The Commodity Supplemental Food Program is a USDA program administered by the Minnesota Department of Health. Channel One is the local agency for 13 counties in southeast Minnesota.

Who is eligible for CSFP?

  • People over the age of 60
  • Minnesota residents
  • Meet income guidelines
  • Prepare your own meals (not living in a facility that provides meals)

CSFP participants receive a monthly food package with American cheese; canned fruits and vegetables; juices; milk; canned meat; cereal; rice or pasta; and plant-based proteins like peanut butter or beans. The package also comes with a newsletter with healthy eating and other educational information.

How do I get a CSFP box?

Distribution centers are located at more than 50 sites around the region, including food shelves, senior centers, and senior apartment buildings. Participants may register by calling Channel One at 507-424-1704 or by filling out this form online.

Information needed:

  • Proof of age: a piece of identification with your birth date (such as birth certificate, driver’s license or state ID, or a passport).
  • Proof of where you live (a current utility bill, rent receipt or a current piece of mail with name and address).
  • Ethnicity and race: this information is requested solely for the purpose of determining the state’s compliance with Federal Civil Rights laws, and your response will not affect your consideration of your application.
  • Knowledge of your household size and gross household income.

Welcome to CSFP Brochures

PDFs containing information for Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) participants can be found below in various languages. For interpretation services, please call the Minnesota Food HelpLine at 1-888-711-1151.

Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program

Each summer, active CSFP participants are eligible to receive $50 in checks to buy fresh, locally-grown produce from their local farmer’s markets. CSFP participants can use the checks to buy fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs. Participants won’t receive change from checks, so please use the checks accordingly.

Participants will need to bring their CSFP ID cards to the market in order to use their checks. If you are unable to physically visit the farmer’s market, a proxy can shop on your behalf. For a proxy to use the Farmer’s Market checks, their name must be on your CSFP ID card. They must also present your CSFP ID card and their own photo ID at the Farmer’s Market.

We will be mailing Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program checks to active CSFP participants who live near authorized farmer’s markets in: Albert Lea, Austin, Faribault, Northfield, Red Wing, Rochester, Wabasha and Winona.

For more information, please contact:

507-424-1704 or (toll free) 877-500-8699

Please call the number above with any questions, or to:

  • Update your mailing address, phone number or contact information.
  • Replace your blue CSFP ID card
  • Add or change your proxy

USDA Non-discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online here, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    Program.Intake@usda.gov