Called “FMNP,” the Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides nutrition benefits that can be spent at authorized farmers markets and farm stands. FMNP is actually two programs in one. There is a program for Women & Infant Children (WIC) and one for Seniors. Both are federal nutrition assistance programs implemented in partnership with Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). FMNP is the largest federal food assistance program at Washington farmers markets with over $2.3 million in direct farm sales to 480 growers in 2023.

The WIC and Senior FMNP program has three main goals:

  • To provide fresh, nutritious, unprocessed, locally grown fruits, vegetables and cut herbs to WIC participants & low-income Seniors;
  • To expand awareness, use, and sales at farmers markets and authorized farm stores; and
  • To provide nutrition information to WIC and Senior participants, such as the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diet and how to store and prepare them.

Click here for a 2-page brochure on FMNP from DOH. This brochure is available in 17 languages from the FMNP Farmers Market Training Materials webpage (scroll down to the bottom.)

Click here for a 1-page cheat sheet on FMNP for Farmers Markets and Growers.

Transition to e-FMNP in 2023

In 2023, the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program transitioned from $4.00 paper checks to an electronic benefit. Shoppers now use a QR code and PIN to use FMNP benefits to buy fresh produce. Farmers markets growers read the shopper’s QR code with smart device that is linked to the WIC Direct Vendor Portals and transfers payments in real time.

For all training and promotional materials for Farmers Markets and Growers, please click here.

FMNP Signage

All authorized growers are required to display the FMNP signs at their booth from June 1 to Oct 31. New growers that are approved to accept FMNP will be mailed signs. If you would like new signs for your market or replace signs, please contact the FMNP Team at FMNPTeam@doh.wa.gov and they can mail them to you.

Downloadable PDFs of new signs are available here: WIC+Senior Market Sign and Senior Market Sign.

Authorized farmers markets can also receive an A-Board to display on markets days. You can use it for outreach to let your customers know that your market accepts FMNP benefits. There is also a space to advertise any events happening at your farmers market or any other important information for your customers on the whiteboard part of the FMNP A-sign.

Key Dates for FMNP

  • December 31: Farmers Markets Agreement and Applications for 2024-2026 for year-round farmers markets are due to DOH. Farmers markets are required to be reauthorized to accept FMNP once every three years. If your market was authorized in 2024 then you do not need to reapply.
  • April 1: For any growers who applied to FMNP in 2023 and was accepted, but did not complete the contract or take any e-FMNP sales, they need to apply to FMNP by April 1. Application is available here. For growers who completed an application and contract in 2023 and accepted e-FMNP in 2023, they do not need to reapply for 2024.
  • March 21: Was the date of the required FMNP training for farmers markets. The recording and presentation are available on Food Access Forum webpage. Please email Katherine Flores to let her know when that you watched the training.
  • May 1: Farmers Markets Agreement and Applications for 2024-2026 for seasonal farmers markets were due to DOH. If you miss this deadline, please contact the FMNP Team.
  • June 1: FMNP season starts. This is the first day that FMNP benefits can be accepted.
  • July 1: Deadline for growers who are have never participated in FMNP or those who have participated in the past, but did not apply for FMNP in 2023.
  • October 31: FMNP season ends. This is the last day that FMNP benefits can be accepted at farmers markets or farm stands.

FMNP & FARMERS MARKETS

In order for growers to accept accept FMNP benefits at their market, both the grower and the farmers market must apply to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and become an “authorized” FMNP farmers market. In order to apply, the farmers market must meet the following criteria:

  • The farmers market must have been in operation at least one season before applying.
  • There must be a market manager on-site during the farmers markets’ operating hours.
  • The market must have a market manager available for training prior to the start of the FMNP season.
  • It must have at least five growers who are authorized by FMNP and signed up to sell at the farmers market. Growers sell fruits, vegetables, fresh herbs, and/or honey.

Farmers Market Training

Katherine Flores, Farmers Market Nutrition Program Lead at the Washington State Department of Health provides a FMNP training for farmers market managers every year. In 2024, this training was held as a Food Access Forum on March 21. The recording and materials are available here. If you missed this training, please watch the recording and email Katherine directly. A farmers market manager who has previously been trained can also train a new manager. All new managers are required to attend the FMNP training, even if the market is already authorized. Please contact Katherine with any questions about training.

Please contact Katherine or Nick and the FMNP Team with any questions.

Katherine D. Flores
Farmers Market Nutrition Program Lead
Office of Nutrition Services
Washington State Department of Health
(800) 841-1410

FMNP & FARMERS or “GROWERS”

FMNP directly supports sales to nearly 500 growers at around 125 farmers markets as well as farm stands (in communities where there are no farmers markets). In order for growers to be authorized to accept FMNP at your farmers market, they must grow and sell eligible products.

  • Eligible products that can be purchased with FMNP are unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and fresh cut herbs. Seniors can also buy raw honey.
  • Produce brokers are not authorized to accept FMNP.

Grower Applications

Growers need to apply for authorization and have a signed agreement with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to accept WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (WIC FMNP) and Senior Farmer Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) benefits.

  • Link to grower applications
  • If a grower completed an application and had a processor contract in 2023 and was able to accept e-FMNP in 2023, they are set for 2024. They do not need to reapply in 2024.
  • If a grower completed an application in 2023, but did not complete the processor contract in 2023, then they need to reapply and submit an application to DOH by April 1.
  • If a grower is new to FMNP in 2024 or did not participate in 2023, then they need to submit an application to DOH no later than July 1. We encourage grower to apply sooner so that they can start accepting FMNP when season starts on June 1.

The application includes a Grower Agreement which must be signed sent to DOH. Growers can submit their Grower Agreement via email to FMNPTeam@doh.wa.gov or mail it to:

Washington State Department of Health
WIC and Senior FMNP Coordinator
PO Box 47886 | Olympia, WA 98504-7886

Grower Training for e-FMNP

  • For training materials on e-FMNP for growers, please click here. This webpage includes videos, handouts, and other “how to” tips to help growers know how to use the QR codes, PINs, and Vendor Portal.
  • For information on the “Fruit and Vegetable Benefit” for WIC shoppers, please click here. WIC participants have had this benefit for many years; however, 2023 was the first year that they could use it to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs at farmers markets.

Grower Identification Number

Each authorized grower will receive a “Vendor ID” with a copy of the signed agreement. If growers are selling at both a farmers market and a farm stand, they will have two Vendor ID numbers. (Before 2023, this number used to be stamped on each FMNP check in order to be redeemed. With the transition to electronic benefits, growers do not have to stamp checks.)

Market managers will receive a report from DOH with a list of the FMNP authorized growers who said they would be selling at their farmers market. A grower must be on this list in order to accept FMNP benefits at the farmers market.

FMNP for SHOPPERS

Senior Shoppers

Senior FMNP is managed by the Department of Social and Health Services’ Aging and Long-Term Support progam and available to low-income seniors.To qualify, people must be 60 or older (or 55 and older if Native American/Alaskan) and have an annual income below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. Seniors with FMNP will get $80 for the season. Seniors can use FMNP benefits to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and honey at farmers markets between June 1 and Oct 31.

Seniors must apply for FMNP every year. If you know someone interested in applying for Senior FMNP, please reach out to the local senior center or Area Agency on Aging. DSHS has a page dedicated to Senior FMNP here which includes a link to a list of local contacts, FAQs, Senior App info, recipes, and nutritional information for fruits and vegetables in English and Spanish.

  • Once Seniors apply and receive a Senior FMNP card, they do not need to call to activate their e-FMNP benefits. Seniors cards are being activated in batches through June 14. After the last batch, Senior FMNP benefits will be activated on a daily basis.
  • DSHS has created a “Senior FMNP FAQ Sheet” in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Ukrainian, Russian, Tigrinya, Tagalog, Somali, Laotian,  Cambodian, Arabic, and Amharic.
  • King County’s Aging and Disability Services has a webpage to help Seniors apply for FMNP.
  • List of local agencies where Seniors can sign up for FMNP is available here.
  • Seniors can also download a “Senior FMNP App” to their smart device to track their benefit balance, purchase history, and more. Information in English on where to get the app is available here. Information in other languages is available on the DSHS Senior FMNP page.

Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

WIC FMNP is manged by the Department of Health and available to low-income mothers with young children who enroll in WIC program. In 2024, WIC FMNP participants will get an additional $30 per person or up to $90 per family to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, or herbs at authorized farmers markets or farm stands between June 1 and Oct 31.

If someone is interested in applying for WIC FMNP, they can call (800) 841-1410 or click here.The Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) has developed new materials for WIC shoppers that are available in 17 languages here.

WIC “Fruit and Vegetable Benefits”

Starting in 2023 with the transition to an electronic benefit, all WIC participants (not just those who get FMNP) are able to use their “Fruit and Vegetable Benefits” at farmers markets. This benefit is also known as “Cash Value Benefits” or CVB.

  • WIC shoppers can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and cut herbs with their Fruit and Vegetable Benefits at farmers markets from FMNP growers.
  • To use these benefits at a farmers market, they must have their QR code (from the WICShopper app or sticker) and their PIN.
  • These benefits are in addition to the WIC FMNP benefit (available between June 1 and Oct 31).
  • Fruit and Vegetable Benefits are monthly and expire at the end of each month. They can now be used year-round.
  • The WIC “Fruit and Vegetable Benefits” sign is available here.

Help Phone Numbers

Shoppers can call the automated phone number to check balances or change a PIN at (844) 359-3104.

Customer Service for both WIC and Senior FMNP is available at (800) 841-1410, select 0, from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

How to Find Farmers Markets that Accept FMNP

  • Pick up a 2024 “Regional Farmers Market Food Access Directory” at local WIC clinics, Senior centers or your Farmers Market’s Information Booth. These are free and available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian. Farmers markets are listed by County and indicate if they accept SNAP, SNAP Market Match, and/or FMNP.
  • Pick up a 2024 “Washington State Farmers Market Directory” at your farmers market Info Booth, local visitor center, Extension office, Chamber of Commerce, or email the WSFMA at info@wafarmersmarkets.org.
  • Search the WSFMA “Find A Market” online directory and search by County and Payment Types.
  • Print out the FMNP list of Farmers Markets in Eastern Washington or Western Washington.
  • Farms Stores authorized to accept FMNP is available here