The provincial government is issuing 215,500 Nova Scotia Loyal vouchers to pre-primary to Grade 12, and university students and new Nova Scotians. Registered home-schooled students will receive an email from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development with a link to opt into the program.
Antigonish Farmers Market
The $10 vouchers are going home this month with all public school and Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey students and clients of the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and YREACH Settlement and Language Support. Nova Scotia Loyal vouchers can be redeemed toward any locally grown, harvested or crafted product at participating farmers’ markets around the province.
Megan DeCoste market manager for the Antigonish Farmers’ Market, said 1,946 vouchers were used at the local market last year. She said a number of the local vendors said there were a lot of new faces last year, and she credited part of that growth to the voucher program.
The voucher program started with a pilot in 2023 with vouchers going out to students in four school districts, and last year 131,000 students received vouchers. Implementing the NS Loyal program is part of the economic development minister`s mandate.