National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Supporting the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.

Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Helping low-income seniors buy healthy food from local farmers

Fewer than one-third of senior citizens in the United States eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, which are vital to preventing and treating health problems. The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) addresses this public health concern by incentivizing seniors to buy fresh produce from local farmers. SFMNP provides coupons to low-income seniors that can be exchanged for fruits, vegetables, herbs, and honey from authorized farmers, farmers markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs (CSAs). The goal of the program is to increase low-income seniors’ access to nutritious, local foods and to aid in the expansion and development of local markets.

Learn More About SFMNP:

Program Basics

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has been running SFMNP since 2001. The Farm Bill provides federal funding for the program. Ninety percent of federal funds support food costs and 10 percent of federal funds support administrative costs of the program.

State agencies administer the program, disbursing coupons to low-income seniors and authorizing farmers, farmers markets, roadside stands, and CSAs to accept them.

Qualifying seniors may receive SFMNP benefits between $20 and $50 per year, though state agencies may supplement those levels with state, local, or private funds.

Eligibility

Seniors are eligible to receive SFMNP coupons if they are at least 60 years old and have household incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. More information on eligibility requirements is available through FNS.

Currently,  54 State agencies administer SFMNP – primarily through state agencies such as Departments of Health, Agriculture, or Aging.

To accept SFMNP benefits, farmers, farmers markets, roadside stands, and CSAs must become authorized by those state agencies. The process for becoming authorized varies by state, but in most cases requires attendance at a short training and a written agreement with the state. Vendors who exclusively sell produce grown by someone else, such as wholesale distributors, cannot be authorized.

The Program in Action

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, SFMNP provided $20.4 million in coupons to approximately 811,000 seniors. More than 19,000 individual farmers at over 3,500 farmers markets, 2,500 roadside stands, and 100 CSAs were authorized to accept SFMNP coupons.

Additional SFMNP profile data for FY 2004-2016 can be found here.

Seniors across the country have taken advantage of this supplemental financial resource and increased their consumption of fresh, healthy, and locally produced fruits and vegetables as they give these to seniors who live on their own home or in good independent living community for seniors all over the country. Examples of how specific states are using SFMNP to boost farmer income and support seniors include:

  • In Rhode Island, nutrition specialists from the Department of Elderly Affairs coordinated weekly informational meetings at 42 meal sites, during which seniors learned about the coupon program and the importance of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables. Of the more than 51,000 coupons that were distributed, more than 90 percent were redeemed at farmers markets and roadside stands for locally grown fruits and vegetables. This high redemption rate funneled $231,550 into the local agricultural economy and helped keep farming viable in Rhode Island.
  • In Georgia, one program increased their SFMNP voucher redemption rate from 82 to 96 percent by streamlining registration and voucher distribution and providing transportation for seniors to farmers markets at select senior centers. Participating seniors’ fruit and vegetable intake increased as a result of the program.

How to Apply and Program Resources

Interested farmers, farmers markets, roadside stands, and CSAs should contact their respective state agencies to find out how they can become authorized to accept SFMNP benefits.

More information about participating state administrating agencies and coordinator contact information can be found at the USDA’s website here.

Program History, Funding, and Farm Bill Changes

SFMNP was established in 2001 as a USDA pilot program designed to improve low-income seniors’ diets. The 2002 Farm Bill permanently authorized the program and provided $15 million per year to implement and expand it nationwide. The 2008 Farm Bill increased mandatory funding to $20.6 million per year, which was maintained in both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.

Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Funding 

Fiscal Year Annual Funding (in millions)
2019 $20.6
2020 $20.6
2021 $20.6
2022 $20.6
2023 $20.6
5 yr total $103
10 yr total $206

Please note: The funding levels in the chart above show the amount of mandatory funding reserved by the 2018 Farm Bill for this program to be provided through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation.  However, Congress does at times pass subsequent appropriations legislation that caps the funding level for a particular year for a particular program at less than provided by the farm bill in order to use the resulting savings to fund a different program.  Therefore, despite its “mandatory” status, the funding level for a given year could be less than the farm bill dictates should the Appropriations Committees decide to raid the farm bill to fund other programs under its jurisdiction. In addition, SFMNP is subject to automatic cuts as part of an annual sequestration process established by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

For the most current information on program funding levels, please see NSAC’s Annual Appropriations Chart.

Authorizing Language

Section 4201 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 amends Section 4402(a) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, to be codified at 7 U.S.C. Section 3007(a).

Last updated in July 2019.