Low-income consumers will soon have the opportunity to use food stamps at farmers markets across the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would provide farmer's markets with $4 million in grants to participate in SNAP, the federal program commonly known as food stamps.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan says the opportunity to accept food stamps would expand farmers markets' ability to provide fresh and healthy food to everyone, including the estimated 46 million Americans who used food stamps.

The grants will be awarded to each state based on how many farmers markets they have. The technology used to read SNAP debit cards will be provided to markets.

One potential hurdle is accessibility -- it can be difficult for low-income families to get to farmers markets in some off-the-beaten-path areas.

Read More:

• Farmers markets getting money to take food stamps (Associated Press)
• USDA Grants To Increase Farmers Markets Participation In SNAP (USDA Press Release)