KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Tara Coleman, STEP Center for Healthy Living aging director, left, talks with seniors in the line of cars at the Veggie Voucher distribution recently in South Williamsport.

Thousands of Lycoming and Clinton County seniors will get to enjoy summer produce as well as support local farmers thanks to the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition program known as Veggie Voucher program through STEP Inc.

“The checks are five checks for five dollars each, for a total of twenty-five dollars and they can be used at any farmers market across Pennsylvania,” said Tara Coleman, STEP Center for Healthy Living aging director.

The vouchers provided the seniors “with fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs from approved farmers’ in Pennsylvania,” according to the state department of agriculture.

The program kicked off in Lycoming County on Tuesday June 30 in South Williamsport. The vouchers, distributed in a drive-through event, began at 10 a.m. but seniors were lined up in their vehicles as early as 8 a.m.

“There is definitely a need, seniors are wanting to support their local community with prices rising. This is definitely helpful to keep them nutritionally sound,” said Coleman.

“As the local Community Action Agency, STEP is tasked with understanding the community and providing services to support individuals, families, and communities. With the increase in food prices, food insecurity has been on the rise, particularly in older adult households where income is fixed. Given this, the Veggie Voucher program that the STEP Office of Aging partners with the state department of agriculture to provide seniors with $25 vouchers to access local produce is important,” added Rachelle Abbott president and CEO of STEP Inc.

The long-standing program is for seniors age 60 and up, with household income guidelines of up to $29,953 for one person and $39,128 for two people.

The vouchers had increased to fifty dollars for a few years due to COVID relief money, but they have returned to the pre-pandemic levels of twenty-five dollars.

Ellen Maule of Williamsport waited in the long line of cars that stretched from the South Williamsport Community Park, down Central Avenue to Route 15, hoping to pick up vouchers for herself and several seniors in her building who are in wheelchairs and couldn’t make the trip.

“I’m the youngest in my building, I’m 68,most of the people are 70 to 90, and they want to take care of themselves,” said Maule on the importance of healthy food.

“I love it, I can go and pick berries and can go to the farmers market,” said Connie Sechrist of Trout Run.

“I live basically off my Social Security, so I need any extra I can get,” added Sechrist.

“These vouchers are very good,” shared Timothy Larson, who was waiting in the long line of cars with his wife Deborah, who frequent Carpenter’s Farm in Linden for their favorite tomatoes.

“The STEP Office of Aging offers additional nutrition options to ensure that the aging population has access to food on a daily basis. Specifically, the STEP Office of Aging provides lunches and social programming to seniors aged 60 and older every day at eight different Centers for Healthy Aging across Lycoming and Clinton counties. The Centers for Healthy Aging are a great opportunity for social interaction, and STEP Office of Aging is always happy to welcome new participants. The locations of the STEP Centers for Healthy Aging can be found at the website www.stepcorp.org, ” added Abbott.