Evolving From Wireless Terminals to Mobile Card Readers at Farmers' Markets

The study by Bertmann et al.¹ assesses the impact of providing wireless terminals to 5 farmers’ markets on overall sales and food stamp redemption. They found that this technology significantly increased sales at 4 of 5 markets after implementation and conclude that wireless terminals may be important for improving the financial stability and accessibility of markets.

We have observed similar improvements in sales and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) redemption after integrating a wireless terminal at a farmers' market at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 2011.² However, this season we have seen the technology evolve beyond the wireless terminal, as many vendors have begun adopting mobile card readers—small units that fit into smart phones and tablets and read customer credit cards at the point-of-sale rather than requiring shoppers to use wireless terminals at a central location. These units provide more flexibility for vendors and customers and contribute to greater financial stability and broadened access, particularly for customers who may lack cash for larger purchases. Anecdotally, vendors at our market estimate that this technology has tripled their sales this season.

Grass stairs lead to the interior courtyards, one for female and one for male patients, of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center. BLOOM installation by Anna Schuleit. Printed with permission.

While supporting local agriculture and increasing access is a public health achievement in and of itself, an intuitive next step would be for mobile card readers to make EBT more efficient for low-income customers and vendors. However, a call to the US Department of Agriculture and JP Morgan Chase revealed that this technology is not currently being piloted for food stamp reimbursement. One hopes that EBT technology will continue evolving in this way, particularly because mobile technologies are rapidly scaling in the United States.

Logical follow-up to the study by Bertmann et al. might evaluate the overall efficacy of mobile card readers in contributing to financial success for vendors, as well as their capacity to broaden access for lower-income customers. In an increasingly mobile world, smart phone and tablet-based devices can be a means of optimizing the purchase of larger quantities of nutritious, locally sourced foods at the point-of-sale and using technology to best serve public health.