WIC WORKS AT FARMERS MARKETS

WIC participants can redeem two types of WIC benefits at farmers’ markets for fruits and vegetables. The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) provides eligible participants between $10-30 per year in benefits that can be spent exclusively at farmers’ markets. In addition, WIC participants receive paper cash or electronic vouchers that they can use to buy fruit and vegetables at stores authorized to accept WIC benefits, and, in 28 states, at authorized farmers’ markets.  Vouchers are worth $11 per month for pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, and $8 per month for children. But the vast majority of vouchers are redeemed at stores, not farmers’ markets. Researchers in California—the largest State WIC program in the Nation— found that 80% of farmers’ market managers surveyed agreed that getting authorization from the state WIC agency to accept vouchers is far more difficult than obtaining FMNP authorization. Farmers also complained about how hard it is to get  reimbursement for vouchers from the state.

Source: USDA, 7/3/17, WIC at Farmers Markets