$170K+ Available to Your Farmers...

Seriously!

If your market is in one of the twenty-two counties below, farmers at your market selling local* fruit, vegetables, cut herbs or honey, will want to consider becoming SFMNP Certified Vendors so they will be eligible to accept approximate $170,000 in coupons distributed to 5,700 seniors in 2010.

Participating Counties:

1. Anderson
2. Atchison
3. Bourbon
4. Cowley
5. Dickinson
6. Douglas
7. Finney
8. Franklin
9. Harvey
10. Jefferson
11. Johnson
12. Leavenworth
13. Lyon
14. McPherson
15. Osage
16. Reno
17. Republic
18. Riley
19. Saline
20. Sedgwick
21. Shawnee
22. Wyandotte

So what is SFMNP? And how do your farmers get certified?

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provides eligible seniors with $30 in coupon checks that can be used for the purchase of Kansas-grown* fresh fruits, vegetables, cut herbs and honey from a certified Kansas farmer. The checks may be spent by seniors from June 1 to October 15, 2010.

To be eligible to accept SFMNP checks, a farmer will need to participate in a Training and Certification call or meeting and submit an online vendor agreement.

This is where you can help. Because there was no Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program in Kansas last season, many farmers may not be aware the program is back. Additionally, several counties eligible this year have never participated in the SFMNP. KDHE needs the assistance of market managers to spread the word to eligible farmers.

How can you help? Here are two options:

1. Share the news with your vendors in all communications–enewsletters, vendor application materials, your market's website, coversations...Provide them with the Training and Certification Call information below.
2. Offer the Training and Certification Presentation at your upcoming vendor meeting. KDHE encourages any manager/board member that has participated in a Training and Certification Call to conduct a training for your eligible producers. All you need to do is take 30-40 on upcoming Friday and call in for the training. Let Jennifer Church know that you wish to offer the training and she will get you the official PowerPoint. Once you've hosted the training, you would send Jennifer a list of vendors who participted.

KDHE's Jennifer Church is offering Training and Certification calls each Friday at 10:00 am through April 30. We have added the call dates to the Event calendar on this website. After clicking on this Attend an Event link, you can select the Certification Call in which you want to participate.

You do not need to RSVP for the conference call option.

To participate in Certification Training Call any Friday at 10:00 am through April 30:

1. Dial this toll-free number: (866) 620-7326
2. When prompted, enter the Conference code: 6294786980.

If at all possible, please download the Vendor Training PowerPoint PDF available on KDHE's SFMNP page before the call. Jennifer used the PDF to review the eligibility rules, redemption processes and the do/do nots of the program. Once vendors participate in the call, they can fill-out the online Farmer Agreement Form available on KDHE's SFMNP page.

In early May, Jennifer will mail the completed Farmer Agreement, Farmer Number Stamp and SFMNP Certified Vendor Poster(s) to farmers

If you have any addition questions, please call or e-mail Jennifer Church, KDHE's SFMNP Coordinator at: jchurch [at] kdheks [dot] gov or 785-296-8060. You can also visit the website: www.kdheks.gov/sfmnp.

* Locally grown = Grown in Kansas or in a county adjacent to Kansas’ state lines if you are in Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Bourbon, or Atchison Counties