Link card users can now get more, at no cost, at Batavia Farmers Market

Starting Saturday, people who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will have extra buying power at the Batavia Farmers Market.

The market has received permission to hand out up to $25 extra in scrip to people when they use their Link card to get tokens to buy food there.

So if a person determines they intend to spend $25 through Link on the produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, baked goods and other edibles, they will also get another $25 to spend just on fruits and vegetables.

People decide how much of their benefit they want to spend, and swipe their Link card at the Batavia MainStreet booth. They then receive tokens, in $1 and $5 increments, to spend with the vendors.

At the end of the market, the vendors turn the tokens in for reimbursement.

The market is run by Batavia MainStreet, a nonprofit organization that promotes the city's downtown.

The extra scrip is from a Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service grant, administered by Experimental Station of Chicago. Experimental Station develops educational and cultural programs for the South Side of Chicago, but it also administers the Link Up Illinois program in Chicago and the suburbs.

Link Up aims to increase Link card use at local farmers markets. This is the first year the Batavia market has participated.

Since the market opened June 4, Link users swiped for $337 worth of food, said Jamie Saam, director of Batavia MainStreet.

"We were really happy to do it," Saam said, because it helps both the Link recipients and increases the potential sales for local farmers.

Elgin's Downtown Neighborhood Association Harvest Market also takes Link and offers a match, which is paid for by a private donor. Aurora's three farmers markets also take Link and offer matching funds.

The Batavia Farmers Market is from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays on River Street north of Wilson Street.