City Of Seattle: The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Delivering an accessible, multilingual application for thousands of older adults in King County.

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program is a federal and state program that helps low-income older adults buy fresh, locally grown food and supports the farmers who grow it. Eligibility depends on age, income, and King County residency. Each year the program receives more applications than it has benefit cards, so recipients are chosen through random selection. The Seattle Human Services Department has reported that the program provides benefits to over 10,000 older adults a year.

Applications are accepted during a short window each spring, on paper or online. The online application has to be accessible and easy to read in 14 languages. It has to meet the City of Seattle’s data, security, and privacy requirements. And it has to be ready when enrollment opens.

Jennergy has designed, built, and maintained the online application for years, and we improve it every season. Before each enrollment period, we work with City of Seattle staff on new features and refinements that make the application easier to use for applicants and staff.

The challenge: Meeting a growing program’s needs for every audience.

The City needed to bring the paper application for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program online. The people who would use it shaped every decision. Applicants speak many languages, and the application had to work for people using screen readers, larger text, or a keyboard alone. It needed to be easy to follow and easy to read. It also had to match the program’s existing web page, so it felt like part of the same program.

The form had real work to do, too. It had to confirm age and King County residency and flag people who applied more than once. Every submission had to reach program staff, and applicant information had to stay where only authorized staff could see it.

The program changes from year to year, with updated questions, consent language, and staff tools. The City needed a partner who could design and build each change, test it, and have it live before enrollment opened.

The solution: Custom design and development, enhanced every season.

Our team provides creative direction, UI/UX design, custom development, accessibility testing, training, and seasonal support. We designed the application to match the program’s existing page and put the questions in a clear, logical order. The core design stays the same from year to year, so returning applicants and staff find a familiar experience. Each season, we add the features the City needs next.

Language access at every step

Language access is central to equitable public services, and the application is built around it. Applicants can complete the entire experience in English or one of 13 other languages, from the first question to the final consent. We localize each language in close partnership with the City, which supplies translations through its own translation services, so older adults with limited English proficiency (LEP) can apply in the language they know best.

Inclusive, accessible design

Digital accessibility shapes every phase of our work, from information architecture and UX design to development and testing. Guided by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we design for older adults across a wide range of abilities. Clear layouts, readable text, and a straightforward flow reduce confusion and help more people finish what they start.

Form design that improves data quality

Accurate data matters when a program reviews thousands of applications each spring. Real-time validation and address autocomplete help applicants enter a correct King County mailing address, confirm eligibility details like age as they go, and avoid the common errors that slow down processing. Applicants get a smoother experience, and City staff get cleaner submissions to review.

Duplicate detection with staff in control

Duplicate applications put data integrity and a fair selection process at risk, and solving that problem shows how our work with the City grows over time. What began as a simple flag on possible duplicates evolved, season by season, into a custom de-duplication tool. Match scoring surfaces likely duplicates in a single admin view, where reviewers confirm or dismiss each one in a click. Staff always make the final call.

Administrative tools built around staff workflows

Behind the public-facing application is an administrative experience designed around how program staff actually work. Submissions are captured, confirmed, and routed to staff automatically, and entries can be reviewed, managed, and exported from a staff-only admin area. Each season we simplify content updates and translation review, keep past seasons archived, and support staff with virtual training and on-demand how-to videos.

Launch readiness and seasonal support

Enrollment windows are short, so every season has to open on time. We built the application to meet the City of Seattle’s data, security, and privacy requirements, coordinate open and close times with the City well in advance, and add technical support during the spring enrollment months, when demand is highest.

A collaborative, iterative process

Each season follows the same cycle of planning, requirements gathering, content and translation updates, development, testing, and launch, carried out in close collaboration with City of Seattle staff. It’s the same detail-driven approach we bring to government agencies, nonprofits, and private organizations that need accessible, multilingual websites and web applications.

The result: A clear path to the application in 14 languages, refined with each enrollment.

Older adults in King County can apply for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program online in English or 13 other languages, through an application built with accessibility in mind. The paper application is still available. Address autocomplete and verification help applicants enter a valid address, and the form checks age and King County residency as they go. After enrollment closes, applicants can return to the site to see whether they were selected.

Program staff get an email for each submission and manage entries in one place. They confirm or dismiss possible duplicates in a single click, with a match score in front of them. The final decision always stays with staff.

We’ve spent years building and improving this application, and each season brings enhancements for the people who use it. We’re glad to support a program that brings fresh, local food to older adults in our own community.

Looking to apply or check your application status? Visit the program’s official page at agingkingcounty.org/SFMNP.

Ready to build your custom form, application, or website?

Jennergy designs and builds custom, accessible, multilingual digital experiences for public agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. Have a project in mind? We’d welcome the chance to hear about it.