News Release 10-4-2002 |
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FARMERS' MARKET COUPONS AVAILABLE TO KANAWHA SENIORS The Kanawha Valley Senior Services will distribute Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) coupons at Kanawha County sites beginning Monday. Senior citizens who want to participate in the program must be Kanawha County residents and must not have received coupons already this year. Age and income requirements may also apply. Applicants must present a photo ID to enroll in the Program. Coupons will be distributed at the following locations and times: • Elkview Nutrition Center, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Coupons will be available at the Capitol Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each Friday in October. Risk Farmers’ Market will distribute coupons each Tuesday in October from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Administered by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA), the SFMNP program provides $20 worth of coupons to eligible seniors that can be spent at participating farmers’ markets across the state for fresh fruit and vegetables. “This Program, thankfully, was spared from congressional budget cuts earlier this year,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “This is an outstanding program, particularly in a rural, aging state such as West Virginia.” “This is an extremely popular Program everywhere it is in place,” said WVDA Director of Marketing and Development Jean Smith. “It helps many of our state’s fixed-income seniors eat fresh, nutritious produce, and it helps our farmers by increasing the amount of produce they sell.” West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has received $630,000 for the Program this year, which will allow approximately 30,000 seniors to receive $20 worth of vouchers, added Smith. WVDA oversees the management of four farmers’ markets, located in Charleston, Logan, Weston and Inwood, and supports nearly two dozen independent markets with its “West Virginia Grown” and other promotional programs. A complete list of these markets can be found at http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/states/wvirgini.htm. For more information about the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, contact the WVDA’s Marketing and Development Division, 304/558-2210. |
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©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved |
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