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PRINTER'S NO. 1993
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
418
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY BROOKS, STREET, ARGALL, EICHELBERGER, GORDNER,
AUMENT, RAFFERTY, KILLION, BROWNE, HUGHES, VULAKOVICH,
RESCHENTHALER, SCHWANK, BREWSTER, MENSCH, FOLMER, BARTOLOTTA
AND REGAN, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Congress of the United States and the United States
Department of Agriculture to include milk in its Senior
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's dairy industry continues to struggle
under a host of complex pressures; and
WHEREAS, By including fresh milk as an eligible product in
its Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), the
Congress of the United States and the United States Department
of Agriculture may be able to help local dairy farmers as well
as senior citizens in need; and
WHEREAS, Established in 1993, SFMNP gives recipients a list
of participating farmers and farmers' markets when they receive
their checks, and the checks are then redeemed for fresh fruits
and vegetables grown in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Each eligible recipient receives four $5 SFMNP
checks to redeem at qualified farmers' markets or roadside
stands; and
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WHEREAS, More than 800 farm stands and 200 farmers' markets
in this Commonwealth participate in SFMNP; and
WHEREAS, A large and reliable market exists for milk through
SFMNP, which provides low-income seniors with coupons that can
be exchanged for eligible foods, including nutritious, locally
grown fruits, vegetables and fresh-cut herbs, at farmers'
markets and roadside stands and through community-supported
agriculture programs; and
WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, SFMNP is administered by the
Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth, with vouchers
distributed through county Area Agencies on Aging; and
WHEREAS, Low-income seniors are generally defined as
individuals who are 60 years of age or older and who have
household incomes of not more than 185% of the Federal poverty
guidelines; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
urge the Congress of the United States and the United States
Department of Agriculture to include milk as an eligible product
in its Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, thereby helping
senior citizens in need to obtain this healthy product, boosting
the domestic consumption of milk and assisting our dairy farmers
who remain a key component in Pennsylvania's agriculture
industry; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the United States Secretary of Agriculture and each member of
Congress from Pennsylvania.
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