SFMNP, Prescott Farmers Market, Yavapai County SNAP-Ed, and Manzanita Outreach bring locally grown produce directly to seniors in the Verde Valley.

This fall, the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) teamed up with farmers from the Prescott Farmers Market, Yavapai County SNAP-Ed, and Manzanita Outreach to bring locally grown produce directly to seniors in the Verde Valley.
 
This partnership was spurred into action with leftover SFMNP funds in order to serve the community of seniors in Cottonwood. Many local advocates stepped right up and were willing to take on some extra responsibility to make this happen. These key advocates include Rebecca Serratos from the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension Office, Marie Higgins and the Prescott Farmers Market team, Ben Burke from Manzanita Outreach, and of course the Prescott, Chino Valley, and Paulden-area farmers.
 
We’re grateful to Aguiar Farms, Hernandez Farms, SuperNatural Sprouts, and Reyes Farms for collectively producing over $18k worth of produce that went directly to low-income seniors. All farms are paid directly and in full through SFMNP funds. Next time you’re at the Prescott Farmers Market or the Flagstaff Community Market, find these farms and express thanks by purchasing their wonderful varieties of produce.
 
Senior CSAs through SFMNP are special for a few reasons, some of which include the convenience and ease it provides the seniors recipients. We purposefully integrate the senior CSAs into their pre-existing food pick-up routines.
In order for this to happen, there are many pieces that takes a team effort behind the scenes: transporting, packing, securing materials, and other logistics. As we’ve just named, it was a whole village that came together in Yavapai County to bring this to fruition.
 
A total of 367 seniors benefitted from $50 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, either delivered through the Manzanita Outreach home delivery program, or provided alongside seniors picking up their monthly commodities box at the pantry. Contents of the mixed produce bags for the seniors included arugula, kale, beets, tomatoes, radishes, turnips, microgreens, fresh herbs, and more. Burke of Manzanita Outreach emphasized how special it was for seniors to receive fresh greens. He shared that at the food pantry, heartier vegetables are easier to come by, but to give out fresh, high-quality greens grown in county was a true treat.

---