Posted May 24, 2011
Vouchers will once more be available to help low-income senior citizens buy fresh produce at local farmers markets this summer.
To be eligible to receive $30 in Kansas Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons, applicants must be age 60 or older and have an individual annual gross income below $20,147.
Each participant will receive 10 checks worth $3 each, to use anytime through the season, May 1 to Oct. 15, said Aging Projects Inc. Director Rozie O’Brien.
There are funds to serve 300 people in the 10-county area served by the local agency, issued on a first-come basis, O’Brien said.
“Last year it took about three weeks” for 300 eligible applications to be received, O’Brien said. “We’ve already got people asking if we’re going to do it again.”
Applications are now available at Aging Projects Inc., and the agency’s Meals on Wheels/Friendship Meals sites in Hutchinson, Turon, Sylvia, Sterling and Lyons, as well as the Reno and Rice county departments of aging. Call Aging Projects, 669-8201, or the South Central Kansas Area Agency on Aging, (785) 296-8060, for more information.
The program is also available in Finney, Harvey and McPherson counties.
Farmers who’d like to participate in the program should go to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s website, www.kdheks.gov/sfmnp, to complete an application or call the program manager at (785) 296-8060.
Editor’s Note: If you do not live in Kansas, check with local agencies in your state for similar programs.
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Copyright © 2011, The Hutchinson News, Kan.