If you're a vendor at Maryland farmers markets, you can expand your customer base and increase your revenue by accepting cash value vouchers from clients of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance program. This field day will demystify these programs and equip you to tap into the more than $11 million in benefits distributed year-round through Fruit and Vegetable Checks (FVC) and the more than $300,000 in benefits distributed seasonally through the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP).

This field day will include a tour with Michele Levy and Michelle Dudley, managers of Crossroads Farmers Market, one of the state's pioneers in acceptance of supplemental nutrition program benefits, where you will see the WIC check acceptance process in action during a market day. Following the market tour, farmers will participate in a 90-minute training session for certification to accept both WIC FMNP and FVC

Market managers should also attend to learn from the Crossroads Market Staff how best to facilitate their farmers' participation in these programs, and how to help publicize the market to recipients of federal nutrition benefits.