ALEI has been working to continue momentum on the NE SARE grant aimed at providing educational support about supplemental nutrition benefit programs to service providers who work with Maryland farmers to explore marketing opportunities that grow their business, customer base, and increase local access to fresh, healthy foods. The project includes ongoing efforts to plan regional events for farmers to become authorized SNAP, WIC, FMNP vendors. The vendor applications for supplemental nutrition benefit programs can feel like a confusing or overwhelming feat to individual farmers, but successful guidance can provide farm businesses with a new customer base while increasing community access to fresh, local fruits and vegetables.
ALEI legal specialist Megan Todd, with project partner Nancy Nunn (Assistant Director, Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology), coordinated an in-person educational workshop in March 2024. The next training will take place virtually from December 2 – 4. This Train-the-Trainer workshop series is for local agricultural marketing & economic development professionals, and all service providers who want to learn about increasing farmer participation as access points for benefits shoppers.
The workshop series for Increasing the Acceptance of Federal Nutrition Benefits by Maryland Farmers will be held over three days, for 2 hour sessions that will help economic and agricultural ervice providers learn the basics about each benefits program, how to help farmers become authorized vendors for SNAP, WIC, FMNP, FMNP-Seniors, and SMADC Maryland Market Money and increase their local base of farmers serving low-income residents with fresh produce and food. Attendees will meet points-of-contact for each agency involved and take away guidance resources and network with other service professionals in the state/region. The project training team will also provide ongoing support to help attendees organize and host their own local Benefit Programs sign-up events for farm vendors.
Workshop Agenda & Speaker List available here.
For more information on how to register, contact Megan Todd (motodd@law.umaryland.edu).
This workshop is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ENE23-180-AWDOOOO1024.
