Dear Vendor:

The Nebraska Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) has been a very successful and beneficial program for both our produce farmers and low-income senior citizens. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has administered this USDA-sponsored program since 2001. This letter will provide you with enrollment details for the 2008 program year.

In December 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the SFMNP final rule, which mandated new rules and regulations for this program. These rules drastically changed the way the NDA had previously administered this program. Therefore, outlined below are the key changes:

• If you sell locally-grown fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs and wish to enroll in this program, you must attend a face-to-face, interactive farmer training session in order to be certified to accept 2008 SFMNP coupons. These sessions will be held across the state, and video conferencing will be the method through which the training sessions will take place. Utilization of this method will enable training in several locations simultaneously, thereby training a large number of farmers in one session.

• At the completion of this training, you have the opportunity to complete a written agreement with NDA which will document your enrollment in the 2008 program. Once NDA has received your agreement, you will receive an official SFMNP certified vendor number. This number is required in order to deposit any SFMNP coupons you may receive this year. Please note that the responsibility for SFMNP registration and training rests with you, the program participant.

• Attached is a listing of the dates and locations of each session. Please note that seating is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call our office by April 21, 2008, at 800-422-6692 to reserve your seat at one of the training sessions. It is important to note that a site will be cancelled if no one has registered to attend by this date.

If you have any questions regarding the information contained within this letter, please contact me at 800-422-6692.

Sincerely,

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Casey Foster
Ag Promotion Coordinator, Value-Added

Training Schedule

Press Release
        Trainings for Producers Participating in SFMNP to Begin

Files in PDF format can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.