Kentucky has one of the highest rates in the nation of food insecurity among older adults at a 17.3%, with the national rate of 10.6%.  Over 6.9% of seniors who are 60 years and older are food insecure.  This means that 196,000 seniors are eligible for the SNAP program, but only about 32% of these seniors benefit from the program.  Studies conducted by Feed America indicates that 16.4% of Laurel County residents are food insecure.  

To address the needs of older citizens in our community, the London-Laurel County Farmers Market applied for and received funding through the Senior Kentucky Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and offered the program locally during its 2022 farmers market season.  The purpose of the Kentucky Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is to gain market access for farmers while improving nutrition of low-income families by providing them better access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Funding for Kentucky's program comes from federal and state resources. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) serves as the lead agency for SFMNP, which provides low-income seniors with $43 on a voucher card to purchase fresh, unprocessed, locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs at state-approved farmers' markets.

 The Laurel County Extension Service agreed to assist with administering the program locally.  Distribution of the vouchers was conducted by Lora Davidson, Family and Consumer Sciences agent and Velma Mullins, Senior SNAP Assistant.

The Laurel County Fiscal Court donated an extra $3,000 to be used in the same fashion as the Sr. FMNP.  The Extension office designed $43 booklets for the farmers market to be distributed to seniors using the same criteria as the Sr FMNP.  When they received vouchers as payment for goods, the farmers redeemed the vouchers for cash through the market’s treasurer.  At the conclusion of the farmers market season, the London-Laurel County Farmers Market had a redemption rate of 96% of the KDA issued vouchers and 100% of the Laurel County funded vouchers.  This amounts to $2856.50 worth of fresh locally produced fruit and vegetables that benefited the low-income senior citizens and the farmers of the London- Laurel County Farmers Market.