Nutrition program makes fresh and local food affordable

Nothing you can see at the weekly farmers market at the University of Maryland will surprise you--heirloom tomatoes, freshly baked bread, and summer squash are all placed predictably in the foreground for passersby.

            However, there is one thing you can’t see might grab your attention.

Some of the vendors at this market accept special checks provided by The Farmers Market Nutrition Program.

Over 20,000 residents of Prince George’s County have access to receive the checks because the program is associated with Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, a federal program which provides food and nutrition education to low-income women with infants or children under the age of 5.

WIC participants get $20 to spend at markets for the growing season, or one booklet of four $5 checks.

“Although it doesn’t seem like very much money, the goal of the program is really nutrition education and getting people exposed to farmers markets,” said Amy Crone, farmers’ director of marketing at the Maryland Department of Agricultural Resources.

Not all markets accept the checks, however, produce vendors have to take a class to be able to authorize the nutrition program checks.

At the University of Maryland farmers market, three vendors are authorized to take the checks, including Valencia’s Produce, Lydia's Fields at Wheatland, and McCleaf’s Orchards.

“Typically you have to go to a class…so that way you know how it works, what you’re allowed to take, what you’re not allowed to take and then essentially you’re kind of good to go,” said Janice Ahlquist of McCleaf’s Orchards.

Most fruits and vegetables are allowed through the Farmers’ Market nutrition program, while things like eggs, meat, preserves, baked goods, potatoes, and herbs are not.

The focus is on getting fresh fruits and vegetables, which leave out the first four on the ‘not allowed’ list, and potatoes and herbs are not considered to have enough nutritional value to be included.  

Vendors approve food items by stamping the WIC check, which they can then deposit into any regular bank account.

There may be a few extra steps involved to become an authorized vendor, but farmers like Juan Valencia, of Valencia’s Produce, say it’s worth it.

“A lot of people around here are middle class and they might not be able to buy food from a farmers market,” Valencia said. “People are happy because with the check they can afford the fresh stuff they can’t afford at the store.”

The checks don’t only benefit WIC participants—they also put money into local farmers’ pockets.

In Maryland, the program for 2013 has a budget of $301,841, and it is not going to waste.

Over the last few years $500,000 has gone directly to farmers, Crone said.

A lot of markets also have matching programs, which essentially doubles the amount of food for WIC participants.

The University of Maryland farmers market is small in comparison to other locations, and so the vendors don’t tend to see as many WIC checks coming through.

“When I go to the market in Clarksburg I get the same people every week coming with their WIC checks.  They will come by and spend $10 one week, then $10 the next. They try to spread it out,” Valencia said.

Ahlquist agreed, saying that she rarely gets checks at the university’s market, but accepts a lot of WIC checks at the Washington market she sells from.

To show just how much a participant could buy with their check, Valencia’s Produce put together a box of produce that would cost just under the $20 limit.

The box included one carton of okra, three ears of corn, a pound of peppers, two onions, two tomatoes, three eggplants, and a small cantaloupe.

“The hope is that that initial $20 or $30 will get the participants to go to their farmers’ market, which they may never have done before, and there they can find obviously healthy, nutritious food that they can purchase,” Crone said.