Chet Knights, co-owner of Fresh Approach in Portland, inside the neighborhood market on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture revoked the shop’s license to accept food assistance benefits, which are critical to the market’s survival. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Fresh Approach — a favorite Portland neighborhood market where schoolchildren buy popsicles, workers grab lunch and sports fans pick up fresh ribs for game day barbecues — is at risk of closing after its license to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits was revoked last week.

The prospect of losing another food resource in the city’s diverse West End — Ohno Café closed last fall — has generated an outpouring of customer support, including a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $11,000 in less than 24 hours. The crisis comes as the business prepares to celebrate its 33rd anniversary on Valentine’s Day.

The meat market and grocery store at 155 Brackett St., across from Reiche Community School, lost its license after an undercover SNAP compliance agent was allowed to purchase nonfood items that are ineligible for the nutrition program, formerly known as food stamps.

Owners Chet and Peg Knights said they were fined $5,700 and had arranged to make monthly payments of about $1,000 at 4% interest starting Feb. 2. Then they arranged to push the start date to Feb. 10.

But when they didn’t make a payment on Feb. 2, their ability to process SNAP payments from Electronic Benefits Transfer cards evaporated on Feb. 3. They were told an extension had never been granted.

“We broke the rules and we should be punished,” Chet Knights, 66, said Wednesday. “We shouldn’t be put out of business because of it.”

Knights said he and his wife were overwhelmed by and grateful for the GoFundMe response, but it may not be enough to save the store.

About 25% of the market’s customers rely on SNAP benefits — revenue they can’t afford to lose with eight employees and tight profit margins.

“My wife would say it’s more,” he said. “It’s a big part of our business. We’re turning away customers now. We really can’t lose even 25% of our business.”

The compliance sting was conducted by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP. A spokesperson at the USDA’s Northeast Regional Office in Boston said Wednesday that the agency doesn’t comment on active investigations.

In fiscal 2023, 12.6% of U.S. residents received SNAP benefits, with Maine falling just below the national rate at 12%, according to the USDA. Rates in other states ranged from 4.6% to 23.1%.

That year, SNAP participation averaged 42.1 million people per month with monthly benefits averaging $212 per person. Federal SNAP spending totaled $112.8 billion in 2023, after spiking to more than $120 billion annually during the pandemic.

The sting happened last fall, Knights said, when a compliance agent purchased both food and ineligible items — toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels and dish detergent — over two visits. Items that can’t be bought with SNAP benefits include alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vitamins, hot prepared foods, pet foods, cleaning supplies, paper goods, hygiene products and cosmetics.

It’s the market’s first violation in more than three decades, Knights said. Fresh Approach cashiers are trained in and regularly reminded of SNAP rules, he said, but the market’s 1970s cash register leaves room for human error. Stores with more modern cash registers ring up items according to bar codes that identify SNAP eligibility.

Knights said he has reached out for help from U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District. Her staff declined to comment for this story but said she is committed to ensuring that Mainers have access to SNAP benefits.

Fresh Approach in Portland on Wednesday. Regular customers of the market in the West End organized a campaign that raised over $11,000 to help the business stay open.  Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

A representative of the Food and Nutrition Service told the Knights that they must pay the fine, then apply for a new license. That might be too late, Knights said.

“I couldn’t even guess how long that would take,” he said. “If this doesn’t get resolved quickly, it could be a big problem for us. Honestly, reapplying isn’t an option. It needs to be reinstated soon.”

It also would be a problem for many residents of the West End, whether or not they receive SNAP benefits, said Olga Adamovich, a regular customer who helped to organize a GoFundMe campaign Tuesday afternoon. Donations quickly surpassed the $10,000 goal to “keep the doors open” and support store operations.

“Fresh Approach has been a cornerstone of our community for over 33 years, providing fresh produce and essential goods to all our neighbors and a friendly face for a last-minute ingredient or an after-school treat,” the campaign page states. “Without urgent support, our neighborhood could lose a vital local business that has always been there for us.”

A sign on the door at Fresh Approach in Portland on Wednesday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Adamovich, 45, said Fresh Approach is a welcoming, affordable neighborhood institution and community resource that serves all backgrounds and ages, including her two school-age children and her 69-year-old mother.

“It would be a shame to let it go,” she said.

And Fresh Approach impacts more than just West End residents. It draws customers from outside Greater Portland, provides wholesale meats to area restaurants and prepares ready-to-eat meals for people who work nearby, including Charlie Volkwein, a lawyer whose office is two blocks away.

“I’m in here a few times a week, for breakfast, lunch or dinner,” Volkwein said. “The prices, quality and service are excellent. There aren’t many mom-and-pop places like this anymore. I hope we don’t lose this one.”