Maryland Mobile Point of Sale Equipment Program (MPOSEP)

The Maryland Department of Human Services administers the Maryland Mobile Point of Sale Equipment Program (MPOSEP). Through this program, funding is provided to farmers in the state of Maryland to perform the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) transactions by buying mobile point of sale (mPOS) equipment. This equipment helps farmers buy products using the ECT card.

The Department of Human Services provides over $1.1 billion grants each year, for the farmers in the state to improve the conditions of farmers by helping them tap into an unsought market which includes the recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

This program also indirectly helps children, women, and senior citizens who are at nutritional risk by providing them with healthy and fresh food. The program also aims to create and increase awareness regarding the benefits of farmers’ markets across the state and to promote buying freshly grown food from the farmers in the state of Maryland.

There are certain eligibility criteria for both the farmer market and vendors to be able to apply for the program. For that, you have to be a food vendor or a farmer market that is recognized by the DHS office. You need to be inclusive of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

You need to be registered on the Maryland Farmers Market Directory. If you need to find the directory kindly visit the program website. The vendor also has to pass the Account Registration by the United States Department of Agriculture. To find the link for the account verification form kindly visit the DHS office. You also have to be a recipient of the SNAP program and must be registered with an authorized retailer. You need to also show your Farmers’ Market certification to the local department before opening up a farmers’ market there. You need to show your FNS number and farmer market’s membership.

If you are a vendor, you have to need to make sure you choose a vendor category. There are different types of vendor categories. Prepared Food Vendor is those vendors that usually sell cooked or ready-to-sell food items. They show a food menu that indicates the different ingredients that are from a farmer’s market. All those ingredients must be approved by the SNAP program. A Value-Added Vendor usually sells products that are processed and canned products that are from a farmer’s market. It can include food for pets, baked food, and more. And the third type of vendor category is the Farmer Vendor; they sell organic farmer makes products like fresh vegetables and fruits and SNAP-approved healthy and fresh agricultural products.

To apply for the Maryland Mobile Point of Sale Equipment Program (MPOSEP) visit the DHS website or go to a local DHS office in your area. To contact the MPOSEP program you can contact the Department of Human Services at the following number -1-800-332-6347 / 1-800-735-2258 (For TTY users)

You can email Alex Sackey-Ansah at alex.sackey-ansah@maryland.gov to learn more about the program guidelines and application process.

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