Progress 09/01/09 to 06/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Per the original legislation, the target audiences for the Wallace HUFED center were two-fold and include both consumers (underserved communities), and producers (small and medium-sized farms and ranches). Grantees are nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, agricultural producers, academic institutions, and individuals. The HUFED Center supported 30 sub grants, which impacted more than 16 states across the US and the District of Columbia, serving a wide range of demographics and geographies and supporting a number of innovative food supply and marketing models in both urban and rural regions around the country, and are reaching some of the poorest-of-the-poor in the African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Appalachian communities, and many others considered “underserved.” Efforts were also made to continue to network and partner with national stakeholders working on food access, including USDA ERS, FMS, and OSEC, Feeding America, PolicyLink,Senator Gillibrand’s office, White House Rural Council, Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), The Food Trust, the National Museum of the American Indian, American Planning Association, Health and Human Services (HHS), and many others. The Center also researched larger audiences through its TA and outreach and educational efforts. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Throughout the lifespan of the project, the HUFED Centercontinued to evolve beyond grant making by enhancing and building the Center to provide more training and professional development Technical Assistance (TA), connect people and knowledge, and capture lessons learned and best practices. We grew our TA componentover theyearsas more knowledge and learning was generated through the evolution of the grant and the work of our subgrants; and aswebecame more knowledgeable as staff. Technical assistance is a key component of any enterprise investment, and even more so with organizations seeking to address issues of food access. The Center focused on identifying barriers grantees face and ways to help the grantees succeed beyond the grant, providing direct TA to build grantee capacity and long-term success. Grantee knowledge and capacity gapswere identified and monitored on an on-going basis, in areas such as business planning, financial reporting, marketing, and food safety. Direct TA was provided via conference calls, webinars, site visits, and if needed, through expert TA providers that Wallace identifies using its database of active technical and business consultants with food systems-related experience. The Center hosted five grantee-only webinars, ranging in topics from completing a feasibility study, HUFED reporting, and farm to school challenges and opportunities, went on granteesite visits..Site visits allowed staff to work directly with subgrantees to improve work plans, develop metrics, understand and articulate direct TA, and make linkages to other resources (consultants, organizations, funding). We optimized resource use by complementing these trips with learning tours, focus groups, and other methods to inform our strategies and knowledge, along with outreach workshops and presentations to provide capacity TA to those who might not otherwise know about available grants, including HUFED grants, and other ways USDA is supporting this kind of work in underserved communities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Communication of the HUFEDCenter’s activity is posted to the HUFED Center’s website, www.HUFED.org. This website includes profiles and background information on all 30HUFED grantee enterprises and an ‘A-Z’ Resource Library with toolkits, case studies, research, maps and organizational resource web pages on food access related issues that are updated every month. A monthly newsletter is sent out to the HUFED network of more than 6,000 subscribers and includes regional and national news, tools and new technologies, grant announcements and funding opportunities, events, and reports and studies from food access programs across the country. We have received much praise for the quality of our site, and it has been a source of information for a wide range of people, from researchers and academics to producers, processors, and food retailers, and in between. HUFEDworked with grantees to develop communication materials for the website by soliciting stories, pictures, and videos. These materials aid in communicating results, best practices, and lessons learned amongst grantees, as well as with other organizations in the country that are doing similar work. The HUFED Center alsodocumented lessons learned and best practices in a final report to be released in October 2013: Innovations in Local Food Enterprise: Fresh Ideas for a Just and Profitable Food System. In this report, Wallace focuses on market-based, consumer-driven solutions to overcoming difficult food access and food equity issues.The collection of innovative solutions presented in this report are rooted in hands-on practice and grounded in rigorous research (primary, secondary, and applied). 10 case studies of HUFED grantees are included throughout the report. The report will bewidely distributed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The HUFED Center program ended June 30, 2013
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Wallace Center at Winrock International, through the Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center, determined that in order to sustainably respond to problems in the food system, stakeholders needed to be innovative in their approaches, creating and implementing market-based and non-market-based food access solutions across the food enterprise spectrum. While the existence of good-quality retail food stores and food pantries in low-income communities is very important, it is not enough. The HUFED hypothesis, growing out of program activities, is that food access solutions need to reach beyond physical access to healthy food (e.g., distance to store or food pantry) to include social, environmental, cultural, and other factors. In addition, the role of business or market-based solutions needs to be maximized. These market-based solutions appear to be more sustainable and offer more opportunity to low-income populations by supporting them in both entrepreneurial thinking and healthy eating. The HUFED Center supported 30 grantees that created new practices, models, and systems that benefit the communities they serve. Being part of the HUFED approach to sustainable food security for underserved communities empowered grantees to learn from their collective knowledge, as benefit from professional technical assistance provided. The HUFED Center played host to grantees’ innovations and their inclination to share. By injecting financial, technical, and networking capacity into these community-based and community-driven initiatives, the Center gained a singular vantage point for understanding this complex and evolving field. The Center used communications technology to create new opportunities for HUFED grantees to cultivate a Community of Practice that has brought local conversations to the national level. The Center also developed a deep understanding of innovation in this field. Major outputs and features of our scope of work, which have been completedinclude: Convening a Council, composed of culturally-diverse, multi-sector partners with experience working in low income communities and communities of color, to serve as advisors, grant reviewers, and technical assistance providers; Disseminating case studies, best practices, and other resources through our new HUFED website www.hufed.org; Facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges through teleconferences, webinars, and technical assistance providers; Implementing an incubator-like re-granting strategy to promote innovative food distribution models; and Developing replicable strategies and best practices by documenting successes, failures, lessons learned, and best practices. Lessons learned include that market based approaches to food access and equity merges two powerful forces: first, the need and desire to make a financial return on our activities and second, the desire and value held by people in all sectors of our society that getting healthy food to all people is the right thing to do. Combining these two drivers of change can spur innovation and offer opportunity where other approaches do not. The Wallace Center is releasing a report that documents lessons learned and best practices in October 2013. The collection of innovative solutions presented in this report are rooted in hands-on practice and grounded in rigorous research (primary, secondary, and applied). They support systems change in underserved, high-poverty, and historically excluded communities where systems change is the only real solution. They arise from an understanding of the life cycle of community development and of the life cycle of business development. Much of the innovation we see comes from how these two can be successfully interwoven. Throughout the report HUFED grantee case studies underscore how all communities and consumers are unique and have a unique set of assets and needs. The case studies also illustrate the importance of committed leadership and community engagement.Findings from the HUFED program and the 30 grantees have been categorized into four areas of innovation: (1) Innovations in Affordability and Profitability, (2) Innovations in Infrastructure and Logistics, (3) Innovations in Community Engagement, and (4) Innovations in Marketing. The innovations described in these four areas often exist within a single grantee and a single project. In fact, many of the enterprises that received funding and technical assistance from the HUFED project integrate innovations from two, three, or all four areas concurrently.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Muldoon, M.F., Taylor, A.K., Richman, N. Fisk, J., (2013), Innovations in Local Food Enterprise: Fresh Ideas for Practitioners, Investors, and Policymakers for a Just and Profitable Food System. Arlington, VA: Wallace Center at Winrock International.
|
Progress 09/01/12 to 06/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Per the original legislation, the target audiences for the Wallace HUFED center are two-fold and include both consumers (underserved communities), and producers (small and medium-sized farms and ranches). Grantees are nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, agricultural producers, academic institutions, and individuals. The HUFED Center supported 30 sub grants, whichimpacted more than 16 states across the US and the District of Columbia, serving a wide range of demographics and geographies and supporting a number of innovative food supply and marketing models in both urban and rural regions around the country, and are reaching some of the poorest-of-the-poor in the African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Appalachian communities, and many others considered “underserved.” Efforts were also made to continue to network and partner with national stakeholders working on food access, including Policy LInk, Feeding America, Senator Gillibrand’s office, Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), The Food Trust, and many others. The Center also researched larger audiences through its TA and outreach and educational efforts. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The HUFED Center, as a core function,offers direct and more general Technical Assistance (TA)to build grantee capacity and long-term success. Grantee knowledge and capacity gaps were identified and monitored on an on-going basis by the HUFED manager and HUFED Coordinator. Direct TA was provided via conference calls, webinars, site visits, and if needed, through expert TA providers that Wallace identifies using its database of active technical and business consultants with food systems-related experience. The Center also provided TA to outside organizations for food access support. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The HUFED Center documented lessons learned and best practices in a final report to be released in October 2013: Innovations in Local Food Enterprise: Fresh Ideas for a Just and Profitable Food System. In this report, Wallace focuses on market-based, consumer-driven solutions to overcoming difficult food access and food equity issues. The collection of innovative solutions presented in this report are rooted in hands-on practice and grounded in rigorous research (primary, secondary, and applied). 10 case studies of HUFED grantees are included throughout the report and the report will be widly disseminated to communities of interest. The market based approach to food access and equity merges two powerful forces: first, the need and desire to make a financial return on our activities and second, the desire and value held by people in all sectors of our society that getting healthy food to all people is the right thing to do. Combining these two drivers of change can spur innovation and offer opportunity where other approaches do not. The Wallace Center is releasing a report that documents lessons learned and best practices in October 2013. The collection of innovative solutions presented in this report are rooted in hands-on practice and grounded in rigorous research (primary, secondary, and applied). They support systems change in underserved, high-poverty, and historically excluded communities where systems change is the only real solution. They arise from an understanding of the life cycle of community development and of the life cycle of business development. Much of the innovation we see comes from how these two can be successfully interwoven. Throughout the report HUFED grantee case studies underscore how all communities and consumers are unique and have a unique set of assets and needs. The case studies also illustrate the importance of committed leadership and community engagement. Findings from the HUFED program and the 30 grantees have been categorized into four areas of innovation: (1) Innovations in Affordability and Profitability, (2) Innovations in Infrastructure and Logistics, (3) Innovations in Community Engagement, and (4) Innovations in Marketing. The innovations described in these four areas often exist within a single grantee and a single project. In fact, many of the enterprises that received funding and technical assistance from the HUFED project integrate innovations from two, three, or all four areas concurrently. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The Wallace HUFED Center program ended June 30, 2013.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In total, the HUFED Center released two competitive requests for applications (RFA) in 2010 and 2011 and awarded 30 sub grants. The grantees reflect a diversity of enterprises and a range of strategies including, but not limited to: market and corner store makeovers; local supply chain for farm-to-school and to other nonprofit institutions; mobile farmers markets; aggregation and distribution food hubs; local meat processing and distribution; increased food processing for direct-to-retail sales; cooperative and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) models, and stronger rural-urban linkages. They span the US, come from 16 states and the District of Columbia, and are 1/3 urban, 1/3 rural, and 1/3 mix. To date, all 30 sub grants have completed their grants. In the past year, the HUFED Center has continued to evolve beyond grant making by enhancing and building the Center to provide more technical assistance (TA), connect people and knowledge, and capture lessons learned and best practices. In June, 2013 Wallace hosted a Food Access Innovations Gatheringat Winrock International’s offices. The purpose of the meeting was to provide participants an opportunity to consider and discuss what is being learned about market based approaches to food access and its application to their work. In addition, the meeting was designed to inform the final report that Wallace will be publishing in October 2013:Innovations in Local Food Enterprise: Fresh Ideas for a Just and Profitable Food System. A select group of 30 people were invited to the meeting - a diverse set of food access stakeholders including: HUFED grantees, national organization representatives, national advisors, and selected congressional staffers and federal agency staff. Each attendee had the opportunity to share their stories of community resilience and determination, as well as build and network with some of the nation’s top leaders and advocates in the area of food access. After the meeting, Wallace incorporated the valuable feedback and thoughtful conversation from the meeting into our report. Monthly HUFED Newsletters are mailed to a list that, to date has 6,000+ subscribers. HUFED Newsletters include national food access news, reports and studies, events, funding opportunities, and HUFED grantee updates. The HUFED website (www.hufed.org) serves as a resource center, which includes research, toolkits, case studies, and provides profiles and background information on all 30 HUFED sub grant enterprises.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Muldoon, M.F., Taylor, A.K., Richman, N. Fisk, J.,
(2013), Innovations in Local Food Enterprise: Fresh
Ideas for a Just and Profitable Food System. Arlington, VA:
Wallace Center at Winrock International.
|
Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In total, the HUFED Center has released two competitive requests for applications (RFA) in 2010 and 2011 and awarded 30 sub grants. To date, 14 sub grants have completed their grants and 16 grants are currently active. In the past year, the HUFED Center has continued to evolve beyond grant making by enhancing and building the Center to provide more technical assistance (TA), connect people and knowledge, and capture lessons learned and best practices. The HUFED Center offers direct and more general TA to build grantee capacity and long-term success. Grantee knowledge and capacity gaps are identified and monitored on an on-going basis. Direct TA is provided via conference calls, webinars, site visits, and if needed, through expert TA providers that Wallace identifies using its database of active technical and business consultants with food systems-related experience. In the past year, the Center hosted five grantee-only webinars, ranging in topics from completing a feasibility study to HUFED reporting. HUFED Program Manager and Program Associate completed five site visits. General TA is also being provided to grantees as well as a broader audience via webinars, conference calls, newsletters, conferences, and various websites operated by the Wallace Center. For example, Wallace hosted a National Food Hub Convening in April, 2012 and the HUFED Center sent 15 grantees to attend this event and one grantee hosted a tour of their food hub as part of the Convening's agenda. The Center also coordinates with the National Good Food Network, which hosts monthly webinars. HUFED grantees participated in two webinars this year, sharing their expertise with an audience of 379 people across the county on Oct. 20, 2011 and 221 people on January 26, 2012. These webinars were recorded and can be found here: http://www.ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-cluster-calls Monthly HUFED Newsletters are mailed to a list that, to date has 3,977 subscribers. HUFED Newsletters include national food access news, reports and studies, events, funding opportunities, and HUFED grantee updates. The HUFED website (www.hufed.org) serves as a resource center, which includes research, toolkits, case studies, and provides profiles and background information on all 30 HUFED sub grant enterprises. The Center also hosts a Twitter account that can be found here: http://twitter.com/#!/HUFEDCenter. Products developed to better capture lessons learned and best practices include, grant management streamlining templates for strategic work plans, quarterly reports, and financial reports. In addition to writing a Report to the Secretary in 2012, the Center is also completing an internal report to identify innovative food business models for food access that can successfully meet both business and social objectives, generate revenues and jobs, enhance regional economies, and provide opportunities for small and mid-size and beginning farmers. Identifying these models will yield a collection of innovative approaches that support system change. PARTICIPANTS: HUFED STAFF: Program Director, John Fisk, provides oversight to the HUFED Center ensuring a focus on the goals articulated by NIFA, timely implementation of grant making and TA, outreach, communications, robust and accurate reporting and financial accountability. Program Manager, Michelle Frain Muldoon, provides day to day management of TA, evaluation, and reporting for the Center. Program Coordinator, Ashley Taylor, provides support to the Program Manager, tracks grantee payment and reporting, maintains social media platforms, and supports others associated with the Center. Jeff Farbman, Wallace Program Associate, provides communications support. HUFED COUNCIL: A council of food security experts from around the country that advise HUFED staff on strategic planning and approach of the Center. GRANTEES: 30 grantees reflect a diversity of enterprises and a range of strategies including, but not limited to: market and corner store makeovers; local supply chain for farm-to-school and to other nonprofit institutions; mobile farmers markets; aggregation and distribution food hubs; local meat processing and distribution; increased food processing for direct-to-retail sales; cooperative and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) models, and stronger rural-urban linkages. They span the US, come from 16 states and the District of Columbia, and are 1/3 urban, 1/3 rural, and 1/3 mix. TRAINING: The HUFED Center, as a core function, provides TA to sub grants, either directly or through consultants identified by the Center. HUFED manager and coordinator conduct on-going needs assessments during check in calls, conference calls, reading reports, and during site visits. The Center also provide TA to outside organizations for food access support. USDA Deputy Under Secretary Ann Wright and several others requested feedback and ideas stemming from our work that may inform her work around USDA High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) centered in obesity and food access. TARGET AUDIENCES: Per the original legislation, the target audiences for the Wallace HUFED center are two-fold and include both consumers (underserved communities), and producers (small and medium-sized farms and ranches). Grantees are nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, agricultural producers, academic institutions, and individuals. The HUFED Center supports 30 sub grants, which are impacting more than 16 states across the US and the District of Columbia, serving a wide range of demographics and geographies and supporting a number of innovative food supply and marketing models in both urban and rural regions around the country, and are reaching some of the poorest-of-the-poor in the African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Appalachian communities, and many others considered "underserved." Efforts are also made to continue to network and partner with national stakeholders working on food access, including USDA ERS, FMS, and OSEC, Senator Gillibrand's office, White House Rural Council, Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), The Food Trust, the National Museum of the American Indian, American Planning Association, Health and Human Services (HHS), and many others. The Center also researches larger audiences through its TA and outreach and educational efforts. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Wallace HUFED Center requested and was approved for a Streamlinging Agreement on January 26, 2011. The Wallace HUFED Center received an approved request for no cost extension extending Year 2 from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 to ensure that our grantees have a full year to work, as promised in our scope of work.
Impacts
Lessons Learned: Across projects and through our own findings, we are learning that: Need a Community Leader, Champion, Matchmaker: It takes a long time to develop a trusted relationship with a community. One must find a bridge builder if an outside group is to provide services. Know Your Market: Understanding consumer behavior is the foundation on which a marketing plan is tailored. Find out what people eat, in what form, who buys it, what they are willing to pay, who cooks, etc. and tailor marketing around this. There are no one size fits all models: What works in rural Nebraska, for example, may not work in urban East LA. Food marketing and distribution must be customized to the audience. Prioritizing Change: There are examples of immediate, mid, and long term actions for addressing problems. For ex. Installing EBT and designing a hybrid pricing model that enables underserved consumers to afford healthy food is an immediate way we can address the problem. Changing buying behaviors and the way people eat is a long term issue. Systems Approach: In underserved communities the most successful social change projects use a multi-sectorial approach by collaborating and networking within their community and with other communities that already have similar projects. If You Build It They May Not Come: Access to healthy food does not necessarily encourage consumption of healthy food. Important factors include price and convenience, especially with low income consumers. Also important is quality, selection, and values. Challenges and Innovative Strategies to Overcome the Challenges: The greatest challenges HUFED grantees are dealing with is around pricing, needed infrastructure, and a lack of skills or access to TA. To address these challenges, grantees are adopting innovative strategies like hybrid pricing, collective purchasing, back hauling, aggregation, engaging non-traditional agricultural people/organizations in their communities, and working to view competition as a positive and leveraging others resources. Subgrants are Learning: Support is provided to all sub grants to improve their narrative and financial reporting, business acumen, and operations and to identify benchmarks and develop indicators. This knowledge has enabled sub grants to improve their performance and enabled WHC to report on its work nationally.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the Fall of 2010 and Winter 2011, Wallace HUFED Center(WHC)hosted strategic planning meetings with HUFED Council, to clarify priorities and approach for Year 2. WHC management then conducted targeted outreach, including workshops, webinars, and site visits,to priority areas that were under-represented in Year 1. January to June 2011, the WHC designed, launched and managed a competitive request for application (RFA) process. In the Year 2 RFA process, based on learning from Year 1, we were explicit about the program's goals and objectives. First, we had an open call for LOIs to demonstrate an applicant's interest and enterprise concept. We received 446 LOIs, which were reviewed for quality and completion and then vetted through a standardized and detailed process to ensure alignment of proposed enterprises with the Center's fundamental objective to increase food access through market-based solutions. LOIs were moved forward to the HUFED Review Panel, made up of The HUFED Council and 2 consultants. 74 LOIs were selected to prepare and submit a detailed full application. We conducted 2 face-to-face day-long meeting with reviewers to discuss their selections and gain input for the WHC Management's final selection. In 5 months' time, the WHC was effective in implementing our year 2 call for applications, which resulted in WHC final selection of 17 enterprise awards that includes: 6 feasibility studies; 4 small enterprises; and 7 large enterprises. To date, all 17 enterprises have been fully approved by USDA. PRODUCTS: The vision in Year 2 is to evolve beyond grantmaking and enhance and build the Center to connect people and knowledge: From the RFA process, we developed a database/directory of individuals and organizations who applied for funding and are working with underserved communities and food access. We also have a database of TA providers and a HUFED mailing list that, to date, has 2,624 subscribers, enabling us to send updates about RFA deadlines, instructions and a monthly newletter. We also completed an annual congressional report addressed to the Secretary of Agriculture. In summer 2011 we launched a HUFED website (www.hufed.org) (previously HUFED was a page within the Wallace site) that serves as a resource center, which includes research, toolkits, case studies, and provides profiles and background information on all 30 current HUFED subgrant enterprises. We also launched a Twitter account that can be found here: http://twitter.com/#!/HUFEDCenter The Wallace HUFED Center hosted a private webinar for Year 2 subgrants on July 13, 2011 to provide guidance. The Center plans to continue hosting these subgrant-only webinars for all 30 subgrants to share their experiences and learning as well as encourage networking opportunities. The Center also coordinates with the National Good Food Network, which hosts monthly webinars, and on the July 21, 2011 webinar three HUFED subgrants were panelists. 278 people from across the country attended this webinar. Public webinars are recorded and can be found here: http://www.ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-cluster-calls PARTICIPANTS: HUFED STAFF: Program Director, John Fisk, provides oversight to WHC ensuring a focus on the goals NIFA has articulated, timely implementation of grant making and TA, outreach, communications, robust and accurate reporting and financial accountability. Program Manager, Michelle Frain Muldoon, provides day to day management of grant making, the HUFED Council, TA, evaluation and reporting for the Center. The HUFED Program Coordinator departed for another position and her role was filled by Winrock Program Associate Katie Enterline and Food Access Intern Jamie Nash. Katie supported the grant making process, management and provision of TA, outreach and communications, evaluation, and reporting. Jamie Nash provided support to the Program Manager, coordinated communications for the WHC, and assisted in designing the HUFED website. Communications Manager, Jeff Farbman, assisted in designing the HUFED website and provided support to the Program Manager. Operations Assistant, Elsy Zaldivar, assists with contracts and invoicing and reporting to USDA. The Program Coordinator position was filled in July, 2011; Ashley Taylor will work across the Center to support the Program Manager, grantees, and others associated with the Center. HUFED COUNCIL: We have convened a council of food security experts from around the country to perform 2 main roles: 1) advise strategic planning and approach of the Center; and 2) serve as members on the HUFED Review Panel (with the exception of Ms. Kingslow who is the internal evaluator). GRANTEES: 17 grantees were selected and reflect a diversity of enterprises and a range of strategies including, but not limited to: market and corner store makeovers; local supply chain for farm-to-school and to other nonprofit institutions; mobile farmers markets; aggregation and distribution food hubs; local meat processing and distribution; increased food processing for direct-to-retail sales; cooperative and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) models, and stronger rural-urban linkages. They span the US, come from 13 states, and are 1/3 urban, 1/3 rural, and 1/3 mix. TA: WHC, as a core function, provides TA to subgrants, either directly or through consultants identified by WHC. During site visits, WHC management conducted needs assessments and uncovered a far greater need for TA than the subgrantees reported so we omitted TA from the RFA process and will instead continue to do a post-subgrant "needs assessment approach." 10 subgrants were identified as needing strategic, tactical, or capacity building TA. We also provide TA to outside organizations for food access support. USDA Deputy Under Secretary Ann Wright and several others requested feedback and ideas stemming from our work that may inform her work around USDA High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) centered in obesity and food access. TARGET AUDIENCES: Per the original legislation, the target audiences for the Wallace HUFED center include both consumers (underserved communities), and producers (small and medium-sized farms and ranches). Entities that are eligible to apply are nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, agricultural producers, academic institutions, and individuals. Our outreach approach during the grantmaking cycle was targeted to those most relevant to the Center and its target audiences. In addition to utilizing our existing announcement lists, we conducted targeted outreach and connected with the American Planning Association, the Small Business Administration, partners with the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the Senate Agriculture Committee, Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, the Let's Move initiatives, and the Partnership for a Healthier America. We also contacted various listserves, including COMFOOD, SANET, Grocery Manufacturers Association, and Sustainable Food News through in person visits, phone calls, and emails. MSIs include Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Indian Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. Recipients of our communications included Wallace Center's own networks comprising subscribers interested in our work in the National Good Food Network, community food enterprises, farmers markets, and food safety. We utilized our social media connections in Facebook and Twitter as a part of our outreach, to connect to our partners and organizations working directly with potential applicants. HUFED Council members also conducted their own outreach with their networks across the country. Within one and a half weeks of our RFA announcement, tracking of our email announcement revealed that the HUFED opportunity had over 8,000 total views in all 50 states. Our announcement reached a Twitter audience of over 150,000 people. To better assist potential applicants and keep things running efficiently, WHC continued to rely on its hotline (703-531-8810) and email account (HUFED@winrock.org) shared by WHC staff, to further address questions or needs for clarification. The hotline and email account were widely advertised on the grant guidelines and on the HUFED section of the Wallace Center website (www.wallacecenter.org/hufed). Questions from potential applicants fell into two main categories: (1) technical questions on how to fill out the online application form; and (2) concept questions regarding their enterprise idea. Wallace HUFED Center staff provided general technical support on completing and submitting the LOI, and clarifying Center objectives. The email account received questions during the LOI preparation phase from 61 unique email addresses. Applicants were encouraged to submit LOIs through an online form; however, paper applications were available for those applicants without internet access. The creation of the online form took into consideration the potential levels of technical capacity of our applicants and was streamlined to only request pertinent information for the LOI stage. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Wallace HUFED Center requested and was approved for a Streamlinging Agreement on January 26, 2011. The Wallace HUFED Center received an approved request for no cost extension extending Year 2 from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 to ensure that our grantees have a full year to work, as promised in our scope of work.
Impacts
CHANGE IN KNOWLEDGE: Lessons Learned - Across projects and through our own findings, we are learning that: Need a Community Leader, Champion, Matchmaker: It takes a long time to develop a trusted relationship with a community. One must find a bridge builder if an outside group is to provide services. Know Your Market: Understanding consumer behavior is the foundation on which a marketing plan is tailored. Find out what people eat, in what form, who buys it, what they are willing to pay, who cooks, etc. and tailor marketing around this. There are no one size fits all models: What works in rural Nebraska, for example, may not work in urban East LA. Food marketing and distribution must be customized to the audience. Prioritizing Change: There are examples of immediate, mid, and long term actions for addressing problems. Installing EBT and designing a hybrid pricing model is a short term change versus changing buying behaviors and the way people eat. Systems Approach: In underserved communities the most successful social change projects use a multi-sectorial approach by collaborating and networking within their community and with other communities that already have similar projects. Further, WHC continues to learn about the tremendous work being done nationally around food access to combat diet related disease and the serious lack of resources to fund this work. We declined fund-able applications due to our own lack of resources, however, we have become a resource for TA, networking and identifying good projects. We are shareing knowledge gained through research, networking, site visits and outreach to some of the most remote or underserved regions of the country, both rural and urban; through our website, webinars, speaking engagements and direct TA. Learning was acquired through subgrant quarterly reports from our 13 Year 1 subgrants, including learning about consumer behavior in our target audience, supply chain realities, what is working and what is not, etc. We also provided TA in the form of feedback on applications that were not funded, to assist applicants for future proposals. Through the learning in Y1 and the support of an expert Council, we were able to further refine our grantmaking process to identify the best practices and those who truly work in underserved communities. We customized our outreach to the target audience by providing simple and straightforward guidance on how to apply for a grant and learned how useful in-person workshops are in the communities served. Support is provided to all subgrants to improve their narrative and financial reporting, business acumen, operations and to identify benchmarks and develop indicators. This knowledge has enabled subgrants to improve their performance and enabled WHC to report on its work nationally. Feasibility studies from Year 1 are closing out and subgrants are learning and adjusting their business plans to improve success rates of the enterprise proposed. Other impacts,i.e. more healthy food in schools,jobs created, etc. will be reported in the Report to the Secretary, once the Year 1 evaluation Report is complete.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES: Between February and May 2010, the Wallace HUFED Center designed and managed a competitive request for application (RFA) process. The RFA process was a two-stage process that was designed to implement a quick start up of the Center's sub-granting of funds. The first stage was an open call for letters of interest (LOI) to demonstrate an applicant's interest and enterprise concept. For more information on dissemination, please see "Target Audiences" for detailed outreach activities. We received 538 LOIs from this open call. The LOIs were reviewed for general quality and completion and then vetted through a standardized and detailed process to ensure alignment of proposed enterprises with the Center's goals and objectives. A majority of LOIs met the Center's fundamental objective to increase food access through market-based solutions, and were moved forward to the HUFED Review Panel. From there, 47 LOIs were selected to prepare and submit a detailed full application, including a project narrative, work plan, and budget. In 4 months, the Wallace HUFED Center was effective in implementing our first year call for applications, which resulted in 13 recommended enterprises: 4 feasibility studies; 3 small enterprises; and 6 large enterprises. To date, 8 of the 13 enterprises have been fully approved by USDA; the other 5 enterprises are pending approval for budget clarifications. The Wallace HUFED Center will also offer one-to-one technical assistance (TA) to our grantees. Applicants in both the LOI and full application stage were asked to estimate their need for TA. TA is broken down into 3 types: 1) tactical; 2) strategic; and 3) capacity building. Applicants who have requested TA will be matched with a TA provider drawn from a pool managed by the Center. TA providers are recruited through an application process, matched with our grantees, and subcontracted directly through the Center. The recruitment of TA providers is an ongoing process, but is currently invitation-only. Invited applicants included members of the Wallace HUFED Center Council, members of the National Good Food Network, as well as other partners with an excellent TA history with the Wallace Center. A total of 21 TA providers across 12 states have been recruited to date. Grantees who have not requested TA will also have a chance to be matched with a TA provider should a challenge arise during the course of their enterprise development. As a part of TA, the Wallace Center and Fair Food Network are in the planning stages of the Good Food Social Enterprise Lab, a hands-on workshop for our grantees, in early Oct. PRODUCTS: From the RFA process, we have developed a database of individuals and organizations who applied for funding. This database provides information on the types of organizations who are either working in, or interested in, food access funding. We have also initiated a database of TA providers. Information regarding the Center is publicly available at www.wallacecenter.org/hufed. A one-pager was created for in-person outreach. A webinar was held on Aug 19, 2010 to highlight the overall HUFED Center and the upcoming work of 2 of the officially approved grantees. PARTICIPANTS: HUFED STAFF: Program Director, John Fisk, provided oversight to Wallace HUFED Center ensuring a focus on the goals NIFA has articulated, timely implementation of grant making and technical assistance, outreach and communications, robust and accurate reporting and financial accountability. Program Manager, Michelle Frain Muldoon, provided day to day management of grant making, the HUFED Council, TA, and evaluation and reporting for the Center. Program Coordinator, Christy Kwan, works across the Center to support the Program Manager, grantees, and others associated with the Center. She supported the grant making process, management and provision of TA, outreach and communications, evaluation, and reporting. Communications Manager, Cari Beth Head, coordinated outreach and communications for the Wallace HUFED Center, playing a critical role in outreach and marketing of the Center to our target audiences. Operations Assistant, Elsy Zaldivar, assists with contracts and invoicing and reporting and reporting to USDA. HUFED COUNCIL: We have convened a council of food security experts from around the country to perform 2 main roles: 1) advise strategic planning and approach of the Center; and 2) serve as members on the HUFED Review Panel (with the exception of Ms. Kingslow who is the internal evaluator). The HUFED Council members are: Oran Hesterman and Meredith Freeman (Fair Food Network); James Johnson-Piett (Urbane Development); Marcia Kingslow (Kingslow Associates); Betty MacKenzie (Red Tomato); Linda Yardley (American Indian Credit Outreach Initiative); and Kolu Zigbi (Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation). To date, members of the Council have logged 272 hours in guiding the overall strategic direction of the Center, as well as informing the RFA process, and assisting with reviewing and providing valuable input on individual applications. The majority of the Council's time was spent on reviewing and scoring applications, and ultimately providing the Center's Director with recommendations on the most appropriate enterprises that aligned with the goals and objectives of the Wallace HUFED Center. GRANTEES: 13 grantees were selected and reflect a diversity of enterprises and a range of strategies including, but not limited to: market and corner store makeovers; farm-to-school sales and to other nonprofit institutions; women- and immigrant-owned microenterprises; aggregation and distribution hubs; wholesale market opportunities for small and medium-sized producers; increased food processing for direct-to-retail sales; food safety certification; and stronger rural-urban linkages. The grantees are: Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (CA); DC Central Kitchen (DC); Dixon Cooperative Market (NM); Eastern Market Corporation (MI); Fair Food (PA); Grass Lake Sanctuary (MI); GrowNYC (NY); Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (MN); La Cocina (CA); Los Angeles Communities Advocating for Unity Social Justice, and Action Inc (CA); Peta Wakan Tipi (MN); Shagbark Seed and Mill Company (OH); and Wayward Seed Farm (OH). To date, 8 of the 13 grantees have been officially approved by USDA. The remaining 5 are pending USDA approval for their budgetary details. TARGET AUDIENCES: Per the original legislation, the target audiences for the Wallace HUFED center are two-fold and include both consumers (underserved communities), and producers (small and medium-sized farms and ranches). Entities that are eligible to apply are: nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, agricultural producers, academic institutions, and individuals. Our outreach approach during the grantmaking cycle was targeted to those most relevant to the Center and its target audiences through new and existing connections. We connected with Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), the Small Business Administration, the Healthy Corner Store Network, PolicyLink, the Community Food Security Coalition, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Indian Affairs, and NIFA through in person visits, phone calls, and emails. MSIs include Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Indian Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. We also contacted various listservs, including Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, COMFOOD, SANET, Grocery Manufacturers Association, and Sustainable Food News. Recipients of our communications included Wallace Center's own networks interested in our work in the National Good Food Network, community food enterprises, farmers markets, and food safety. We also utilized our social media connections in Facebook and Twitter as a part of our outreach, to connect to our partners and organizations working directly with potential applicants. HUFED Council members also conducted their own outreach with their own networks across the country. Within one and half weeks of our RFA announcement, tracking of our email announcement revealed that the HUFED opportunity had 4,200 unique views, and 5,300 total views in 49 states. To better assist potential applicants, a Wallace HUFED Center hotline (703-531-8810) and email account (HUFED@winrock.org) was set up to further address questions or needs for clarification. The hotline and email account were widely advertised on the grant guidelines and on the HUFED section of the Wallace Center website (www.wallacecenter.org/hufed). Questions from potential applicants fell into two main categories: (1) technical questions on how to fill out the online application form; and (2) concept questions regarding their enterprise idea. Wallace HUFED Center staff provided general technical support on completing and submitting the LOI, and clarifying Center objectives. The email account received questions during the LOI preparation phase from 61 unique email addresses. Applicants were encouraged to submit LOIs through an online form; however, paper applications were available for those applicants who may not have had internet access. The creation of the online form took into consideration the potential levels of technical capacity of our applicants, and was streamlined to only request pertinent information for the LOI stage. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: There are no major changes in the scope of work of the Wallace HUFED Center. Year 1 of the Wallace HUFED Center began on September 1, 2009, and was officially announced to the public by Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan on January 28, 2010. Due to the change in timelines, the Center quickly adapted its processes and designed a streamlined RFP process to efficiently begin the grantmaking process. The Center issued its competitive RFP process on February 5, 2010, 1 week after the public announcement. The Wallace HUFED Center received an approved request for no cost extension extending Year 1 from August 31, 2010 to May 31, 2011 to ensure that our grantees have a full year to work, as promised in our scope of work.
Impacts
CHANGE IN KNOWLEDGE: Since the Center started, several high profile federal initiatives interested in food access have emerged: Let's Move; Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food; and Healthy Food Financing Initiative. We have been actively pursuing news, information, and research to better position the Center to take advantage of the direction and interest in food access and regional food systems. Through the RFA process for Year 1, the Center's understanding of the need for funding for healthy food enterprises was significantly deepened. We received 538 LOIs within a 4-week outreach period. The LOIs spanned across the country, and included 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. A preliminary analysis of our applicant database has provided further insight on the landscape of food access work, which will inform future strategies not only for HUFED, but also for USDA. The enterprises for Year 1 grantees are underway and outcomes and impacts from their enterprises will be reported in Year 2's Accomplishments Report. CHANGE IN ACTIONS: Due to the new high profiled initiatives, the Center has taken a stronger effort in meeting and sharing information with USDA Deputy Undersecretaries and Senior Advisors to further link the Center's resources and knowledge. After designing and managing the RFP process for Year 1, an evaluation was conducted to identify efficiencies and areas of improvement for future RFAs. The grant making process will be streamlined towards the needs of the applicants, as well as the review panel. CHANGE IN CONDITIONS: As the grantees begin the enterprises, we are working with our internal evaluator, Kingslow Associates LLC, to ensure that metrics and indicators are in place so that the Center as well as the individual enterprises, can effectively measure their successes and challenges, with the long term goal of documenting best practices and lessons learned. The Center is also providing grantees guidance, TA and coaching around evaluation, and assisting with reporting and working with government grants, as needed. Future changes in conditions will be reported to the USDA as grantees are further along their grant cycles.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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