Market Assistance Program (MAP)

Farmer's market booths on a street on a sunny day

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Mercy Corps Northwest and the Vancouver Farmers Market are partnering to launch the Market Assistance Program (MAP) to offer small business owners an opportunity to test their products at Vancouver, Washington’s largest weekend market for FREE. The market itself is home to over 200 vendors and acts as home to Southwest Washington's #1 visitor attraction. The program is supported through a partnership with the City of Vancouver and Clark County. 

Applicants must fall under the 80% median income limit for this program. Income limits are based on household size and include income from all members that share finances. 

See if you qualify

In order to be eligible for the program you must meet all of the following three requirements:

  1. Own a business that has a physical location in Clark County, Washington that produces handmade or homegrown products. (Home-based businesses located in Clark County, WA meet the geographic requirements.)

  2. Be a policyholder or willing to purchase event insurance during their tabling dates. Policies will need both Mercy Corps and the Vancouver Farmers Market to the policy for their tabling days. (Staff is available to provide support should you have insurance-related questions.)

  3.  Attend the market on both Saturday and Sunday for their selected weekend.

  4. Meet requirements of being a household with a yearly gross income (pre-tax) less than 80% AMI (area median income) as indicated in the chart below. You qualify if your household is at or under the listed income limit for its size:

City of Vancouver, WA median income 2022

Family size                  Income limit

1                                               $59,650
2                                              $68,200
3                                              $76,700
4                                              $85,200
5                                              $92,050
6                                              $98,850
7                                               $105,650
8                                              $112,500

Please note: This income chart changes annually. Household income refers to gross income of the applicant and other members of the household that share financial dependency. The limit is determined by the number of members in the household. 

Available market dates and details

Markets take place weekly on Saturday and Sunday of each week through the months of June-September. 

There may be up to two businesses sharing the Mercy Corps Northwest tent space each weekend. Available spots will be filled on a rolling basis. Applicants will be assigned two weekends, but may be offered additional weekends if any spots remain open as market dates approach.

 A tent, table, and chairs will be provided by MCNW. Each vendor will need to set up their table on Saturday morning and take down their table on Sunday afternoon. You may staff your booth yourself, or hire a person or find a friend or volunteer who you trust to represent your business.

Application timeline

The application will open on May 5th, 2022 and will accept submissions on a first-come, first-served basis until and will close when all spots are filled. Interested applicants can attend a program information session May 26th by registering here.

Eligibility for program

Is your business's physical location within Clark County, WA?
Businesses must have a physical location (as verified by address listed on business license) in Clark County, WA to be eligible for MAP. Home-based businesses located in Clark County, WA meet the geographic requirements.
Include apartment, unit, or suite number
Unfortunately, due to funding regulations, this program is only available to businesses located in Clark County, WA. If you have any questions about your eligibility, you can reach out to us at southernwa@mercycorps.org. 
Household income must fall below income limits listed at the top of 
this application.
 

Farmers Market requirements

Does your business sell handmade and/or homegrown products?
Vancouver Farmers Market requires products to be handmade or homegrown. If you have any questions about your eligibility, you can reach out to us at southernwa@mercycorps.org. 
Does your business sell any of the following items?
  • Foods that need refrigeration
  • Crafts created from kits
  • Products with offensive messages/imagery
  • Adult entertainment
  • Items exclusively created from commercially made foods
  • Items with copyright infringement issues
  • THC and Kratom products, and edible CBD products
The above items are not eligible to be sold at the Vancouver Farmers Market. If you have any questions about your eligibility, you can reach out to us at southernwa@mercycorps.org. 
Do you currently have business liability insurance of no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate?
We are able to provide technical assistance to support this requirement.
If selected, you will need to add Mercy Corps and Vancouver Farmers Market as covered parties on your policy and provide a copy to us two weeks prior to your market dates. 
 
Is your business fully licensed with the State of Washington?
For food-related businesses, this includes having a cottage food 
permit. 
If your business is not fully licensed, you must be licensed three weeks prior to your assigned market weekend.

Contact information

Name
###-###-####
What languages do you feel comfortable communicating and speaking in?
The MCNW staff is bilingual in English and Spanish. This question will assist in knowing what language to use when we send communications to you.
Is your home address different from your business address?
Home address
Include apartment, unit, or suite number

Your business

What phase is your business in?
Okay to estimate.
Please select ALL dates you are available to set up a booth.
Slots will be assigned based on available slots and first come, first served basis. We will do our best to accommodate vendors’ requested schedules. 

Each selected vendor will receive up to 2 weekends (4 days) and may be eligible for additional dates depending on availability.

Available dates:
 
Have you sold at Farmers Markets previously?
This does not affect your eligibility for this program. 

Personal information

If you heard about this program from another organization or source not listed, please specify. 
Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) is committed to protecting the personal information of all clients. MCNW collects the following data to report trends and analyze performance, but there is no personal data associated with these reports. 
Your answers will not impact your ability to participate in MCNW services.
MM/DD/YYYY
Do you identify as LGBTQ+?
Have you ever been incarcerated?

All individuals are eligible to participate, regardless of their level of involvement with the justice system.
Because Mercy Corps Northwest is a federally-funded non-profit, we are required to report the following demographic information for our clients. Thank you for taking the time to complete the following questions.
Gender
Are you Hispanic?
Race/Ethnicity (Check all that apply)
The "Submit" button will only work if ALL required questions are filled out. If you are having issues, please carefully review each question. If it does not apply to you, you can always put N/A or 0.

You will know your application was submitted successfully when a message shows up on the screen saying, “Application completed successfully!” after you click the "Submit" button. Additionally, you will get a confirmation email. If neither a confirmation screen or email is sent, review your application to make sure everything is filled out and try submitting again.

If you still have issues submitting, take a screenshot or photo of the screen and email it to our team at southernwa@mercycorps.org explaining the issue.