CANTON – Stretch your food dollars, support your local farmer, and take advantage of the great healthy local food produced in St. Lawrence County with GardenShare Bonus Bucks. This cost-sharing program helps low to middle-income households to purchase a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) Share or Farmers Market Purchases at Canton, Gouverneur, Hammond, Massena or Potsdam.

The CSA option has participants working with local CSA farmers to pre-purchase a share. This model allows the consumer and farmer to share in the bounty if a harvest is plentiful and to bear the deficit together if a season is unfruitful. This provides a financial security net for the grower. Some farmers provide shares during the summer alone, others offer multiple options, and even full-year shares.

The Farmers Market Purchase Cards option allows participants to shop at participating St. Lawrence County Farmers Markets, support multiple producers, and to double your money.

The need to pay for the entire season's produce up front can be cost prohibitive for some households. This year the cost-sharing program will cover up to half of the cost of the option selected with the maximum amount of $250 for one household. Bonus Bucks will be available until funds are exhausted. Bonus Bucks is made possible through the generous support of the following: Gratitude Through Giving (Nature’s Storehouse, SeaComm Federal Credit Union, Boyden Brook Body Works, and Shoulettes Redemption Center) Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund, Emergency Food and Shelter Program, LEAD Impact (Northern New York Community Foundation), as well as GardenShare supporters.

Bonus Bucks is an income-eligible program. A household of one person can have an annual income up to $36,450, two-person household $49,300. Full details on income eligibility and the program can be found at GardenShare.org/bonus-bucks. The application can be downloaded from the website or requested through mail by calling GardenShare at 261-8054. Now’s the time to sign up for a summer CSA share, so the farmers can make their plans for a bountiful growing season.