Voucher program hooks seniors up with market produce

By Noelle Alviz-Gransee

Virginia Burns, 77, came to the Columbia Farmers’ Market with her sister, Rebecca Davis, on a hot and windy Wednesday recently. She was looking for vegetables, particularly tomatoes. She likes the green ones best because she said they taste great fried.

The problem is, Burns’ dogs like green tomatoes, too. She was looking to replenish her supply because they had wolfed down the last ones she had.

Burns is among an unknown number of seniors in Missouri who are participating in the state’s Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, which began in 2019 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program is intended to give low-income seniors better access to healthy fruits and vegetables.

“I love it. Everything is fresh, right off the vines,” Burns said, later adding that “the program is perfect, and the prices are reasonable.”

The effort got off to a slow start because it launched immediately before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers are trying to reboot and get more seniors involved, as the number of farmers authorized to participate has climbed to more than 200. Participating growers are required to go through training on how the program works and how to redeem vouchers issued to seniors.

Taylor Tuttle, program manager for the Missouri Grown Program, praised the effort.

“This is a really great program to help folks who need that extra assistance, and it’s a great way to provide a benefit to them to go use at the farmers’ market and buy those fresh fruits and vegetables,” Tuttle said.

The USDA set aside $206,000 for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program in 2019, and the grant is renewable every year. It provides up to 10 vouchers worth $5 apiece to low-income seniors. The vouchers can be exchanged for food at farmers markets or roadside stands. The program is limited to 46 counties struggling most with poverty because organizers want to make the limited funding as effective as possible. Seniors apply through regional agencies that serve aging populations.

In Columbia, seniors who receive the vouchers and are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, also receive a $35 match at the Columbia Farmers Market. The market’s executive director, Corrina Smith, said there’s been an increase in the number of people taking advantage of the opportunity.

Jim Thies, owner of the Veggie Patch in Columbia, said educating people about the program has been an obstacle.

“Just getting the word of mouth spread and getting the vouchers to the seniors group and getting them familiar with going to the market is just taking time,” Thies said.

Tuttle has formed partnerships with local agencies to advertise in newspapers and on the radio. Each agency gets a media kit with graphics and basic information and some advertising money. Tuttle is also looking at social media as a possibility.

“We really have to utilize all the different media platforms to really share more about the program,” she said.

Seniors enrolled in the program can use vouchers to buy fruits, vegetables, honey and cooking herbs. The program excludes produce grown outside Missouri and items such as dried fruits or vegetables, meats, seafood, eggs and cheese.

Burns encourages seniors to join the program because they can get food that’s often healthier than what they might find at a supermarket.

“Think about what you’re going to do with your money,” Burns said.

Tuttle said the program is great for local farmers, too, because “it provides a new revenue stream and an opportunity to get their product into the hands of more Missourians.”

Thies has owned and operated the Veggie Patch, a small family produce business, since 1995. He estimated there are 15 to 20 vendors that accept vouchers in Columbia.

“It’s probably one of the few accesses to fresh foods with all the food deserts across Missouri where there aren’t full-service grocery stores,” he said.

Thies said participating booths at the market display signs saying they accept the vouchers. Even so, participation remains inconsistent.

“Not a great deal of the regular market goers are utilizing the program,” Thies said. “It seems like the people who are using the vouchers are less frequent visitors to the market than what the average market person would be, and some of them come to the market strictly because they have those vouchers that they can redeem there.”

He’s noticed that seniors tend to buddy up and come buy things with plans to freeze or preserve them.

“Some weeks we’ll end up with 25 vouchers; other weeks we won’t have any,” Thies said.

The program runs from June 1 to Oct. 31, with vouchers available through Sept. 30.

Farmers interested in the program can email the Missouri Department of Agriculture at farmersmarket@mda.mo.gov or call 573-751-8596 to schedule a virtual training session. Once the training is done, they’ll receive signs for their booths and stamps to track the vouchers.