OTTAWA, Kan. – Low-income Kansas seniors may be eligible for a program that provides checks to purchase an array of healthy foods at farmers markets throughout the state.
The Kansas Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (KSFMNP) is providing low-income seniors who meet age and income requirements with $30 in checks to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and honey from authorized farmers at local participating farmers markets through Nov. 1, 2016. Checks are available in $5 increments.
To be eligible to receive KSFMNP checks, the following criteria must be met:
- A senior must be 60 years old or older on the day the money is issued.
- A senior’s annual gross household income (before taxes are withheld) must be at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. For example, a household of one must have an annual gross income at or below $21,978 or a monthly gross income at or below $1,832.
Applications for the Kansas Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program are available at the following locations: Anderson: Frontier Extension District, Garnett; Franklin: East Central Kansas Area Agency on Aging; Osage: Frontier Extension District, Lyndon, Osage County Senior Center, Osage City, and Burlingame senior nutrition site.
Eligible foods to purchase with the KSFMNP checks from authorized farmers at participating farmers markets are defined as fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables, and locally produced honey and herbs for human consumption that are produced in Kansas under normal growing conditions.
Funds are limited and benefits will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information about the Kansas Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, call 785-242-7200 or 1-800-633-5621.
The Senior Farmers’ Market Program is a project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. The program is coordinated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which is collaborating with local partners to identify and distribute checks to eligible seniors.
Information thanks to East Central Kansas Area Agency on Aging.
