INDIANA--Senior citizens who participate in a summer nutritional voucher program will be faced with a few changes this year.
The Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provides each income-qualifying Pennsylvania resident who is at least 60 years old with a total of four $5 voucher checks that may be spent on fresh produce available at area farmer's markets.
Eligible Indiana County residents may obtain the voucher checks from Aging Services, Inc., beginning on June 26, at the organization's Oak Place community center, 1055 Oak St., Indiana. Those who can't make it on that date, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., will have a chance to pick up checks in July, at the social centers Aging Services operates in Indiana and several outlying communities.
The checks remain valid through Nov. 30, 2007.
This year, procedures for participating seniors to obtain the voucher checks have become a little more involved and eligibility guidelines have become more strict. Guidelines are established by the state Department of Agriculture, which is providing $2 million for the voucher program this year, supplementing nearly $3 million in federal funding.
According to Chad Short, center services administrative supervisor for Aging Services, in past years, many seniors have picked up voucher checks for elderly neighbors as well as for themselves and their spouses.
This year, Short said, "They can still do that, but they have to have a proxy form signed by the people whose vouchers checks they're going to pick up."
Proxy forms must be completed and signed prior to obtaining the checks, he stressed. The proxy forms are available at any of the Aging Services social centers or by calling the organization's administrative office, at 724-349-4509.
Also, Short said, individuals now are limited to picking up checks for themselves and just two other eligible Indiana County residents. That includes the person's spouse or other household member, Short pointed out.
Income qualification for the SFMNP checks also has become more restrictive. In the past, Short said, a participant and his spouse could count their incomes separately and could qualify individually for the program. This year, "If there are three people in a household, they have to use all three of their incomes. They can't be broken apart anymore."
According to the program guidelines, a household is defined as a group of related or non-related individuals who are living together as one economic unit.
Maximum annual income limits for participating in the SFMNP are $18,889 for an individual, $25,327 for two people, $31,765 for three people and $38,203 for four people.
"If somebody is in a personal care home or a supervised setting, where meals are included in the cost of living there, they are not eligible to get voucher checks," Short noted.
When obtaining voucher checks, the participant also must provide proof of income, age and residency. In another new procedure, participants will be asked to provide information about their race and ethnicity.
Each individual will receive his allotment of checks just one time during the program year.
"If someone's check is lost or stolen, it can't be replaced, unless they file a police report," Short added.
What hasn't changed about the farmer's market voucher checks is how senior citizens may spend them.
Short explained the checks may be used to purchase any fresh produce that is capable of being grown in Pennsylvania. That rules out citrus fruit and such other tropical produce as bananas, pineapples and coconuts.
Also off limits are such items as honey, apple cider, baked goods, meat and eggs. Checks may be used to buy pumpkins as long as they are intended for a menu item, Short said. "They're not to be used for a craft."
While SFMNP checks won't cover purchase of an entire plant, "They can be used to buy fresh herbs," Short added.
The checks may be spent with any participating farm vendor in the state. Those who participate will display a green poster with a design that is depicted on the checks.
To make spending their voucher checks more convenient for seniors, this year Aging Services has organized a farmer's market to be held at the Oak Place center on June 26, during the same hours participants may apply for the checks.
Short cautioned that the voucher checks cannot be used like cash. Market vendors won't provide change, so seniors should plan their purchases to use as much of each $5 check as possible, he said. As with a personal check, seniors are to sign the front of each voucher check when using it to make a purchase. The market vendor will sign the back of the check.
According to Short, Aging Services provided more than $40,000 worth of voucher checks to 2,004 Indiana County residents last year. He said area seniors "love the program. I think a lot of them enjoy it because it is fresh produce, and a lot are at the age when they can't really take care of a garden anymore. It's a taste of summer they don't normally get."
Indiana County seniors with a question about eligibility for voucher checks may contact Short at 724-349-4509. Questions about program guidelines should be directed to Sandy Hopple, SFMNP administrator with the state Department of Agriculture, at 717-772-2693.
Aging Services initially will distribute Farmer's Market voucher checks to eligible Indiana County seniors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 26 at the Oak Place community center, 1055 Oak St., Indiana. Later distributions are set for July 9 at the Chestnut Hills center near Blairsville and July 13 at the Saltsburg center, from 4 to 6 p.m. at each site. Checks also may be obtained between 10 a.m. and noon at the following social centers: Armagh, July 10; Aultman, July 11; Homer City, July 12; all other centers, including Indiana, Chestnut Hills, Saltsburg, Two Lick Valley in Clymer and Mahoning Hills in Marchand, July 13.
