ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A portion of 2012 federal farm bill legislation could serve up changes in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Nutrition (WIC), including a decrease to a discretionary program benefiting some farmers’ market merchants.

The House-passed bill would decrease the appropriation for WIC by 11 percent for fiscal year 2012, according to the Congressional Research Service. This would provide $6 billion for the program. The Obama administration requested $7.39 billion for WIC.

The House-passed bill also included cuts in some discretionary programs and activities funded under the Commodity Assistance Program. This would include a cut from $20 million to $15 million for the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). This program provides cash grants to state agencies for WIC recipients to purchase fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables through farmers’ markets.

The program issues Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program checks or coupons to eligible WIC participants. These FMNP checks are in addition to WIC recipients’ regular benefits. The farmers’ market coupons are then used to buy eligible foods from farmers, markets or roadside stands approved by a state agency to accept FMNP coupons.

According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the agency administering the program, the farmers’ market checks are complemented by educational efforts from state and local WIC educators, as well as chefs and cooperative extension personnel demonstrating how to cook and use fresh produce.

States in the Farm World region accounted for $1.59 million of the state agency allocations for the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program in FY2011. Ohio received the highest amount of funding at $542,401, followed by Illinois at $440,363. Indiana received $289,238, Kentucky $224,462 and Tennessee $96,000. A percentage of the funds received by each state may be used for administrative costs.

Providing additional funds for purchase at farmers’ markets, in the form of the discretionary FMNP, is a program typically supported by small farm and local food interests. But regardless of the discretionary program’s future, a wide range of advocacy groups are lobbying to restore the current level of funding to the larger WIC program.

Produce industry groups supported a change to the WIC program that began providing monthly cash vouchers for fruit and vegetables in 2009. WIC mothers currently receive $10 vouchers while children receive $6 vouchers for fruit and vegetable purchases. The vouchers cover the purchase of any fruit and vegetable, except white potatoes.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has recommended the children’s $6 voucher be increased to $8. This move is supported by the United Fresh Produce Assoc., a produce industry group representing member companies throughout the global fresh produce supply chain. Such an increase would be unlikely if the WIC budget is cut.

The WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers may have more buying power in the Midwest and Mid-South, according to a study from the USDA Economic Research Service last May. The lowest-priced market for fruits and vegetables, according to the study, is the aggregate Nashville, Birmingham, Memphis and Louisville area.

The Metro Ohio region (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati) was the second lowest-priced market for retail fruits and vegetables.

Proposed cuts in supplemental nutritional programs have become flashpoints in the farm bill policy debate. A report released April 9 from the USDA’s Economic Research Service concluded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has played a significant role in reducing poverty levels during the recent recession.