These bills are bad for farmers, regardless of your beliefs on immigration. While these bills are intended to stop fraud, they create a "paperwork wall" that could accidentally hurt local farmers and low-income families.

• SB 194: This forces the Louisiana Department of Health to verify the citizenship of people seeking benefits. If someone can't prove their status, the organization will have to report them to federal immigration authorities (ICE).

• HB 335:Adds strict new rules and heavy record-keeping for any organization (e.g. volunteer groups, farm business, non-profit) that operates any supplemental public benefit, including SNAP matching or FMNP matching. Many farmers’ markets and some farm stands in Louisiana participate in these programs. 

Together, these bills make it much harder for a local farm stand or farmers' market to accept SNAP (food stamps) and nearly impossible to do any SNAP matching. While SNAP itself could still be used, many markets will likely discontinue SNAP due to the risk and burden.

Eligibility for SNAP already happens at the point of sign-up. Adding these requirements is not necessary for fraud prevention. Benefits are already certified at the time of application.

Too Much Red Tape: Most farmers' markets are run by volunteers or a small staff. They don't have the legal teams or the time to act as "immigration officers" or manage complex new state audits.

Markets Quitting SNAP: To avoid the risk of breaking these new laws or getting buried in paperwork, many markets may simply stop accepting SNAP altogether.

Less Money for Farmers: If markets stop taking SNAP, farmers lose a huge group of customers. This means less "fresh money" going directly into the pockets of Louisiana growers.

Less Food for Families: Families who rely on SNAP will find it harder to buy fresh, local produce, forcing them back to big-box grocery stores instead of supporting their neighbors' farms.

The Bottom Line: By trying to tighten the rules on who gets help, these bills might make it so difficult to run a SNAP program that local farmers' markets are forced to opt out, hurting the state's rural economy in the process.

For example, if a market offers SNAP market tokens and has a market match program where they double SNAP dollars under this legislation, they would now be required to do government citizenship checks before giving ANYONE their market match tokens.

If you are concerned that SB 194 and HB 335 will make it too difficult for local farmers to accept SNAP, here is how you can take action before these bills become law:

• Contact the Committees: These bills are currently being debated in the Senate Health and Welfare and House Judiciary committees. Send an email or call the committee clerks to log your "Opposition" to these bills.

• Talk to Your Local Representative: Find out who represents your specific district. Let them know that as a constituent, you care about the "Market-to-Farm" economy and fear these bills will create a paperwork burden that hurts Louisiana growers.

• Show Up at the Capitol: Legislative hearings are open to the public. You can fill out a "Red Card" at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge to officially register your opposition for the record, even if you don't want to speak out loud.

• Mobilize Your Market: If you are a farmer or a frequent shopper, talk to your Market Manager and make sure that the farmers and market managers you interact with are aware of this set of bills. They should sign on to this letter as soon as possible.

Your Perspective Matters: Legislators often focus on the "big picture" of fraud prevention and may not realize how a new paperwork requirement affects a small farm stand or a weekend farmers' market. Sharing a real-world example of how this would impact your community is the most effective way to change a lawmaker's mind.

Undocumented individuals are already legally barred from receiving SNAP benefits. The system currently has strict eligibility checks handled by the state long before a person ever walks up to a farm stand with a SNAP card.

Farmers aren’t immigration officers, and they shouldn’t have to be. These bills treat a local farmers' market like a high-security government office. By adding layers of "bureaucratic friction," the state risks accidentally choking off a vital source of income for Louisiana’s rural economy and a vital source of food for its citizens.

As LaFPC says, A hit to our farmers' markets is a hit to every Louisianan’s dinner table.