Assistance program
Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program
$218.8 Million committed in FY2018–FY2026
- Agency
- Food and Nutrition Service, Agriculture, Department of
- Assistance
- Formula Grants
- CFDA number
- 10.576
- What it does
- The purposes of the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) are to: (1) provide resources in the form of fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs from farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs to low-income seniors; (2) increase the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities by expanding or aiding in the expansion of domestic farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and CSAs; and (3) develop or aid in the development of new and additional farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and CSAs.
- Who benefits
- Persons eligible for the program are income eligible seniors, generally defined as individuals who are at least 60 years old and have household incomes of not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines published each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. Some State agencies accept proof of participation or enrollment in another means-tested program, such as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for SFMNP eligibility. Individual participants apply for SFMNP benefits at authorized SFMNP local agencies.
- Who applies
- State agency means any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, and federally recognized Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs). State agencies may include State Agriculture Departments, Agencies on Aging, or Health Departments, and ITOs. Local agencies are nonprofit entities or local government agencies that certify eligible participants, issue SFMNP food benefits, arrange for distribution of eligible foods through CSA) programs, and/or provide nutrition education. Each State agency desiring to administer the SFMNP must annually submit a State Plan of Operations and enter into a written agreement with FNS for the program’s administration in the State agency’s jurisdiction. New State agencies are selected based on the availability of funds after prior year grant levels for currently participating State agencies have been met. Participating State agencies select local agencies based on the concentration of eligible senior participants and access to farmers' markets.
- Authorized by
- Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, (P.L. 107–171, 116 Stat. 134), Section 4402 as amended.
- Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
- American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2
- 7 U.S.C. § 3007
Committed by fiscal year
* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.
Top recipients
By dollars committed.
How to read these numbers
- Committed through this program
Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
- How it's paid
Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
- Some recipients aren't itemized
For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
- Awards, counted once
An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
- The colored bars
Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments