McCracken Co. to participate in Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program | Community Spirit

MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY (KFVS) - For the first time, McCracken County is participating in the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. 

The SFMNP is a 100 percent federally-funded program which provides low-income seniors with check booklets that can be used to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, honey and herbs at Certified Farmers’ Markets. The program is administered nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services Agency, and in Kentucky by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

The Paducah Renaissance Alliance manages Paducah’s Downtown Farmers’ Market at 2nd and North Monroe Street, which was accepted as a CFM. PRA partnered with the Paducah Cooperative Ministry to distribute the SFMNP check booklets which include seven checks redeemable for $4 each. The PCM serves this purpose well because they administer a senior program locally.

At PCM, seniors that meet the age and low income eligibility requirements are advised of their rights and responsibilities under the program’s rules and receive one $28 check booklet. The Paducah Cooperative Ministry distributed 100 vouchers to senior citizens to be used at Paducah’s Downtown Farmers’ Market.

“The program is a win-win," said PRA Executive Director Lisa Thompson. "It provides low-income seniors the opportunity to enrich their diets with fresh fruits and vegetables, and our farmers benefit by attracting more customers to the market for locally grown farm fresh products.”

According to the Paducah Renaissance Alliance, the purposes of the SFMNP are to provide resources in the form of fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally-grown fruits, vegetables, honey and herbs from farmers' markets to low-income seniors; and to increase the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities by expanding or aiding in the expansion of domestic farmers' markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs.

More information is at http://www.kyagr.com/consumer/food/fmnp.

For more information on PRA or the Downtown Farmers’ Market, you can visit the website at www.paducahalliance.org.

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