Progress 06/01/16 to 05/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is a vulnerable senior population (age 60+) that is underserved by incentives, who live in five high-need NYC neighborhoods, and whose limited SNAP benefits prevent their taking advantage of NYC's HealthBucks incentives to shop at Harvest Home farmer's markets. Seniors receiving less than $200/month in SNAP benefits received H2S2 incentives specially created by this project to purchase fresh produce (doubling the $2 standard incentive to $4). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two interns interested in community health and nutrtion were trained to collect and anlyse survey data using our Salesforce database. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were shared with elected officials, on our annual report posted on our website and atpresetations withother farmers markets operators. For example,results of the program were shared at the fall meeting ofthe NYC Farmers" Market Alliance December 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period the Healthy Seniors Healthy Shoppers Program (H2S2)paid for the printing and redemption of 24,421 incentive coupons thatprovided $48,842to seniors in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan in NYC to purchase farm fresh fruits and vegetables. A99% redemption rate. Results of our program evaluationsurvey of 140 participants reported that: ninety-four percent of respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough servings of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. Approximately half (51%) were "always" or "sometimes" worried about paying for food in the past year, a decrease from 73% in Y2 of the program. Approximately one-quarter (24%) of respondents would have bought the same products but in lesser quantities without H2S2; another quarter (24%) would not have bought the same products. Ninety-four percent of market survey respondents and 93% of follow-up respondents reported that H2S2 couponswere "important" or "very important" (would not have come without it) to their decision to visit the farmer's market. Almost all (98%) of market survey participants reported the incentiveswere "easy" or "very easy" to use. 73 % reported that theH2S2 couponsincreased the amount of produce purchased; 59% reported that it increased the variety of produce they purchased, and 44% reported that the vouchers increased both the variety and amount of produce they purchased. The majority of respondents "agree" or "strongly agree" that the H2S2 couponsfacilitated positive changes in produce consumption (e.g., eating more fruits and vegetables). Findings from the evaluation surveys suggest that the H2S2 program can help lower-income older adults to access fresh produce on a more regular basis. Furthermore, the data demonstrate a need for programs such as this to continue: in Y2 74% of respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough fruits and vegetables for good health, while 53% reported consuming two or fewer servings of produce per day. By Y3, the percentage ofrespondents surveyed who "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough fruits and vegetables for good health increased to 94% and the percentage of those who reported consuming two or fewer servings of produce per day decreased to 27%. Overall, the findings of theevaluation reports suggest that when H2S2 incentivesare distributed consistently at the markets, the program meets its goal of increasing the purchasing and consumption of fruits and vegetables by low-income older adults in New York City.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/16 to 05/28/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is a vulnerable senior population (age 60+) that is underserved by incentives, who live in five high-need NYC neighborhoods, and whose limited SNAP benefits prevent their taking advantage of NYC's HealthBucks incentives to shop at Harvest Home farmer's markets. Seniors receiving less than $200/month in SNAP benefits received H2S2 incentives specially created by this project to purchase fresh produce (doubling the $2 standard incentive to $4). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two interns interested in community health and nutrtion were trained to collect and anlyse survey data using our Salesforce database. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were shared with elected officials, on our annual report posted on our website and atpresetations withother farmers markets operators. For example,results of the program were shared at the fall meeting ofthe NYC Farmers" Market Alliance December 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period the Healthy Seniors Healthy Shoppers Program (H2S2)paid for the printing and redemption of 24,421 incentive coupons thatprovided $48,842to seniors in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan in NYC to purchase farm fresh fruits and vegetables. A99% redemption rate. Results of our program evaluationsurvey of 140 participants reported that: ninety-four percent of respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough servings of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. Approximately half (51%) were "always" or "sometimes" worried about paying for food in the past year, a decrease from 73% in Y2 of the program. Approximately one-quarter (24%) of respondents would have bought the same products but in lesser quantities without H2S2; another quarter (24%) would not have bought the same products. Ninety-four percent of market survey respondents and 93% of follow-up respondents reported that H2S2 couponswere "important" or "very important" (would not have come without it) to their decision to visit the farmer's market. Almost all (98%) of market survey participants reported the incentiveswere "easy" or "very easy" to use. 73 % reported that theH2S2 couponsincreased the amount of produce purchased; 59% reported that it increased the variety of produce they purchased, and 44% reported that the vouchers increased both the variety and amount of produce they purchased. The majority of respondents "agree" or "strongly agree" that the H2S2 couponsfacilitated positive changes in produce consumption (e.g., eating more fruits and vegetables). Findings from the evaluation surveys suggest that the H2S2 program can help lower-income older adults to access fresh produce on a more regular basis. Furthermore, the data demonstrate a need for programs such as this to continue: in Y2 74% of respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough fruits and vegetables for good health, while 53% reported consuming two or fewer servings of produce per day. By Y3, the percentage ofrespondents surveyed who "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they ate enough fruits and vegetables for good health increased to 94% and the percentage of those who reported consuming two or fewer servings of produce per day decreased to 27%. Overall, the findings of theevaluation reports suggest that when H2S2 incentivesare distributed consistently at the markets, the program meets its goal of increasing the purchasing and consumption of fruits and vegetables by low-income older adults in New York City.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/18 to 05/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached are seniors 60 year or older who receive less than $200/month in SNAP benefits and who live in high need neighborhoods in NYC. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four interns were engaged over the course of the 2018 season. Two of the interns were required to complete a course and obtain an Internal Review Board certification on protecting the rights of study participants in order to survey seniors receiving H2S2 coupon incentives at Harvest Home markets. All interns received training and coaching on community outreach, public speaking, program promotion, customer service, market operations and administrative tasks. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An annual report of program results has been prepared and disseminated to stakeholders and has also been posted on our website What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Harvest Home is planning to recruit and train staff, interns and volunteers for the 2019 season and to implement the recommendations and lessons learned documented in 2018 to ensure continuous improvement and optimization of the program
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The H2S2 Outreach Team visited 43 senior, community, and adult daycare centers to distribute marketing materials, engage seniors and to describe flyers about Harvest Home programs, incentives and transportation options. Fruit and Veggie Bingo games were played at 11 of the centers as a method to engage the seniors and to promote H2S2. A total of 15 senior centers were assisted with coordinating transportation for organized trips to the markets. Harvest Home coordinated transportation for trips using school buses provided by the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) and twenty-four walking tours and seven trips using center provided transportation. The 160 senior surveys that were conducted, in 4 languages, at Harvest Home markets in the 2018 season represent a 300% increase over 2017 (50 surveys). Over $46,000 in H2S2 incentives were distributed to supplement the nutritional needs of NYC seniors. Four interns were trained and engaged to administer surveys and promote the program with three of them receiving school credits.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/17 to 05/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:We have reached seniors 60 years and older who receive less than $200/month in SNAP benefits. Changes/Problems:We had to make a changeto thestaffing structure in order to improve recruitment and retention. Initially we had budgeted to hire two full time Healthy Senior Healthy Shopper Coordinators at a salary of $28,000 each. However, due to a robust job market recruitment and retention became a challenge, Even after using un-restricted, non-government funds to increase salaries to $30k and $35K it was still difficult to hire qualified candidates with a colloge degree and some nutrition education background for the positions We decided to combine the salary line into one and hire one coordinator at $50,000as a way to attract and retain better candidates. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Harvest Home was invited to present the results of our evaluation study of our incentive program at the American Public Health Association Conference in November 2017. Additionally, we are working with senior centers, government agencies and local non-profit organizations across 4 boroughs of NYC to disseminate information about the program, plan tours to the markets to promote and increase utilization of the program. We have also trranslated our materials in several languages representative of populations that frequent the market such as chines, cantones, bengali and russian. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have noticed that utilization of the program is higher in Manhattan than in the boroughs of the Bronx and Brooklyn, We have mounted a robust marketing and outreach campaign to increase utilization in those areas by 25% in 2018.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our program has been very successful. We have surpassed program goals of distributing 20,000 incentive coupons each grant period. In 2016 we distributed 17,400 coupons and redeemed 15,000, an 85% redemption rate. In 2017, with cost saving from the previous year, we printed 25,000 coupons and redeemed 22,000 a 95% redemption rate. In addition to increase utilization of the incentive program, participants also reported the following: 81% reported that the H2S2 incentive increased the variety of produce they bought. 63% noted that the availability of H2S2 increased the variety of produce they bought. 54% reported that the H2S2 incentive increased both the amount and variety of produce they bought. With the H2S2 incentives they could afford to buy more produce than previously and could save for holiday meals or other special occasions.
Publications
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Progress 06/01/16 to 05/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached are seniors 60 year or older who receive less than $200/month in SNAP benefits and who live in high need neighborhoods in NYC. Changes/Problems:The one major change we made was to increase the amount of SNAP that seniors had to receive to qualify for the program. When we wrote the grant we said that seniors who received less than $100/month in SNAP would qualify to receive the incentive. We quickly learned that in the NYC market most senior were receiving around$200/month or less. In order to serve more seniors we changed the criteria to$200/month. HHFM is using an existing incentive program, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ( NYCDOHMH)HealthBuck program, as the basis for the FINI incentive. The HealthBucks are rebranded with the Harves Home logo and the H2S2 (Healthy Seniors Healthy Shoppers logo) to differentiate them from the regular ones. Because the NYCDOHMH program is year round and our markets end in November, we partnered with GrowNYC, the largest and oldest farmers market operaton in NYC, to distribute the H2S2 HealthBucks at their year round markets. This allowed us to serve a larger number of seniors and extend the program into December. It is likely that we will do this again in 2017. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We will complete year one evaluation in March 2017. We have applied to the American Public Health Associatiom (APHA) conference to present the results of ourdata collected through qualitative and quantitative surveys. We also hope to write an article for publication in industry publications and newsletters. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are planning to translate our marketing materials into Russian, Bengali and Mandarin because we found many seniors who learned about the program andcame to the markets spoke those languages and we had difficulty communicating with them. We are working to identify other non-profit organizations to come out and do SNAP enrollment at the markets to promote SNAP and encourage seniors to enroll as well as promote the program to their customers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Funds were used to print and process 20,000, $2 coupons to be issued to seniors at the point of purchase at 18 Harvest Home Farmer's Market (HHFM)and 12GrowNYC markets in 4 out 5 boroughs in New York City. Despite a late start, we issued 17,406 of the 20,000 coupons printed to seniors betweenAugustand December 2016. 14, 867 coupons were redeemed by seniors to purchase fruits and vegetables from farmers who sold their SNAP eligible products at 29 farmersmarkets in NYC, an 85% redemption rate. We anticipate the redemption to be much higher in 2017. As part of our in-kind contribution to the FINI grant, Harvest Home Farmer's Market secured funding to implement the Healthy Seniors NYC program. The program provided healthy cooking demonstrations at senior centers in East Harlem from December 2016 until April 2017. East Harlem is a historically under-resourced community comprised of African-Americanand Latino immigrants who are disproportionately impacted by chronic illness. The Harvest Homedemonstrations are aligned with the goal of promoting healthy eating, reinforcingthe nutritional value of the incentives and improving health outcomes forseniors. Harvest Home conducted 18 cooking demonstrations at 15 different senior centers and reached a total of 318 seniors.The cooking demonstrations taught seniors how to prepare healthy meals; eat healthy on a budget; as well as the health and nutritional benefits ofeating a healthy diet. We hope to expand the cooking demonstrations into other boroughs in 2017. We recruited 25 seniorcenters and exceeded our goal of serving 3,000 seniors from the targeted neighborhoods.
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