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6/26/2009 3:26 PM

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Scott Beveridge

This article has been read 322 times.

Senior citizens across Washington and Greene counties have been waiting in long lines for vouchers to trade in for fresh vegetables.

Those who qualify receive $20 in the U.S. Department of Agriculture effort that supports local farms while also helping older Americans get the fresh vegetables they need in their diets.

“They’re on such low fixed incomes and sometimes have to chose between meat or produce,” said Cheri Randall, director of the Washington Senior Citizens Center.

Pennsylvania will spend $6 million, using federal and state sources, on the Senior Farmers’ Market Program. The Washington senior center alone is distributing $8,000 worth of the checks.

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“I think it’s excellent,” said Jane Graham, 82, while picking up her four $5 checks today at Bellemeade Apartments, where nearly 100 people showed up for the assistance.

Graham said she just returned from purchasing fruit and vegetables at a grocery store, “but those are not fresh from the farm.”

A person must be age 60 or older and earn below $20,036 a year to qualify for the program. A couple earning below $26,955 can also receive the help.

The checks can also be spent at roadside farmstands on produce that is grown in Pennsylvania, or can be grown in the state. They cannot be used to purchase citrus or tropical fruit, or on such processed foods as jams, honey and cider.

“The program benefits all involved, including the individuals who purchase food, the farmers who produce it and the communities they live in,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff stated in a news release.

For additional information call 724-228-7080 in Washington County, or 724-852-1510 in Greene County.

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