Low-income Kansas seniors may be eligible for a program that provides checks to purchase an array of healthy foods at farmer’s 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 June 1 through Nov. 1. Checks are available in $5 increments.

To be eligible to receive KSFMNP checks, the following criteria must be met:

1. Age: A senior must be 60 years old or older on the day the money is issued.

2. Income level: 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 will be available starting on May 26 at the Northeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging (NEKAAA) located at 1803 Oregon Street in Hiawatha. Seniors may apply at NEKAAA from 8 am to 5 pm beginning Friday, May 26. Distribution of checks begin June 2. 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 NEKAAA at 785- 742-7152.
Eligible foods to purchase with the KSFMNP checks from authorized farmers at participating
farmers markets are defined as “fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables,
locally produced honey and herbs for human consumption that are produced in Kansas under
normal growing conditions.”

The Senior Farmers’ Market Program is a project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The program is coordinated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), which is collaborating with local partners to identify and distribute checks to eligible seniors