Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Pal's Food Hub SNAP-Incentive project aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption of SNAP Participants in and around the City of Spartanburg. Our overall goal is to decrease chronic health conditions and give residents the opportunity to access healthy, local and fresh food. This project will increase the amount of money SNAP participants have when buying fresh produce from the Food Hub and the Farmer's Market; thus increasing access to healthy food making people healthier and decreasing chronic conditions. This project will improvethe local economy supporting a more sustainable food system. The PAL and HCR Snap incentive program will stretch $40.00 in SNAP benefits to $95.00 each week at each retailer. The customer's first $40 can be used for any SNAP-approved food, while their remaining $55 in matching funds will be spent on fresh local fruits and vegetables. This includes South Carolina's Healthy Bucks program.This pilot program will includes evidence-based practices as well as a promotional and community outreach plans.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
50%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
Overarching Goal: To implement a pilot SNAP incentive program at 2 locations (PAL's Food Hub and Hub City Roots Farmers' Market (HCR) that will successfully recruit and retain SNAP customers who purchase and consume more fruits and vegetables than they did before they used the program. This will increase access to healthy, fresh and local food. During development and implementation, a written process will be developed, a cashier training plan will be conducted, a community outreach and promotion plan will be executed, a community education plan on eating healthy and local will be activated and an evaluation process will be put in place. Objective 1: To create a written document that clearly explains the SNAP Incentive program for all staff involved at PAL's Food Hub and Hub City Roots by Sept 30, 2024.Discuss and document at the following meetings: Internal PAL Food Hub Staff bi-weekly meetings HCR and PAL Project monthly meetingsFood Hub Advisory Quarterly MeetingsTo find a member that represents SNAP participant by Sept 30, 2024Spartanburg Food System Coalition Meetings every other monthObjective 2: To conduct a cashier training for PAL's Food Hub and Hub City Roots' staff by an appropriate SNAP Trainer by November 30, 2024.Print SNAP rules and regulations and post at register and Director's desk. Objective 3: To train Food Hub staff on the Local Food Marketplace's (LFM) online platform by November 2024.Objective 4: To create a community outreach and promotion program by November 1, 2024, that will aim to increase awareness and usage of the SNAP Incentive Program.Reach out to partners who have experience with SNAP Participants to gain knowledge on reaching target population by September 30,2024Create a list of at least 15 promotional sources including (online, print, radio and TV)Determine at least 3 target neighborhoods and zip codesCreate a marketing and promotional calendar by November 15, 2024Develop online and print ads for the first 3 months of promotion by November 1, 2024.To hire a SNAP outreach coordinator by September 30, 2024Partner with the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking communities in the pilot SNAP incentive program by offering culturally appropriate food. Partner with the Hispanic AllianceImplement cooking classes in Spanish through community Partner Vida y SaludCreate marketing materials in Spanish.Objective 5: To create an education plan that will increase knowledge of the new SNAP Incentive Program and to increase knowledge of why eating healthy and local produce is beneficial by November 15, 2024. 25% of SNAP Incentive Participants will report increased knowledge of the benefits of eating local fruits and vegetables. 25% of SNAP Incentive Participants will report consuming at least 10% more fruits and vegetables. To schedule at least 5 tastings or cooking demonstrations at Hub City Roots by December 30, 2024.Create educational material in Spanish and English.Partner with Cooking Up Confidence classes to increase awareness of the SNAP Incentive program.Objective 6: To implement an evaluation process for the SNAP Incentive Program.Create Pre and Post Surveys for SNAP Incentive participants by September 30, 2024.Implement a process for collecting monthly data by September 30, 2024.Schedule monthly evaluation meetings with PAL Staff and Hub City Roots staff by September 30, 2024. The meeting will include data review and the following questions utilizing the Results Based Accountability Model. New data on how we are doing?New information on the story behind the trend the data is showing?New partners that might have a role to play in changing the trend in the data (if necessary)?New information on what would work to change the trend in the data (if necessary)?Changes to our strategies to change the trend in the data (if necessary)?
Project Methods
Our methods for the pilot SNAP Incentive program include utilizing evidence-based practices and determining a written process for the distribution of funds/SNAP Incentives and a continuous evaluation and feedback for process improvement. We will duplicate Hub City Roots' method and conduct community outreach as much as possible. Their process was established with the University of South Carolina's SNAP-Ed team and continues to show success. PAL's Food Hub hopes to gain some customers from Hub City Roots which means they will hav an understanding of howthe program works.We will utilize SNAP Ed resources for community outreach and gain their perspective on what has worked with other projects. We will also utilize our coalition partners, our cooking class satellite sites and active listening through 1:1 conversations.One of our efforts includes cooking classes (Cooking Up Confidence; Skills in the Everyday Kitchen) that has a curriculum that was developed based on the American Heart Association's program Simple Cooking with Heart. This is a community-based program with several satellite sites. The aim is to increase confidence in the kitchen to be able to utilize fresh produce and prepare healthier meals at home. These are in-person as well as virtual and we have one site that will be teaching the classes in Spanish. We will utilize the RBA (Results Based Accountability) method for evaluation. This is a continuous improvement plan where staff meet once a month to look at the data and asl the following questions. We will review this data at the bi-weekly internal Food Hub meetings, quarterly Food Hub Advisory Committee meetings and with the project team monthly. 1. New data on how we are doing?2. New information on the story behind the trend the data is showing?3. New partners that might have a role to play in changing the trend in the data (if necessary)?4. New information on what would work to change the trend in the data (if necessary)?5. Changes to our strategies to change the trend in the data (if necessary)?