NAFMNP Awarded USDA Cooperative Agreement to Continue MarketLink Program Under FFAB
illi News/10321523

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - illiNews -- The National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP) is proud to announce it has been awarded a new cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). This agreement enables NAFMNP to continue operating the MarketLink program, managed by the Farmers Food Assistance Bureau (FFAB), to help direct marketing farmers (DMFs) and farmers markets (FMs) nationwide accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), electronic Women, Infants, and Children (eWIC), electronic Farmers Market Nutrition Program (eFMNP), and electronic incentive (eIncentives) payments. The new agreement will support the MarketLink program from December 2025 through September 2028.

Under the 2025 agreement, the MarketLink program, managed by FFAB, will continue to offer the following:

• SNAP equipment for eligible DMFs and FMs, including automatic TotilPay Go subscription renewals for sites with a minimum of $500 in annual SNAP redemptions
• DMFs and FMs that were not eligible for renewal may reapply for the SNAP Equipment Grant beginning January 1, 2026. Please visit our website for more information.
• One-on-one technical assistance for eligible DMFs and FMs with the USDA SNAP Retailer Authorization;
• Online SNAP grants for eligible DMFs;
• TotilPay Incentive Management (TIMS) development to support electronic federal nutrition programs;
• SNAP Utilization initiatives to increase SNAP recipients' purchases of locally produced foods from DMFs and FMs.

This marks the first cooperative agreement between NAFMNP and the USDA that covers all aspects of MarketLink's services and TotilPay's technology development under a single framework. A unified administrative, technological, and operational framework will ensure a more seamless experience for farmers and markets.

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Phil Blalock, Executive Director of NAFMNP, shared his optimism:
"This cooperative agreement marks an important milestone for the MarketLink program and the farmers and markets we serve. By bringing together program operations and technology development under one structure, we can deliver more efficient, reliable, and scalable services to those who need them most."

Since its launch in 2013, the MarketLink program has been helping thousands of farmers and markets generate $183 million in SNAP sales and $71 million in credit/debit sales to date for a total impact of nearly $254 million nationwide. Over the past five years alone, MarketLink has supported more than 6,000 DMFs and FMs process SNAP EBT through TotilPay, building strong momentum to meet growing demand. This cooperative agreement will allow us to focus on what truly matters - helping farmers reach new customers and making healthy food accessible to all.

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About the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP)
NAFMNP is the nation's only organization that links States, the District of Columbia, Indian Tribal Organizations, Territories, and others with a stake in USDA's Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs (including local fruit and vegetable growers and low-income families and seniors) with a shared mission to cultivate access for consumers to buy fresh produce from local growers.

About the Farmers Food Assistance Bureau (FFAB)
The Farmers Food Assistance Bureau (FFAB) is a nonprofit organization formed with the mission of working with ALL federal nutrition benefits programs as well as all financial transactions to simplify them for farmers. FFAB was established in 2024 to oversee the MarketLinkprogram and the TotilPay technology portfolio.

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FFAB's mission is to empower farmers and farmers markets by utilizing technology to streamline acceptance of financial transactions through improved access to federal nutrition benefits programs and all related incentive programs.

About MarketLink
Established in 2013 by NAFMNP through a cooperative agreement with the USDA - Food and Nutrition Services, Marketlink was created to expand access to healthy, local food by enabling farmers and markets to accept electronic benefit transfers (EBT).

In 2024, NAFMNP established the Farmers Food Assistance Bureau (FFAB) to continue this work. Today, FFAB oversees MarketLink's operations and manages the TotilPay technology portfolio that powers MarketLink's services.

Under FFAB's leadership, MarketLink provides solutions that help direct marketing farmers (DMFs) and farmers markets (FMs) accept electronic payments for SNAP, WIC, S/FMNP, and incentive programs. Through tools like the TotilPay Go app, GrownBy eCommerce platform, and the TotilPay Incentive Management System (TIMS), MarketLink delivers simple, secure, and effective payment solutions that strengthen local food systems.

About TotilPay
TotilPay is the payment processing platform that powers MarketLink's services. Designed and developed by a team of retail payment processing experts, TotilPay simplifies EBT acceptance at the point of sale—making it as easy as any other payment method. TotilPay's mission is simple: to make accepting SNAP and other benefit programs effortless, so farmers, markets, and mobile vendors can focus on what matters most—growing their business and feeding their communities.

TotilPay offers an integrated EBT software that allows merchants and mobile vendors to process USDA -compliant and accurate transactions on a single device. Through the MarketLink program, eligible DMFs and FMs receive a free TotilPay Go subscription for at least one year. The system is also available for other merchants including grocery stores, bodegas, and mobile vendors.