Unison Health hosted a Health and Wellness Fair at the Erie Street Market in downtown Toledo today.
Fellow Americorps VISTA Amy and I manned the Ohio Benefit Bank table. We had some good conversations with some other agencies, several of which were excited to learn about OBB. So hopefully there will be some new Lucas County sites in the works!
Most people I talked to today seemed to already be receiving most of the benefits they were eligible for, but many took OBB information for friends or relatives.
One nurse we talked to said she knows of co-workers who pick up extra money on the side charging people to fill out food stamps applications. She disapproves of the practice, and said in the future if she hears of anyone thinking about paying someone to do their application, she would send them to the OBB where they can do it for free. Hooray!
When we arrived, it was hard to find a parking spot because the weekly Farmers' Market was also going on, and, WOW, it was huge!
The last time I went it was early spring, at the very beginning of the growing season, and there were maybe four vendors there. Talk about a difference today.
Also, I'd long heard rumors but I verified today that the Erie Street Farmers' Market (237 S. Erie St, Toledo) does indeed accept food stamp cards as well as WIC coupons! Yay! The market is open 8am to 2pm Saturdays, and the EBT swipe machine is available on site until 1pm.
