SNAP-Ed Success Story 2023-2024

Allen County

Nancy Owens-Sr. Nutrition Education Program/SNAP-Ed Assistant

Senior Farmers Market Produce Box  Program

 In Allen County 17% of the population are senior citizens. 9% are below income poverty level.   The goal of this program is to assist Senior Citizens in receiving a monthly box of fresh produce, protein, grains, fruits, and dairy items that are provided by local producers and supplied from Need More Acres Farm. All items that are in the produce box are Kentucky Proud products. What started out as a three-month program has been thriving for one and half years. This project serves low-income seniors in Allen County, where the poverty rate is 19.1%. 

Need More Acres Farm is very passionate about this program, including students from the Allen County School System to assist in planting, caring for and harvesting the fresh produce. The boxes are assembled by students, community partners and Need More Acres. The high school students gain knowledge of how important farming is for agriculture, nutritious eating and gained the knowledge of how to grow, harvest and prepare or preserve food. 

The Allen County Cooperative Extension Service, Need More Acres Farm, Scottsville Senior Center and Briarwood Senior Living Center partnered to distribute the Need More Acres Senior Boxes to the Senior Citizens of Allen County 58 of those seniors are homebound. The Allen County Cooperative Extension Service made the contacts and went to Need More Acres Farm to pick up the boxes of food and deliver 120 boxes to the senior citizen in Allen County each month. There are 120 Senior Citizens that received fresh produce because of this program. Because this program was so successful with much community support, we have received financial support to offer the program again until the end of 2024. The financial support was secured through the Allen County Homemakers in the sum of 21,000.00.