AUGUSTA – Rep. Stacy Dostie, D-Sabattus, has announced that applications for the Maine Senior Farmshare program are available. The program is a partnership between the Maine Department of Agriculture and farmers throughout Maine and is designed to provide seniors with up to $50 in free nutritious local produce during the summer growing season.

“In our area, the Farmshare program has been beneficial not only to seniors, but in helping put people to work on farms and growing cooperatives,” said Dostie. “It provides a dual benefit of keeping our seniors healthy and building our local farming operations.”

To qualify, Maine seniors must be at least 60 years old or 55 if a Native American, and either live independently with an individual yearly income of not more than $19,240 or have a combined yearly household income with a spouse or partner of not more than $25,900.

In order to apply for the program, seniors should contact SeniorsPlus for income eligibility.

Then, to receive their $50 in shares, they may sign up with a participating local farmer to select the types of produce and arrange pickup and delivery schedules.

Farmers are prepaid by the Maine Department of Agriculture, and the program is funded through a permanent grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Participating farms offer at least five types of produce each week throughout a 10-week growing season. They also must offer the fruits and vegetables at the same price or a lower cost than they charge to the public.

For more information and to learn more about other programs available, seniors may contact Dostie at 375-8809 or SeniorsPlus at 795-4010. Additional details on the program can be found at http://www.getrealmaine.com/connect/farmshare/senior.html.