Saturday is CalFresh day at the Turlock Certified Farmers Market.

The CalFresh program assists low-income individuals, families, and households to purchase nutritional food.

Representatives from CalFresh will be on hand — at the intersection of Main and Thor streets in downtown Turlock — to help spread the word about healthy eating.

“The county’s CalFresh office is going to be doing some food samples, some nutrition education, and talking to people about how get CalFresh and how to use CalFresh to get Market Match,” said Nick Schuller, marketing director for the TCFM.

The Market Match program, funded by state and federal grants, and allows TCFM to help CalFresh customers get even more bang for their buck.

Whatever amount customers spending using CalFresh credit, Market Match will give them that same amount to spend on fruits and vegetables at TCFM.

The program operates during market hours — 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. — though if the weather forecast calls for temperatures to hit triple digits, the market will close an hour earlier at noon.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should consume 1.5 to 2 cup-equivalents of fruits and 2 to 3 cup-equivalents of vegetables per day. Meanwhile, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture, children between the ages of 2 and 6 have at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day, while kids age 6-12 should get three servings  of fruit and four servings of veggies daily.

The following week, on Aug. 17, is the day for the WIC families to come to the market and get their WIC checks — up to three $10 checks. The WIC office will only be operating until noon.

Then, on Sept. 14, there will be a Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program — funding the county’s Veterans and Aging Services — where those 60 and older can receive up to five $10 checks to spend on healthy food. The checks, made available based on income level, are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.