Senior Farmers Market Program stops taking applications early

WINSTON COUNTY - A popular program that helps provide fresh fruits and vegetables for local seniors while also helping area farmers will not be able to help as many people this year.
The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program has already closed the window for applications for the year, much earlier than normal.  Rebecca Brown, who works for the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries in the farmers market authority area, explained that a record number of applications were received for the program at a time when federal funding for the program was not received.
“This is a USDA FNS (U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service) federally funded program,”  Brown wrote in an email to the Winston County Extension Office, which provides local assistance to seniors filling out the applications for the program. “Over the last two years, we had additional grant money that we applied for that is separate from the regular USDA funding, so we were able to issue more money to each recipient, as well as serve more senior recipients.  This additional grant is no longer available, so there will be less issued this year.”
The additional funding Brown was referring to came through the American Rescue Plan Act, a stimulus bill passed in 2021 during the Biden administration.  Funding through ARPA was only available for a few years and had to be obligated by those who received it no later than December 31, 2024, and will have to be spent no later than December 31, 2026.
The application for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program indicates that there is no guarantee that every applicant will receive the vouchers for the program.
“We always say ‘apply early’ because every year is different and we never know what to expect with how quickly people will sign up.  We are sorry that many will miss out,”  Brown wrote.
Brown noted that she does not anticipate a situation where more  applications will be accepted this year.
Anyone who has concerns or wants to make a formal complaint regarding the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program can email it to fma@agi.alabama.gov.
It should be noted that the lesser amount of funding for the program this year has nothing to do with the proposal to freeze federal loans and grants.