Non Technical Summary
Between 2022-2023, Double Up Texas (DUTX), the statewide nutrition incentive program led by Sustainable Food Center distributed $889,115 in incentives to an average of 41,807 SNAP households supporting over 500 Texas producers. The proposed project supports the next phase of DUTX, aiming to:1) Increase nutrition security among Texas SNAP participants by expanding DUTX nutrition incentives into at least two grocery stores in all 11 Texas public health regions;2) Increase produce sales of Texas farmers by expanding DUTX nutrition incentives into at least three farm direct sites in all 11 TX HHSC public health regions; and increasing local sourcing in at least two DUTX grocery partners;3) Increase participation across all DUTX sites through novel, regionally relevant, direct-to-consumer marketing tactics; and4) Increase consumption of Texas-grown fruits and vegetables among SNAP households by providing culturally relevant nutrition and cooking education to DUTX participants.During the 48-month project period, SFC and its partners will provide more than $5.2 million in nutrition incentives to Texas SNAP households, with intentional efforts to expand the program to currently underserved areas, including East TX (Regions 4-6), West TX (Regions 1,2,9), and the Rio Grande Valley (Region 11).The proposed project supports the GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program purpose and priorities by increasing SNAP household participation in nutrition incentive programs at participating firms through proven and effective direct-to-consumer marketing and building the operational capacity of participating firms, Texas farmers, and partners to implement successful incentive programs for underserved and/or underrepresented communities in Texas.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
704	6099	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Goals / Objectives
Goal 1. Increase nutrition security among Texas SNAP households.Objective 1.1 Expand DUTX nutrition incentives into at least two GR locations in all 11 TX DHHS Public Health regions.Milestone: DUTX is launched in one, new mid/large-scale retailer by August 2025.Milestone: DUTX is launched in 10 new, community-focused TX retailers by August 2027.Milestone: All HHSC regions have GR programs by August 2027.Goal 2. Increase produce sales of Texas farmers.Objective 2.1. Expand DUTX nutrition incentives to at least three FD sites in all 11 TX HHSC public health regions.Milestones: Two new FD sites are recruited in West TX by August 2026 and two new FD sites are recruited in East TX by August 2027.Milestone: Produce sales across all farm direct sites increase by 7% by August 2026.Objective 2.2. Local sourcing increases 5% compared to baseline within two GR partners.Milestone: Connect four grocery partners or distributors with local producers by August 2027.Goal 3. Increase DUTX participation through novel, regionally relevant, direct-to-consumer marketing tactics.Objective 3.1. Participation increases across all sites by 25%.Milestone: Number of unique participants served annually by DUTX increases 15% by August 2027.Goal 4. Increase consumption of Texas-grown fruits and vegetables among SNAP households.Objective 4.1. Provide culturally relevant nutrition and cooking education to 20% of DUTX participants.Milestone:15% of DUTX participants are receiving cooking and nutrition education by August 2027.

Project Methods
During the 48-month project period, Sustainable Food Center and its partners will provide more than $5.2 million in nutrition incentives to Texas SNAP households, with intentional efforts to expand the program to currently underserved areas, including East TX (Regions 4-6), West TX (Regions 1,2,9), and the Rio Grande Valley (Region 11).Specific project activities include:Provide incentives on eligible SNAP purchases at GR and FD firms.Collect & report monthly firm level metrics & impact/process data.Conduct site visits & provide ongoing technical assistance.Prioritize expansion sites according to selection criteria with focus on East TX (HHSC Regions 4-6), West TX (Regions 1,2,9), and RGV (Region 11).Conduct executive level outreach/contracting with large-scale GR firms.Provide capacity building support to BWC for RGV GR expansion.Work with regional leads and other partners and conduct outreach to identify community-focused retailers.Provide training, technical assistance and GR onboarding resources.Expand DUTX to additional stores in mid/large scale retail partners.Conduct ongoing training & reporting work with GR network including site visits, cashier training, and incentive management. (Note: process data from external reviewer indicated a need for cashier training at grocery retail sites, noting both the positive role knowledgeable cashiers can play in DUTX promotion as well as the lack of program knowledge among some cashiers at current sites.)Hire Farm Direct Specialist.Conduct outreach to FD firms in priority areas (Regions 4, 5, 6, 2 & 9).Hire WTX Outreach & Engagement Coordinator.Develop equitable system to equitably administer subawards for staffing at priority FD; distribute staffing subawards.Convene quarterly FD community of practice; collaborate with statewide partners to provide training and promote training resources.Further develop DUTX toolkit with feedback from market managers.Include local sourcing goals in GR contracts with all firms; identify GR firms with most flexibility to source locally, with focus on community-focused, locally owned retailers.Establish local sourcing baselines with identified firms.Work with farm viability team to identify potential producer matches.Convene GR firms and farmers to discuss local sourcing and identify potentially profitable new crops; coordinate matchmaking.Coordinate promotional campaign for SFC's DUTX sites including social media, print, radio ads, and direct-to-consumer outreach.Conduct outreach among populations currently underserved by DUTX.Expand DUTX Help Desk services to new regions.Strengthen the DUTX referral network through regular trainings with SNAP supporting organizations (e.g., SNAP-Ed, community partners).Develop static, online DUTX training materials for referral partners.Conduct nutrition and cooking education classes for DUTX participants in CTX and WTX.Recruit statewide replication partners from within the DUTX partner network and train them to offer nutrition and cooking education classes.Develop and share nutrition and cooking education classes materials with DUTX partners via the toolkit; provide annual training to DUTX farm direct partners.Collaborate with external evaluator for process/impact evaluation of DUTX program; regularly review data to improve programming.