Kentucky Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Overview

Kentucky Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program 2016 Tina Garland 502-382-7505 Kelsey Ruble 502-782-9238 Return to FMNP Page Return to FMNP Page Click for next slide Click for next slide Click for next slide Click for next slide

Housekeeping Roll Call Information Packets Q & A s PowerPoint Q & A s We welcome conversation and questions, if you have a question, feel free to ask at the end of the presentation. 2 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Agenda SFMNP Funding Requirements for SFMNP Farmers Requirements Distributing Agency Requirements Market Coordinator Requirements Rules and Regulations Redemption Process Paperwork 3 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Funding Senior Farmer s Market Nutrition Program 2016 USDA Grant $ 297,823 Seniors may receive up to (7) $4.00 booklets equaling $28.00 Seniors may receive only one booklet per season 4 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Farmer Requirements Participating farmers in the program must: Be member of an approved KDA farmers market Be a member of an approved market that participates in the SFMNP Attend training each year Accept checks only for locally grown fruits and vegetables Sign the participation guidelines and stamp the application Do NOT handwrite your stamp number on the application; the application must be stamped to be processed 5 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Farmer Requirements contd Eligible Foods: SFMNP: Checks are good for fresh locally grown produce and honey. Locally grown produce is defined as produce grown in Kentucky or within 50 miles from Kentucky border. (See Eligible Food List ) Non-eligible Foods: Non-locally grown products may not be purchased with SFMNP checks. Examples include citrus products such as oranges, mangoes, lemons, and limes; bananas, and pineapples. Medicinal Herbs and others such as aloe, lamb s ear, catnip, rue, white sage, lavender, Echinacea, bee balm, chamomile, St Johnswort are not eligible for purchase with checks. 6 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Eligible Kentucky Foods o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Cooking herbs (fresh, cut): Basil Borage Chives Cilantro Dill Epazote Fennel Garlic Marjoram Mint Oregano Parsley Rosemary Sage Savory Shiso Sorrel Tarragon Thyme Apples Asparagus Beans (green) Beets Blackberries (thornless & thorny) Blueberries Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage (red, green, savoy, chinese) Carrots Cauliflower Cherries Sweet Corn Cucumbers Edamame Soybeans Eggplant Grapes Greens (collards, kale, mustard, spinach, swiss chard, turnip) Green Onions Honey only allowable in SFMNP Kohlrabi Lettuce Melons (muskmelon, honeydew, cantaloupe) Mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, morel, etc.) Okra Onions Parsnips Pawpaws Peaches Pears Peas (snow peas, sugar snap) Peppers (hot and sweet) Plums Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Raspberries Rhubarb Strawberries Summer squash (yellow, zucchini, patty pan) Sweet potatoes Tomatoes Turnips Watermelons Winter Squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti, kabocha) o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 7 o Click for next slide Click for next slide

Farmers Requirements contd A Farmer cannot exclusively sell produce grown by someone else. All markets have different rules, Rules can be more strict according to your market rules, but may not be more lenient when accepting SFMNP benefits. No change given for checks Participants must purchase produce in the amount of the checks A vendor may assist a participant by preparing products in $4 bundles or by gathering products that equal up to $4 No sales tax Kentucky has a sales tax exemption on the purchase of food Checks valid only at authorized SFMNP markets Your farm is not an authorized location to sell your products Only authorized farmers within approved markets Not all farmers in a market have to accept SFMNP Not all Kentucky Farmers Markets participate in SFMNP 8 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Farmers Requirements contd Display sign showing you accept SFMNP checks This is to help participants find you to spend their checks. 9 Vendors must display their stamp number Click for next slide Click for next slide

Farmers Requirements contd Offer SFMNP participants the same courtesies as other market customers Provide eligible foods at the current price or lower than the current price charged to other customers Display prices and how product is sold (by pound, container, by bunch, etc.) Have some produce in bundles of $4 for easy accessibility for the seniors (this is optional, not mandatory) 10 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Q & As 11 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Distribution Agencies Make sure to let the KDA know when you will be distributing vouchers including the location. If in the case you have extra vouchers, send them back to the KDA at the address below. Do NOT shred them. This makes your redemption rate go down and the seniors will get less vouchers the following year. They need to be sent back to the KDA by the last day of June each season. Extra vouchers can be distributed to other counties. Kentucky Department of Agriculture 107 Corporate Drive Frankfort, KY 40601 12 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Rule Enforcement USDA mandates 10% of markets,10% of farmers, and 10% of distribution agencies are reviewed Each market will be reviewed once every two years Market Site Visits Review of Market Review of Farmers Anonymous compliance buys Violations can result in farmer and/or market being terminated from SFMNP Minor Violations Failure to post signage at the market Failure to open during published times and days Penalties for Minor offenses First violation - verbal or written reprimand Second violation - Move to at-risk classification and written warning Third violation - Suspension of right to redeem checks for the remaining of the season 13 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Major violations and Penalties Major Violations Selling at off-market site Selling non-eligible products Buying Checks Accepting checks when on suspension Penalties for Major Violations First Violation Suspension of right to redeem checks for 30 days during FMNP season. If there is less than 30 days remaining in the season when violation is committed, days remaining will continue in the following FMNP season. Second Violation Farmer becomes ineligible for the program. State Agency has the right to carry over major/minor violations from year to year. 14 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Civil Rights Compliance KDA Title VI Coordinator is responsible for immediately notifying USDA-FNS of farmer and market discrimination complaints received by KDA: KDA Title VI Coordinator 500 Metro Street, 7th Floor Frankfort, KY 40601 Farmers and participants may also contact USDA directly: USDA Director, Office of Civil Rights Room 362-W, Whitten Building 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-9410 Also note that as a farmer or farmers market participating in the SFMNP program you must adhere to the federal regulations for nondiscrimination. 15 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Q & As 16 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Redeeming Vouchers WIC FMNP A farmer must have a WIC stamp for each market he/she works in. WIC FMNP stamp Senior FMNP A farmer has only one stamp for SFMNP, regardless the number of markets he/she works in. Senior FMNP Stamp 700100 17 Click for next slide Click for next slide

SFMNP Check 2016 6/01/16 November 4, 2016 10/25/16 Stamp check here Have participants sign check Stamp check with the farmer identifier. If stamp is unclear, stamp it again. (If stamp is illegible, the check will not be processed.) Endorse Senior Check on Back Side Deposit in Your Bank Vendors can use only their own stamp when depositing, if a vendor is selling another vendors produce, they must use that vendors stamp to deposit their checks 18 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Whats wrong with these checks? 19 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Whats wrong with these checks? 20 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Checks There were about 3,000 individual checks that had to be processed through the KDA because of illegible signatures, illegible stamps, and lack of signatures in general. Make sure when you deposit your checks you check to make sure they meet the criteria and is legible: Signature form senior Signature from vendor Stamp of vendor 21 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Q & As 22 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Deadlines SENIOR FMNP March 25, 2016 Last day to send in all paperwork for SFMNP to KY Department of Agriculture June 30, 2016 Last day to send in issuance logs and extra vouchers October 25, 2016 Last day to accept checks November 4, 2016 Final day to deposit checks for SFMNP 23 Click for next slide Click for next slide

Paperwork Checklist For Market Coordinators Renewal Form (Agreement) Market hours of operation Attendance Sheet (For this training only) Contact Sheet Civil Rights Compliance For Distribution Agencies Renewal Form (Agreement) Blank Issuance Log Certificate of Eligibility Brochures Contact Sheet Civil Rights Compliance For Farmers Application Informational Letter Survey Civil Rights Compliance 24 Click for next slide Click for next slide

For More Information Kentucky Proud Kentucky Department of Agriculture Division of Food Distribution 107 Corporate Drive Frankfort, KY 40601 502-573-0282 www.kyagr.com Senior FMNP Tina Garland, tina.garland@ky.gov 502-382-7505 WIC FMNP Beverly Salchli, beverly.salchli@ky.gov 502-564-3827 ext. 4328 Farmers Market Development Sharon Spencer, sharon.spencer@ky.gov 502-564-4983 Return to FMNP Page Return to FMNP Page