I am not a cash person. I hardly ever go to the ATM and rely on my debit card for just about everything. So often before I head out to the downtown farmers market, I have to scrounge around the house for some cash.

Thanks to a grant from the Kentucky Farmers Market Association, the market can now accept debit and Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. The grant announcement was made in April, but the card terminal equipment wasn’t ready for use until Saturday, just in time for an influx of a wider variety of farm products.

There was a lot more booths this weekend. I looked around for a while, made a call to husband (the real cook in the house) and determined what I was going to buy. I then approached Holly Boggess, Downtown Renaissance director, at a small table with the terminal.

She explained the program: The customer swipes her card and then Boggess (or another attendant) punches in the amount of money the customer needs for the market. Then the shopper is given wooden tokens in increments of $1 or $5 for the amount of money that was requested.

I asked for $20. I didn’t plan on spending that much on Saturday, but Boggess explained to me that I could use the tokens at the market until it closes in October.

I ended up buying a little over $8 worth of vegetables at one booth — big red tomatoes, a few small cucumbers, some new potatoes and a few yellow squashes. I handed the lady at the booth $10 worth of tokens, and I received my change in cash.

Debit cards may be used to purchase all products at the downtown farmers market, including plants, herbs, wine and flowers. The EBT cards may be used to purchase food products and food-producing products, including honey.

Also of note is that many banks charge an additional fee for using a bank card for debit (where you have to punch in your pin number) as opposed to credit (no pin number used). My bank, US Bank, charges a 25-cent fee every time I use my pin number, but I felt that charge was worth it for not having to run to the ATM.

SARAH HOGSED can be reached at 270-887-3237 or shogsed@kentuckynewera.com.

QuickInfo: Downtown farmers market items

Vegetables:

• Beets
• Potatoes
• Sweet peas
• Squash
• Onions
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Rhubard
• Green beans
• Strawberries
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Asparagus

Plants:

• Gooseberry plants
• Creeping thyme
• Other perennials
• Flowers

Other:

• Bravard wine
• Canned preserves