Source: MANDELA MARKETPLACE submitted to NRP
HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD STORE ALLIANCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0219755
Grant No.
2009-33800-20229
Cumulative Award Amt.
$285,376.00
Proposal No.
2009-03721
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2009
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2012
Grant Year
2009
Program Code
[LN.C]- Community Foods
Recipient Organization
MANDELA MARKETPLACE
1364 7TH STREET
OAKLAND,CA 94
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Compared to a white child in the Oakland Hills,a child born in West Oakland is one and a half times more likely to be born premature,seven times more likely to be born into poverty, and is forced to find nutrition in two to three times the concentration of liquor and convenience stores because direct public transportation to the nearest supermarket requires two hours of travel time. West Oakland is a diverse community of about 25,000 residents.It is primarily african american and latino.Almost forty percent of its households have no car.Retail in the community is sparse at best, and residents are forced to supply their basic needs outside of the community,or from area liquor/convenience markets.The neighborhood is significantly over the 185 percent Federal Poverty Level.A food assessment completed in 2001 discovered only ten of thirty-six West Oakland convenience and corner stores carried the basic foods required to make a nutritious meal and prices were 20-100% higher than supermarkets. Few carried fresh produce. HNSA will target its efforts to adult shoppers in five less than 185% FPL census tracts. Among the residents of West Oakland,the diabetes rate is three times higher than in the rest of Alameda County, hypertension rates are elevated, and mortality rates rival those of third world nations. Interventions directed at the adult shopper population impact knowledge and behaviors for the entire family. By complementing nutrition education efforts presented by peers in a pleasant environment with immediate access to a wide array of healthy food shopping choices, HNSA provides a unique opportunity to target the principal decision-makers on their own schedule and quantitatively track results over time. The preponderance of liquor and unhealthy snacks that are easily accessible beg a concerted effort to counter current purchasing habits at these food stamp vendors. These venues will serve as the target market for prospective HNSA membership.Based on the most recent Agricultural Census, small farms, 9 acres or less, are in rapid decline in California - decreasing 24% in 2002. Many of them are under threat of closure if urban-based programs are not poised to open untapped markets to them, or create markets and opportunity that support, instead of out-compete, the small farmers. MMPlace has a three-year history working with 16 producers who operate in Fresno, San Joaquin, Merced and Santa Cruz Counties.Mandela Foods Cooperative (MFC), with its integral nutrition education center, and fellow members of the Healthy Neighborhood Stores Alliance (HNSA), which extends the reach of educational efforts to area markets, were formed through direct community action to respond to documented health and food accessibility issues discovered in various food mapping projects. Through participation in volume buying of fresh produce and a concerted social marketing campaign, HNSA will address access to healthy foods and produce, increase self-determination for residents by increasing walkable healthy shopping options, link stores and farmers within 250 miles to increase economic viability, and work with partners to implement innovative marketing campaigns.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
100%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
70460991010100%
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
Goals:Improve capacity of markets and convenience stores to implement and increase sales of fresh produce from local farms to West Oakland residents of census tracts qualifying as less than 185% fed. poverty level;Provide entrepreneurial training and economic opportunity to West Oakland residents, apprentice employement and skills build to West Oakland youth, and shared resources and increased profitability to small farmers within 250 miles of West Oakland. Objective:increase access to quality, affordable food by 200,000 lbs. per year among low-income residents through HNSA distribution model. Milestones: 4 members HNSA enrolled, output: Signed MOUs. Milestones: complete social marketing plan, output: Writen plan. Objective: link unmet community demand for affordable fresh food with a minimum of 4 local markets, 12 underserved farmers and expand economic opportunities for 12 low income residents Milestones:Weekly pickup and delivery from local farms; output: lbs of produce. Milestones: Employment and training to residents; output: employment records, training surveys and records. Objective: Provide youth employment; support and develop leadership skills; establish transerable job skills for 5 West Oakland youth. Milestones: 5-10 youth receive employement and training; output: salary records, training surveys. Milesontes: 300-400 Households receive information about HNSA; ouput: number info packets distributed, video/photo documentation.
Project Methods
Through a network of producers, non-profit and agency support, neighborhood associations, community youth team, and community retailers, HNSA will increase access to fresh foods grown by underserved producers and support the development of entrepreneurial projects, as well as secondary goals of building healthier communities and fostering community leadership and self-reliance. MMPlace is well placed as a non-profit partner in this network due to its experience in food system work. The HNSA model is based on several years experience conducting a pilot project, data analysis and community input. MMPlace compiled information from over 900 surveys and conducted 18 focus groups reaching 145 residents. Our research informed the creation of HNSA's approach and methods to develop a strategy that best meets the retailers' needs, and also serves the community, particularly those who primarily rely on corner stores to meet their basic needs. HNSA will operate similarly to vendors who already service small retail venues so that the store owner does not have to change or add to his established practices - in other words, meeting the store owner where he/she is. Thus, we provide a service similar to the Frito Lay or Coca Cola model, but bring produce instead of chips or soda. HNSA staff operate as account representatives who provide and service the produce display, delivery, maintenance and promotional activities. Our approach is innovative because in addition to offering the store owners the produce delivery and maintenance services, we add the benefit of direct, community-based marketing and outreach, and a direct relationship with community residents who support the store and each other in building a healthier community.This program directly engages community residents and youth as the outreach ambassadors for corner stores in order that store owners begin to work directly with neighbors. Residents will be made aware of the community-owned and operated status of member stores. HNSA promotes neighbor-to-neighbor education and activities that allow them to work together toward building a healthier community. HNSA establishes a partnership between convenience store owners, and Mandela Foods, a community owned grocery retail venue as they work together to increase access to fresh foods while also educating residents who make up their primary consumer base. HNSA also facilitates partnership between residents and local agencies, including State of California Retail Marketing resources, County Public Health, and City staff, promoting civic engagement and increasing residents' access to their public resources. Finally, this program serves to assess the feasibility of potential enterprises in produce distribution and servicing convenience stores in the broader Oakland and Bay Area community. Activities: HNSA assess each store for readiness,HNSA works with Mandela Distribution; HNSA services stores; HNSA youth service stores;HNSA leverage Mandela Foods Cooperative as small retailer resource.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Milestone: 4 corner markets and 1 small grocery are enrolled as HNSA members. We continue to service 2 corner markets and 1 small grocery. We conducted store assessments to select 2 additional stores, identified store needs and resources, and conducted outreach activities for 1 additional store. A 3rd corner market will be added by December 31, 2011. Milestone: Purchase farm fresh produce form local farmers. The 2 corner stores sold 800 lbs of food per month to the community. The small grocery supplied 150,000 lbs of produce to the community - 45% came from limited resource, minority farmers; this translates to additional income for those farmers of about $70,000. Milestone: Create and expand fresh produce distribution system. Distributed over 170,000 pounds of fresh produce to low-income residents. Installed inventory control system, improved store displays, produced seasonal produce lists for clients. Secured additional funds from California Dept of Food & Ag to expand produce distribution for specialty crop farmers. Milestone: Develop youth and community leadership skills: We employ 5 youth ages 17-23. They have conducted 15 outreach activities, 4 taste testings, 3 direct outreach activities (door-to-door) reaching over 500 residents. Youth made presentations at the State of California Youth Convergence, local middle school, Ashoka Youth Ventures, co-founded the Ashoka Just Food Initiative, hosted tour for the Community Food Security Coalition conference, featured in a video about their work. Milestone: Develop HNSA as a small business model. Collecting sales data metrics, inventory and waste, and store owner and customer evaluations to analyze feasibility of HNSA as a small business. Milestone: demonstrate successful corner store food access model. Scheduled to present at the State of California - Nutrition Network conference in March 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Mandela MarketPlace employs 11 community residents, including 5 youth ages 17-23, and has provided business ownership opportunity to 7 community residents at Mandela Foods Cooperative. We not only provide opportunity for employment, but for leadership development and entrepreneurship. Two youth team members have been promoted into management positions at Mandela MarketPlace and business ownership at Mandela Foods Cooperative. We provide hands-on training to inner-city residents in food retail business, nutrition education, outreach and marketing, administration, and community development. We have increased the income of our farmer partners by $80,000 -- an average of $10,000 per farm family. We assisted with loan application and award for a start-up farm, owned and operated by a Liberian family, 26 of whom came to the farm from refugee camps in Seirra Leone and Ghana. 4 of our prior youth team members left Mandela to attend University in California and Washington, DC. Through our partnership with the Ashoka Foundation, one of our youth team is enrolled in the AmeriCorps Public Allies program, one went to Germany for 3 months to work with a German chef, one went to Serbia for 2 weeks to meet young entrepreneurs from around the world. Mandela MarketPlace is a member and serves on the steering committee of the Building Blocks Collaborative hosted by Alameda County Public Health Department. This collaborative brings together varied stakeholders to address public health from a life course perspective, and integrates economy, community development, education and health to remove the conditions into which 7,000 babies per year are born into poverty. Our food retail model fits well with the integration of economy and health. TARGET AUDIENCES: Our target audiences are primarily low-income, inner-city residents and limited-resource, minority farmers. We have provided over 150,000 lbs of fresh produce to residents of an inner-city community in Oakland, serve hundreds of residents per day in our markets. We opened the only grocery store in West Oakland, a community of 24,000 residents and the lowest income community in Oakland. The store offers healthy, affordable groceries, produce and prepared foods and is owned by residents of West Oakland. We conducted over 15 events and tours, hosting community residents, students, politicians, and community leaders. A retired farmer, who has a degree in nutrition, provides semi-weekly nutrition education classes for free at Mandela Foods, and is employed as Mandela MarketPlace's nutrition educator. Our mission is to partner with local residents, family farmers, and community-based businesses to improve health, create wealth, and build assets through cooperative food enterprises in low income communities. Through employment, job training, business ownership opportunities, and partnerships between residents, business and farms, we improve the health and wellbeing of our target audience; through increased access to healthy and affordable foods, along with nutrition education, we improve the diet and health of our customers and neighbors. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The results of the Convenience Store Customer Survey show that the healthy food environment and nutrition education at the Mandela Market helped respondents to increase their knowledge about healthy eating and changed their behavior by increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, respondents' scores clearly indicate an increase in self-efficacy regarding healthy food preparation and providing healthy food for their family. Although not the majority response, 43% of respondents indicated that they participated in at least one of the Mandela MarketPlace nutrition classes and events. Furthermore, 54.1% of those participants indicated that the education changed the way they ate or prepared food. This shows that the nutrition education/events are affecting those who attend the educational activities. Indeed, given that two-thirds (67%) of respondents had increased consumption of fruits and vegetables because of the availability of fresh produce at the two convenience stores, it is likely that the healthy food environment, plus the nutrition education, is forming a powerful synergy that promotes behavior change. It is recommended that the Mandela Market staff dedicate more time and energy into the nutrition education as it clearly reinforces the market's availability of fresh produce. Additional impacts include: Partnership with County Health Department and local health clinic to provide coupons redeemable at HNSA stores and nutrition education to pregnant families. Awarded 3-year grant from California Department of Food & Ag - Specialty Crop Block Grant to support produce distribution center, informing other communities about this work to model similar programs in other Oakland neighborhoods, and other communities across the US.

Publications

  • Monthly newsletters 2010


Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Completed Memorandum of Understanding agreements to guide services and relations to Health Neighborhood Store Alliance members. Designed and implemented outreach and assessment activities. Deliver fresh produce to 3 HNSA member stores. Completed 100 store surveys. Conducted 2 store clean ups with youth team and volunteers. Set up HNSA store displays, installed shelving. Completed preliminary retail/marketing plan. Conducted 12 outreach and education events at HNSA store sites. Distributed over 1,000 flyers and informational cards to the community about HNSA events and fresh fruits and vegetables available at HNSA store sites. Photo documented HNSA with photos and was selected by local film-maker who highlighted the HNSA project. Began work with MBA Consultant on business metrics to plan for HNSA as a small business opportunity. Youth Team participated in 8 nutrition education trainings. Developed evaluation tools for youth team members and community members who participate in nutrition education or other outreach events. PARTICIPANTS: HNSA assesses each store for produce readiness. HNSA works directly with Mandela Distribution to purchase farm fresh produce at wholesale prices, and the HNSA team assembles custom orders for each HNSA member. HNSA staff services the store owners similarly to their other vendors. HNSA further services the store as well as young leaders in the community through the West Oakland Youth Standing Empowered (WYSE) team. HNSA will also leverage Mandela Foods Cooperative as a small retailer resource for HNSA members. TARGET AUDIENCES: Low-income, inner city residents People of color who live in the inner city and have limited access to healthy fresh foods Families Youth Seniors Limited resource farmers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Customers at HNSA stores purchased over 100,000 lbs of fresh produce that otherwise was not available in the community. Youth team members received nutrition education training, and conducted nutrition education activities for residents and shoppers. Youth team tracked inventory, waste and sales at HNSA member stores. Youth team used data to inform development of business metrics. Youth team presented project to Ashoka investors, and received $1000 grant to purchase bike trailers to deliver produce. The project employs 5 youth and 7 community members.

Publications

  • Mandela MarketPlace Newsletter distributed semi-annually, 2010