What is the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program?
The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program gives low-income people 60 and older coupons or a benefit card to spend on fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and honey at approved farmers markets, roadside stands and community-supported agriculture programs during the local growing season.
What this means
- It is often shortened to SFMNP. The USDA funds it and states, tribes and territories run it.
- Benefits are a set amount for the season, not a monthly payment, and the amount varies by state.
- You can use it while also receiving SNAP and the CSFP senior food box.
- Not every state participates, and within a state not every county has a participating market.
What to do first
- Contact your Area Agency on Aging or your state's agriculture department to ask when sign-up opens.
- Sign up early in the year, because benefits are issued until the state's allotment is used up.
- Ask for a list of approved markets and stands before you shop, since not every vendor is approved.
Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
Coupons or a card for free fresh fruit and vegetables at farmers markets and farm stands.
What you'll need
- Proof of address
- Proof of age
- Self-declared income in most states
Deadlines and timing
- Benefits expire at the end of the growing season, usually in the fall. Unused coupons are lost.
- Coupons cannot be used for prepared food, baked goods, or anything other than eligible fresh produce, herbs and honey.
Where to go
- Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program: https://www.fns.usda.gov/contacts
Reviewed by Jason Burns, Editorial Steward · Last verified August 25, 2026
Sources
- Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program · USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Need help today?
- Shut-off notice in hand: call the number on the bill and ask for a medical hold and a payment plan, then call 211.
- No food today: call 211 or the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 for a same-week food bank or meal.
- In danger: call 911, or reach Adult Protective Services through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.
Every program on this site is free to apply for. Anyone who asks you to pay to apply, or to “unlock” a government benefit, is a scam — hang up and call Senior Medicare Patrol or 211.
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