We are all about some stewardship and supporting the communities we want to work in and live in,” said Rhonda Baglien, AgWest Farm Credit vice president. “The whole purpose of it [Kids Bucks] going back to teaching kids about the value of a dollar and supporting the local community in produce.”
Established in 1979 and one of the oldest continuous farmers markets in the state, the Newport Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays from early May to the end of October. Parents and guardians must sign their children up for Kids Bucks ahead of time at the Newport Farmers Market.
To retain funding for the Kids Bucks program, the Newport Farmers Market is accepting donations and applying for more grants. For more information about volunteering, vending or donating, email the Newport Farmers Market at [email protected].
“We try to invest in our kids and we try to invest in the future,” market manager Teresa Holford said. “Kids are the future.”
