Committee hears bill to let nonprofit mobile markets accept WIC and senior farmers market benefits

The House Human Services, Youth & Early Learning Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1388 on mobile market programs, which would authorize state rule-making to allow nonprofit-run mobile markets to accept Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program benefits if federal funding and any USDA waiver requirements are met.

Committee counsel Luke Wickham summarized the bill for the committee, saying it would create a program available to WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program participants “so long as funding is made available to the Department of Health through the United States Department of Agriculture.” Wickham said the bill requires the Department of Health to define the program by rule and to require that mobile markets be operated by a nonprofit and serve areas that do not have an existing farmers market.

Representative Adam Birnbaum (24th Legislative District), the bill’s prime sponsor in the House, told the committee he represents a largely rural district and that residents often must travel long distances to buy fresh food. He said the bill has a small fiscal impact — about $60,000, according to staff — and “addresses geographic inequity in our nutritional programs” while supporting rural farmers.

Several testifiers from mobile markets and food-access organizations urged passage. Caitlin, director of special projects for Twin Sisters Mobile Market, described operating in Whatcom County food deserts and said customers regularly arrive wanting to use WIC or senior vouchers but are turned away because mobile markets are not currently authorized to accept those benefits. “Our mobile market brings our custom farmer's market truck directly to underserved areas,” she said, adding that the markets aggregate products from local farms and that money “stays in our economy.” Allison Jensen, a former food systems planner for Whatcom County, and Claire Lane of the Anti-Hunger Nutrition Coalition supported the bill and highlighted local analyses showing WIC access gaps in some ZIP codes.

The Washington State Farmers Market Association, represented by Executive Director Colleen Donovan, voiced general support for the bill’s goals but cautioned the committee about administrative and technical burdens tied to the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and electronic benefit systems; Donovan offered the association’s expertise for forthcoming rule-making.

Representative Birnbaum and committee members discussed the federal-state funding relationship: staff and witnesses confirmed that program operation is contingent on federal funding and that, if necessary, the Department of Health would file a waiver with USDA to permit mobile markets to accept both WIC and senior FMNP benefits.

The committee did not take final action during the hearing; the record shows the bill was held open for further work and for rule-making details to be developed.

Ending: Supporters and the bill sponsor said the next steps will include Department of Health rule-making to define mobile markets and any required federal waiver requests. Several witnesses offered to participate in drafting or advising on administrative rules to limit administrative burden while preserving the programs’ intent.