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Farm Market Fresh is a federal nutrition grant program administered by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) Division for Aging Services (DAS) that authorizes local farmers to accept Senior and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (S/FMNP) benefit vouchers. Through cooperative agreements, DAS’ agricultural partners assist with the farmer application/authorization process and with Farm Market Fresh training and monitoring activities. DAS’ agricultural partners include: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), Virginia State University (VSU), and Virginia Farmers’ Market Association (VAFMA). The purpose of the program is to provide fresh fruit and vegetables, and nutrition education to participants; promote farmers’ markets as a direct marketing outlet for Virginia farmers; and promote the sale of Virginia fresh fruit, vegetables and cut herbs. Last year, this program partnered with 278 farmers and assisted 13,113 older adults and 6,552 WIC recipients. The proposed changes to the VDA Farm Market Fresh Handbook for Farmers include: • Updated outdated references for the Office of Aging Services (OAS) to the Division of Aging Services (DAS). (entire manual) • To match current practices, program technology, and terminology, the section titled “Checks” was updated to “Vouchers” and two new sections were added: “New QR Code Redeeming” and “Voucher Deposit Deadline.” • Authorizing new Roadside or Farm Stands. • Updated the map that displays regions that participate in Farm Market Fresh and updated the reference name from “Virginia Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)” to “Farm Market Fresh Participating Agencies.” • Non-substantive grammatical edits and updated contact information. The changes to this document support Virginia’s compliance with the federal grant requirements.

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