Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:During FY2019 (September 2018-August 2019), Franklinton Farms continued to primarily serve residents of the Westside Columbus, Ohio neighborhood of Franklinton (Census Tracts 30, 32, 40, 42, 43, 50, 51; Zip Codes 43222, 43223, and 43215). This is a largely impoverished urban community that is plagued by poverty, low education rates, addiction, housing decay, historical disinvestment, obesity, diet-related diseases, food insecurity, poor mental health, and high infant mortality rates. At this time, challenges persist as it relates to food access in the community. There is no full-service supermarket, though there is are two discount grocery stores in the area, a fairly new non-profit market, and a large number of dollar stores, fast food restaurants, and corner stores. Franklinton Farms serves residents in a variety of ways, but primarily our role has been to provide local, fresh, affordable fresh produce to our community through a variety of community-based food strategies. Our produce is currently sold through three mechanisms: a city-sponsored farmers market located outside the neighborhood, our weekly summer produce stand located conveniently in the neighborhood at our Learning Garden, and our summer and winter Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The focus of the USDA CFP was largely on expanding our CSA, neighborhood market, and reaching out to neighbors to participate in programs that worked alongside federal food assistance programs like SNAP/EBT, WIC, FMNP, and SFMNP. In addition, we worked with the state's Produce Perks (our FINI/Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program) at all three points of sale. This year, our Winter 2018-2019 season was 14 weeks long. Twenty-two (22) participants purchased food that was delivered to their homes. There were 12 households who had participated in a Franklinton Farms Winter CSA in the past, and 14 households that participated in a Franklinton Farms Summer CSA. There were four households (18%) who were new to Franklinton Farms. The average age of the participant completing the survey was 37 years old, with a range in age of 24-70 years of age. The average household size was 2.27, ranging from 1-5 people. Five households (22.7%) had children between the ages of 0 and 17 regularly living in the household. 19 participants lived in the neighborhood, while three worked in West Franklinton. Of those 19, fourteen lived in 43222, three lived in 43215, and two lived in 43223. One household identified as Hispanic/Latino, one identified as Asian, and one identified as two or more races. Two households had someone 60 or older, one household had a military veteran living there, and six (27.2%) identified as having Appalachian heritage. Three households had participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/EBT/Food Stamps), one had used Produce Perks, three participated in Medicare, three used Medicaid, and one participated in the Earned Income Tax Credit Program. Eighty-two percent (18) of participants had someone working full time (35 or more hours) in the household, while three households had someone working part-time (less than 35 hours/week), two received retirement, Social Security, or a pension, and one household earned some income through temporary/cash-based work. Three households had income of less than $15,000/year, while five households earned between $15k-$24,999. For a reference, in general, the federal poverty level, calculated based on household size, was $12,140-$25,100 (for one person to a four-person household). Two households earned between $25k and $49,999, while seven earned between $50k-$74,999. Four earned more than $75,000/year. Of the 16 participants who answered the food security module fully or partially, 2 identified as very low food secure and 1 was marginally food secure. Three people did not respond to several of the questions. It is anticipated that there were actually higher rates of food insecurity, but the survey was not in the required demographic survey, so we don't have all of the data. Our Summer CSA was 20 weeks long. 61 participants started the program, though 7 of them left the program at various points of the season. The 61 participants ranged in age from 22 to 75, with an average age of 38 years old. The mean household size was 2.28, and 70% of households had one or two people living there. During the Summer season, the majority of households did not have children (78.7%), though 5 households had one child, 5 had two, and 3 had more than 2 children there. Nearly 64% had participated in a Summer CSA program, and 34.4% had participated in a Winter CSA program. 10 households had been a CSA member for at least three seasons. Around 4.9% of persons responding to the survey identified as Hispanic/Latino. We asked the adult responding to the survey to report their race and then asked an additional question about any other races/ethnicities in the household. In our program, 83.6% of respondents were white, 6.6% identified as two or more races, 4.9% were Black/African American, 3.3% identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 1.6% identified as Asian. For other household members who identified as a different race/ethnicity from the respondent, respondents reported that 26.2% were white, 6.6% were Black/African American, 1.6% were American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 6.6% identified as two or more races. Seven of our households had someone 60 or older, and only 9.2% had a child 5 or younger. Nearly 10% of our participants were in households with a military veteran, 8.2% had someone in the house born outside of the U.S., and 18% identified as having Appalachian heritage. We had more SNAP users than the Winter program, with 16.4% (10 households) using SNAP and 1 using WIC. At the start of the summer, only 1 household was using Produce Perks. Many of our participants utilize other programs like Section 8 (3.3%), public housing (1.6%), Earned Income Tax Credit Program (6.6%), Medicare (14.8%), Medicaid (18%), and utility payment support programs (8.2%). The majority of our Summer CSA participants had someone in the household who worked full time (35 or more hours/week) (75.4%), 23% had someone working part-time, 11.5% had someone reporting that they receive income through temporal, seasonal, or cash-based work, and one household had unemployment at the time of the survey. Two households received income from Social Security, 4.9% had retirement or pension income, and 8.2% had disability, veterans, or SSI income. 14.8% of our participants earned less than $15,000/year, 13.1% earned between $15k-$24,999, 18% earned between $50,000 and $74,999, 9.8% earned between $75,000 and $99,999, and 19.7% earned household income of $100,000 or more. Of the 8 people reporting SNAP payments, the range was $106-$194/month. We are in a community with several colleges and universities, so it is not surprising that 70% of our participants had at least a bachelor's degree. Only 4 households had a high school education, GED, or less than high school. 14 households reported some college, associates, or two-year programs. Of the 38 people that responded to the survey that asked the 10-item food security module questions, 16% were marginally food secure, 7.9% were low food secure, and 5.3% were very low food secure. It is anticipated that there were actually higher rates of food insecurity, but the survey was not in the required demographic survey, so we don't have all of the data. We had 28 Produce Perks users, 28 SNAP/EBT users, 148 $5 Senior FMNP coupons redeemed, and 184 %5 WIC FMNP coupons redeemed at our produce stand, CSA, and farmers market.About 33% of our produce stand produce was sold to or donate to low-income individuals, including several individuals who are homeless or housing insecure. Changes/Problems:The main challenges had to do with staffing as it related to outreach to underserved segments of the Franklinton community. Franklinton Farms and this grant program was heavily reliant upon Americorps VISTA, which, due to the annual turnover inherent in annual service programs, limited relationship depth across community members. We did a good job building the farm, which was largely because the farm expansion was led by two full time staff people who had a lot of talent in those areas. The subsidized produce distribution however, often was delegated to VISTAs to lead, but they needed more support in relationship-building and engagement that we did not have the capacity to manage at the level needed. Distribution on the whole was easy since Franklinton Farms has grown into one of the premier fruit and vegetable farms in the region. The greater Columbus area exhibits very high demand for Franklinton Farms produce, so it is relatively easy to distribute everything outside of Franklinton to higher income communities that exhibit demand. Since Franklinton Farms is dedicated to distributing food within Franklinton however, substantially more time needs to be invested to market the produce within the neighborhood to those who, for a variety of reasons, do not initially place high priority on locally-sourced and naturally grown produce. In hindsight, an entire additional and full-time staff position needed to be written into this grant to lead food community building efforts and recruitment of low-income people to participate on FF's food distribution. There is certainly interest and desire to participate in FF's food distribution programming among underserved segments of the population, but activation and conversion of that interest into participation takes a great deal of relationship-building, which requires effort beyond sporadic or short-term volunteerism that only a permanent staff person or long-term permanent volunteer can offer. In addition, we have learned that these outreach efforts will continue to help us host more workshops. We have begun asking CSA members if they have skills they want to share, and hope this style of neighborhood-empowered teaching will encourage community participation in workshops. We are starting some leadership training to have neighbors be heavily involved with our festival planning and identifying those CSA members interested in volunteering at the farm, volunteering for special events, volunteering in the office, and volunteering for outreach in the neighborhood. We are also identifying people to interview to collect stories about their participation in an effort to share with others in the community. We had some staffing issues that created some challenges, and in the future we need to work more closely with community partners to recruit more effectively for programs they are hosting. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Staff have attended the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association conference together, attending several workshops to improve farm efficiency. Franklinton Farm hosted a Spring Festival, Fall Festival, and weekly summer farm standin the neighborhood which included cooking demonstrations, plantings, and seedling giveaways. We also co-hosted 2-3 trainings for 20 Buckeye ISA households in the neighborhood related to gardening in partnership with OSU Extension. We had 27 food demos at our farm stand and had our community partner host 1 six-week Cooking Matters course. We provided weekly newsletters for our CSA members that included recipes, tips, and opportunities in the neighborhood for education and trainings through our community partners. This includes cooking and health and wellness courses. Franklinton Farms continued working with men in recovery from addictions with The Refuge Ministries. They were trained to build 3 high tunnels and our produce rinsing and storage facility in a formerly abandoned garage. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
FF was able to work with the City of Columbus to purchase a 1300sqft commercial building that FF then renovated into a produce rinsing, packing, and storage facility. A greenhouse was constructed adjacent to the facility. The building renovations and adjacent greenhouse were funded in part from the USDA grant, and in part from a number of matching grants. Over $100,000 of cash and in-kind value was invested in the development of the new building and adjacent greenhouse.USDA funds were invested in the improvement and maintenance of a skid steer that was purchased with matching grant funding. The USDA funds were used to rent skid steer implements and other small landscaping tools as well. This equipment investment was directed to the development of new garden space and resulted in a large expansion of the FF Farm during the grant period. The completion of three new gardens was achieved by the Summer of 2019, which included three year-round high tunnels and a caterpillar tunnel. Additional improvements at these new sites include 1050' of new fencing with gates, three new water services, and electric access. Substantial soil engineering work was conducted to transform soil physical properties so that the soil would be conducive to fruit and vegetable production, and large additions of compost were added to provide an adequate carbon and nutrient platform for future produce production.G1O1. We met this goal, with 17 Summer participants earning less than $25k/year and 8 Winter participants earning less than $25k/year.G1O2. We met and exceed this goal with 13% of CSA participants who have now volunteered with FF.G1O3. We were slightly under this goal of people who completed the survey, with 50% of Winter CSA members and 42% of Summer CSA members completing cooking classes.G1O4. 75% of Winter members now eat fruit/veg more than once/day now, an increase from 62.5% before the CSA. 82.5% reported an increase in fruit/veg consumption, and 37.5% reported staying the same. 81.6% of Summer members now eat fruit/veg more than once/day, up from 68.4% before the CSA. 68.4% reported an increase in fruit/veg consumption and 31.6% stayed the same.G1O5. We measured this by participation at community events, sharing food with family and neighbors, whether they voted in an election, and measurement on a community connectedness scale. 75% of Winter CSA members attended a potluck, 88% shared food with family, 69% shared food with neighbors, 32% toured Franklinton Farms, and 88% voted in an election. Of those reporting, 87% of Summer members shared food with family, 71% shared food with neighbors and attended a potluck, 32% toured the farm, and 84% voted. Before the season started, 59.1% of Summer participants were satisfied with the quality of life in the neighborhood. This increased to 60.5% following the CSA program. Before the CSA, 68.2% agreed that the neighborhood was a good place to live, and this increased to 76.3% following their participation in the CSA.G1O6. This was measured through participation, rather than satisfaction surveys, so the percentages of behavior changes are likely lower than simply reporting increased appreciation. After the CSA started, 38% of Winter members had a personal garden and 25% participated in a community garden. 53% of Summer CSA members had a personal garden, and 11% had a community garden.G1O7. 84% of Winter and Summer members tried new foods because of the CSA.G1O8.68% of Winter and 97% of Summer members tried new recipes.G1O9. We have increased the number of beds from 300 to 400. We increased total areas of garden footprint from 1.1 acres to 1.50 acres through .39 new acres of garden space. We added 3 high tunnels, totaling 12 now for the farm. We had an increase of $29,146 (a 65% change) in revenue from $45,220 in 2017-2018 to $74,366 in 2018-2019.G2.O1-3. We were only able to host one Cooking Matters course, though many of our members participated in another cooking course at Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center where some of our produce is donated or purchased. We had five participants in the six-week Cooking Matters course. We also contracted with Local Matters for their Veggie Van and educator to come to our farm stand 27 times to conduct cooking demonstrations onsite. Sometimes produce from the farm was used, and recipes were often shared. 10 people/demonstration were engaged in the activity. During our Spring and Fall Festivals, OSU Extension brought their healthy cooking food truck and shared some cooking demonstrations and recipes, and during one festival we also had Local Matters serve free food and conduct healthy cooking demonstrations. In addition, a CSA member made food with CSA and farm vegetables and shared it and recipes at the festival. 75 people at each festival engaged with these demonstrations and taste-testing events. Youth engaged in planting demos, plant give-aways, watering, and cooking demos at the festivals. G2O5. We did not have the capacity to carry this out.G2O6. 55% of participants composted their food waste, and 53% consumed at least 90% of their CSA and did not create much waste. We have started to include more storage tips in newsletters but have not measured changes in knowledge or behavior yet.G2O7. We did not host classes yet, but have instead gauged interest in leadership classes. A neighbor is organizing some activities this Spring and Summer. 8.8% of Winter and 14.8% of Summer CSA members interested.G2O8. 19.7% of Summer and 20.6% of Winter CSA participants have now volunteered with FF, 32% of Winter and 32% of Summer have toured the farm though many report knowing about the farm since they live in the neighborhood and the farm has 12 scattered sites.G3O1. We only had the farm stand open for six weeks in Y1, closed the farm stand in Y2, and reopened in Y3 for the summer season ($1000 in sales).G302. We re-focused our energy to using SNAP and Veggie SNAPs/Produce Perks for our CSA and had 10 transactions in Y3 at the farm stand itself. We had 28 SNAP and Produce Perks transactions totaling $321 in Y3.G3O3. In Y3, FF had 184 WIC transactions and 148 Senior FMNP transactions. This is an increase from Y1 and Y2. WIC has remained consistent, with slight increase in Senior coupons. G3O4. Volunteer numbers decreased slightly during Y3 due to a staffing issues that has been resolved. In Y3, we had 810 volunteers and 2503 hours. G3O5. We had over 1000 people tour the farm in Y3, exceeding the goal.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L. & Pence, E. (forthcoming). Food security and social work. In - Social Work Practice: Building Justice Informed Social, Economic, and Environmental Practice Skills [K. Benner, D. Loeffler, & N. Pope, Eds.]. Springer Publishing Company.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L., Pence, E.K., & Stanich, N.A. (2020). Improving Food Access and Consumption Through a Low-Cost Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program in a Low-Income Urban Appalachian Community. Not Yet Submitted
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L., Pence, E.K., & Stanich, N.A. (2020). Why Should I Buy Produce When I Can Get it For Free? Lessons Learned from an Urban Farm Program in a Low-Income Community. Not Yet Submitted
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L., Pence, E.K. (2020). How a Urban Farm is Addressing Food Insecurity, Sustainability, and Social Justice: A Community-Based Social Work Perspective. Submitting to the SSWR Annual Conference
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The Unearthing Franklinton's Potential: Cultivating a Vibrant Foodscape project takes place in the Franklinton neighborhood (Census Tracts 30, 32, 40, 42, 43, 50, 51; Zip Codes 43222, 43223) of Columbus, Ohio. This urban Appalachian neighborhood of around 10,000 people experienced decades of population decline, housing decay, historical disinvestment, and low property values related to its declaration as a flood plain restricting residential and commercial development. Households continue to struggle with food access since there is no full-service grocery store in or near Franklinton, and many residents lack reliable transportation to get to a store. A survey of residents showed that nutrition and price were important to around 90% of residents, but Franklinton residents still relied on the prolific corner stores, fast food outlets, and dollar stores to obtain food regularly. Almost 44% of West Franklinton households earn less than $15,000, and in a recent survey of residents, over 60% of households were considered food insecure based on the USDA Food Security Module. Health-related issues include high infant mortality rates, obesity, and chronic diet-related diseases. In Y2, our recruitment efforts included word of mouth (CSA members, volunteers, staff, VISTAs, community partners), attendance at neighborhood-based events, presenting to neighborhood-based food access groups, distributing flyers by going door-to-door, tabling at the hospital, tabling at events, working with community partners to post information,sharing information through social media, and sharing information through weekly e-newsletters to people who signed up, have participated in the CSA program, have volunteered, or have donated money. In Y2, our goal was to have 60 shares which was achieved. Of the 60 shares, 20 of them were earmarked for low-income households. We completed two 20-week seasons during Winter 2017-2018 (21 members) and Summer 2018 (40 members). We offered half-price and full-price shares based on self-reported income and need. We collected income information on commitment forms. In the Summer, 60% of CSA members were 80% or below our Area Median Income (AMI), and 28% were below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).18% were between 100-200% of the FPL. In the Winter season, 62% were 80% or below AMI, 15% were below the FPL, and 33% were between 100-200% FPL.We recognized that our CSA participants are economically diverse, but over 50% in every season is below 200% FPL.In addition, by reviewing our data, we found that households between 100-200% FPL, which is actually near 80-100% AMI, is where our niche is.The information was shared prior to the recruitment for the Summer season and current Winter 2018-2019 season.This helped identify any gaps in outreach efforts. During Winter 2017-2018, the range of ages for household members completing the commitment form was 23-74 (M=33 years). 81% of participants were White/Caucasian and 4.8% were Asian. One household has persons older than 60, one household had two military veterans, and 14.3% of households had someone of Appalachian heritage. We asked people to share which programs they had participated in during the past year. 19% utilized SNAP, 1 household had WIC coupons and participated in Produce Perks, 24% relied on Medicaid, and 4.8% had received utility assistance. 62% had someone in the household who was employed full time, 33% had someone employed part-time, 19% of households earned income through temporary, seasonal, or cash-based work, 10% had Social Security or retirement. 48% were new CSA participants. Prior to the season, 57.1% were high food secure, which increased to 71.4% at the post-season survey period. 14.3% of participants were marginally secure at the start of the season, which decreased to 7.1%. During the pre-season, 14.3% were low food secure and 14.3% were very low food secure, and at the end of the season 21.4% were very low food secure. During Summer 2018, the average age of the person completing the commitment form was 34.61 with a range of 21-70 years old. Two households had members who identified as Hispanic/Latino, 5% were African American/Black, one was Asian, and the rest identified as White/Caucasian.5% of participants had a high school diploma or GED, 5% had and associates of 2-year degree, 17.5% had some college (no degree), 45% had a bachelor's degree, and 27.5% had a graduate degree. Households had between 1-5 people, with the average around 2.53. 15.4% of households had someone living there who was a military veteran, and 14.7% had someone of Appalachian heritage. Prior to the start of the season, 65.5% were high food secure, 6.9% were marginal food secure, 13.8% were low food secure, and 6.9% were very low food secure.15.8% had SNAP, 5.3% used WIC, 5.3% participated in Produce Perks, 1 household had a Section 8 voucher, 2.6% participated in EITC, 7.9% had Medicare, 18.4% had Medicaid, and 10.5% utilized programs for help paying utilities. 84.2% had someone employed full-time, 28.9% had someone employed part-time, 10.5% received income from temporary, seasonal, or cash-based work, 7.9% received SSI/Disability/Veterans Benefits, 5% received Social Security or retirement. Changes/Problems:We heavily relied on our 6-member AmeriCorps VISTA team to recruit for our CSA and build food community-based partnership across neighborhood groups. The team struggled with this task as they were almost entire fresh out of their undergraduate program, and they exhibited a limited set of communication skills that were pertinent to working in underserved neighborhood where face-to-face conversations are the most effective means of engagement. The team exhibited varied capacities in database creation and management, and a lot more time than expected was spent by project management ensuring credible interpretation of data. The VISTA program leader, who supervised 5 VISTA members who contributed to this project, was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma in September 2017, and he passed away in October 2018. Not only was this heartbreaking and challenging for us emotionally, it was also extremely disruptive for our entire team, and Franklinton Farms leadership faced multiple challenges in regard to providing adequate mentorship to the VISTA team members. Consequently, some aspects of the USDA CFP program did not grow as anticipated in FY 2018 due to the emotional burden and lack of ability to replace his position. The Franklinton Farms' Farm Manager resigned near the end of FY 2018. This, compounded with the absence of a VISTA leader and emotional toll of our VISTA Leader's passing, and general everyday stressors of working in an extremely impoverished neighborhood that struggles with high levels of chronic stress, resulted in the beginning of a dis-association of our VISTA team from the project as we neared the end of FY 2018. Lastly, our neighborhood is a challenging place. During Y2, drug addiction, violence, gunfire, murder, existed alongside the experiences of poverty and hardship our neighbors face. This is occurring at the same time that outside groups are fixing up homes and driving up some costs in the area. It is a challenging place to have an urban farm, and policy changes/additions in terms of zoning and regulations around high tunnels continue to evolve and has resulted in delays of new garden development. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During Y2, we continued obtaining information from CSA participants about what types of workshops they were most interested in, which generally included composting/food waste reduction, gardening practices, cooking classes, value-added workshops, and leadership trainings. We have partnered with Local Matters to conduct a series of neighborhood-based demonstrations and events.Their first took place after the reporting period, but was held in conjunction with our Fall Festival (2018).We will continue working with them to offer additional food demonstrations.We also recognize that many of our CSA participants are aware of, and are participating/have participated in Cooking Matters classes and other demos held in the neighborhood at Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center.This is a great resource that will be included in our weekly newsletters, which provide recipes, storage tips, and farm-related information to keep participants form and provide a venue for educational information.We have learned more about neighbors who have skills that may be able to offer workshops to other neighbors.This would help build social capital and social networks amongst neighbors. One of our Americorps VISTA members led a series of food justice workshops prior to volunteer events. These were attended by neighbors, students, and other volunteer groups.Another VISTA member worked alongside an employee from Integrated Services Behavioral Health to develop and offer food education curriculum to kids attending Gladden Community House activities.This included some cooking demos.While the partnership was more of a pilot, we continue to seek community partners to provide educational workshops, especially once the Learning Garden pavilion is completed.We are also working with Ohio State's Buckeye ISA program and a local garden expert who will be recruiting families to participate in garden training and grow their own food.Additionally, we worked with the Refuge Ministries and Clean Turn Enterprises to offer urban agriculture learning opportunities full time for 2-3 men/day who are part of a substance abuse recovery program and who live in an adjacent neighborhood.These men, along with volunteers and staff have worked to build out additional garden spaces, finish rehabbing an intern house on one of the farm's properties that has a garden in the back, install solar panels to improve sustainability efforts, rehab a garage on a land bank property that will be used for storage, office, and prep space, build fencing necessary in the neighborhood, prep garden beds, and build high tunnel hoop houses necessary in Ohio for season extension. FF hosted a 2017 Fall Festival and a 2018 Spring Festival. These farm festivals are free to neighbors and offer great opportunities for a diverse group of people to come together in a joyful way. We always have free music and food, and in the fall we have apple cider pressing.We also offered arts and crafts activities, in coordination with FF friends, board members, supporters, and a local non-profit arts group. In the Spring, we opened our Learning Garden to the public, had Local Matters provide cooking demos, offered tastings of food from the farm, and gave away paw paws, raspberries and blackberries.These events are great ways people can learn about the farm. This summer 2018, the project evaluator, in conjunction with FF hosted their fourth class through Ohio State University College of Social Work.18 students from a range of disciplines learned about community-based food strategies in engaged in long-term projects with FF staff and VISTAs, as well as community members.They presented oral history projects, videos, and infographics to a brunch held in Franklinton for about 45 community members and community partners. Our staff and Americorps VISTA team attended the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) together in February, and completed work exchanges with Green Edge Gardens in Athens, Ohio, and Seminary Hill Farm on the Campus of the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (Delaware County, Ohio).They also attended trainings offered by Ohio State's Glenn College of Public Affairs MAPS program.In addition, the FF director and project evaluator attended the annual project director meeting in Washington, DC and the Community Food Systems Conference in Boston, MA (where they also presented about the project). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We hosted a post-season potluck in November 2017 to bring together CSA participants to discuss the season and meet one another.We also hosted a few "potlucks with a cause" events at our big table that spans two properties that was open to neighbors and people interested in participating in the CSA.We invited questions and discussed the CSA and other programs.In addition, we hosted two farm festivals that serve as entry points for building relationships with neighbors.We also co-hosted the OSU College of Social Work's Follow the Tomato: Community-Based Food Strategies course in July 2018. We conducted oral histories of two CSA members and our co-founder which are freely available all YouTube and were shared through social media. In our neighborhood, flyering and walking door-to-doors is the best strategy for sharing information. We have done this various times throughout the year. We periodically attended the Westside Food Access meetings hosted by Local Matters at Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center with other food-related advocates and agencies.We were able to provide informational materials, and sometimes offer briefings to different groups that use MC's space that may be interested in our programs.Additionally, we have provided food for their popular cooking demonstrations.We also have had tables at Franklinton National Night Our, Franklinton Fridays, Mount Carmel Hospital, and a senior housing program. Much of our information goes out through Facebook and Twitter, and we maintained a weekly newsletter for much of the year.This was intended for people who had volunteered, participated, donated, and/or expressed interest in FF programs.In addition, during the CSA season, paper-based newsletters were provided to participants. In March 2018, we were featured in Edible Columbus:https://614columbus.com/2018/03/communal-dining-franklinton-farms/. In November 2018, FF was used as the backdrop for our project evaluator's feature alongside former students (two were also VISTA members) through Ohio State here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFRUZTE-E_U. We provided a workshop at the Community Food Systems Conference in Boston, MA in December 2017 and continue to look for local, state, national, and international opportunities to share our story. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?G1.O1-8. We will be recruiting 55 household for the Summer 2019 CSA. This will be an increase from 40 shares during Y1 and Y2. 25 of these households will be low income. In order to accomplish this goal, we need to revamp our outreach activities and use our data to target households in the 100-200% of poverty level and/or 50-80% AMI. In addition, we recognize that our neighborhood demographics continually evolve, so working with community partners to present a clear understanding of our CSA program, costs, benefits, and payment options, will all be crucial.Specifically, we would like to increase the number of households who utilize SNAP/EBT, are interested in Produce Perks, and who have households with children. These outreach efforts should be completed in coordination with staff, volunteers, community partners, board members, and current CSA members.In our neighborhood, word of mouth is the best advertisement. We will continue providing weekly newsletters with recipes and information about the farm, host at least one potluck or CSA-member event during the season, and communicate with members about neighborhood opportunities.We will also utilize the FF commitment forms and communicate with interested CSA members who desire a tour or to volunteer, ensuring we have a range of volunteer activities for people of different ages and level of mobility. In addition, we will continue door-to-door outreach efforts to reach community members, post information to social media, and provide on site passive educational opportunities. It is our hope that with the Learning Garden completed, this will also serve as a weekly or bi-monthly gathering place for farm-related activities. G1O9. We hired a new farm manager this fall and have continued our farm production throughout the time that we were without one for a few months. We continue to work with men from the Refuge Ministries to complete 50 beds and 2 high tunnels that are under development to finish Spring 2019. We were able to leverage USDA grant money to receive support to help complete this work by the end of March 2019. G2O1-7. We will continue working with Local Matters to develop some food education workshops. In addition, the project coordinator will identify people from the CSA who are interested in workshops, as well as community members (some of them are CSA members) that may lead a workshop.For example, one person has done extensive work with a local food action plan, and another neighbor has a jams/jellies business, and a few others are amazing gardeners. We also have some experts on food waste and composting in the area that could support this work. We will continue to work with the Buckeye ISA Program and utilize the Learning Garden for interactive spaces. G3O1-4. We are looking to revamp our produce stand and have weekly or bi-monthly farm days where people can purchase produce, participate in workshops, and see the farm. This would specifically be for the neighborhood. We will work on improving documentation of farm tours. The project coordinator recently attended a workshop on Produce Perks, and with some staff turnover, we will need to ensure any new people learn about the various programs, include SNAP/EBT, WIC FMNP, SFMNP, and Produce Perks. We have improved all sales recordkeeping and accounting too. In addition, we have added Instagram and post regularly through that additional social media site.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Franklinton Farms (formerly Franklinton Gardens (FF or FG), a scattered site nonprofit urban farm in Columbus Ohioreceived a 3-year $135k grant from the USDA CFP grant program to increase community food security through urban agriculture in the Franklinton neighborhood. More than 44% of Franklinton households struggle with extreme poverty, and access to fresh-fruits and vegetables is considered a major limitation in the neighborhood. FF addresses this issue by growing and distributing food in Franklinton. This grant assists with expanding the FG CSA (weekly produce basket subscription program) incrementally over three years to 75 shares, which are subsidized for low-income residents, involving CSA members in educational opportunities that help equip participants with skills necessary to utilize and optimize their weekly CSA produce, and funding farmland expansion and physical infrastructure required to grow enough produce for a 75-share urban CSA. Major impacts during Y2 of the grant include: 1) successfully recruiting 24 low-income households for the 40-member neighborhood summer 2018 CSA; 2) successfully recruiting 13 low-income households for the 21-member neighborhood winter 2017-2018 CSA; 3) leveraging $135,000 in USDA CFP grant funds to raise an additional $121,998 in grants and $73,534 in in-kind contributions to support farmland and farm infrastructure expansion. 4) developing 3 new farm sites that contribute to FG's 12-site year-round urban farming operation. G1O1: 1) 20-week Summer (Sum)2018 CSA season and 20-week Winter (Win) 2017-2018 season during Y2. In the Sum, 60% were 80% or below AMI. 28%were under the poverty level (FPL), and 18% were 100-200% of FPL. In the Winter, 62%were 80% orbelow AMI. 15% were below the FPL, and 33% were 100-200% of FPL. 2) Commitment forms. 3)Demand for low-cost shares exceeded expectations. Finding a niche market of people willing to pay for half-price shares, use SNAP, and commit to 20 weeks of produce was challenging. We had less SNAP users, though some appear income-eligible. It would be good to work with local SNAP caseworkers to improve participation.Delivery was important. 4)Goal wasexceeded.G1O2. 1)8% Sum participants; 28.6% Win participants. 2)Self-report in pre/post surveys.3)FF collects information about interest, but we did not follow-up. 4)Goal was met. More targeted outreach would increase participation. G1O3. 1)We don't have data; the first cooking demo was after the reporting period. 2)Pre/post surveys. 15% of Sum participants did participate in programming at Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center, and 57.1% of Win participants were interested in cooking classes. 23.4% stated they have participated in a cooking class this year.3)We have community partners with expertise on cooking classes and have met with them to discuss interests of residents, based on surveys. No staff are available, so we must rely on coordination with partners.4)Weekly CSA newsletters are read by most participants. Many citetips and recipes as helpful. We completed our Learning Garden and hope to use that space to hostclasses. G1O4.1)74.3% increased f/v intake. 96.3% reported the Summer CSA made it easier to access f/v. In Sum pre-season surveys showed that 36.2% rated their diet and excellent or very good, which improved to 64.2% by the end of the season. In Winter, this went from 42.8% to 50%. 2)Self-report in pre/post surveys. 3)The CSA makes it easier to access and consume fresh f/veg in the neighborhood. Some of our participants already have higher consumptions of f/veg, so more needs to be understood about impact in terms of differences in cost, quality, and ease of access.4)We are below our goal, but did not account for people who already consumed a larger amount of f/v. This may mean our assumptions were inaccurate or that we need to recruit more people who have currently low levels of f/v consumption.G1O5. 1)Using a Sense of Community scale, before starting the CSA, only 53.5% has an overall positive sense of community, and after the CSA, this increased to 75.5%. 2)SOC in Pre/Post surveys. 3)While we cannot isolate the CSA as the sole reason for an increase, people reported qualitatively a feeling of intimacy about having food grown in the neighborhood delivered to them participated because they wanted to support a community endeavor, liked knowing people who had grown the food and seeing it around them, and felt more compelled to participate (e.g., volunteering, potlucks, farm festivals). 4)This is a hard-to-measure concept, and we need to analyze more changes over time. G1O6. 1)58.9% of CSA participants had a personal garden and 28% were part of a community garden since starting the CSA. 44% interested in gardening workshops and 38% want a tour. 2)Pre/Post surveys. 3)There is interest for gardening education, but little capacity to do this. 4)Newsletters aide in communicating about impacts of weather, explanations around planting cycles. G1O7. 1)92% Sumparticipants, and 67% Winparticipants stated they were introduced to new foods through the CSA. 2)Self-reported data in post surveys. 3)We learned to balance what food items the CSA should include, largely based on post-season surveys. It is a change for some households, so having staples and items people are more familiar with, along with new items was important. Newsletters allowed opportunities to share recipes and tips. Many enjoyed trying new foods, especially families with children. Others noted it was hard because they were not used to so many types of greens and had picky eaters in the house. A wide range of household sizes makes CSA planning challenging. 4)People tried new foods and appreciated recipes.G1O8.1)91% cooked from recipes. Qualitatively, people planned meals around CSA, greens impacting recipes, eating more salads, and learning new cooking methods. 2)Mostly qualitative from post-season surveys. 3)It would be good to learn more about favorite foods and work with partners to adapt recipes. 4)We exceeded this goal. G1O9.1)Increased by 20 beds from Y1-Y2. Increased productivity by 50% w/ skid steer and paper pot seeder. 2)Internal records. 3)New high tunnel for beds. 4). Behind goal; 50 beds and 2 high tunnels under development to finish Spring 2019. G2O1-4. 1)Not completed yet.2) Standard CM evaluations. 3)We have been collecting data about interests in CM classes during every CSA season. 4)We recognize there are now other cooking classes in the community people are completing, and there is also great interest by our participants.G2O5-O7.1)Not completed yet. 2)Pre/Post survey. 3)We have been collecting data about interests in food processing and compost classes.4)We had unexpected staff turnover and are trying to determine how to complete these knowing there is high interest.G2O9. 1)38% interested in a tour; 50% interested in volunteering. 2)Self-report post-season surveys. 3)We have had turnover and hope to increase engagement in 2019. 4)Host CSA-specific tours in 2019. G3O1. 1)After Y1, we decided to not open the FPS during Y2. 2)Sales records data. 3)The FPS was not earning much income and required volunteer oversight and presented challenges regarding harvesting and potential food waste. 4)Revamping the FPS to coincide with weekly farm days at our Learning Garden.G3O2-3.1)Decreased from Y1-Y2 in all categories. 2)Sales record data. 3)Decrease likely due to closing FPS and reduction of days at farmers' market (FM) due to unexpected staff turnover. 4)Scheduled for all FM days in coming year and developing outreach plan.G3O4.1)Increase in volunteers by 43% from Y1-Y2, and hours by 49%.2)Volunteer records. 3)FM, universities, social media provide diverse recruitment. 4)More neighborhood recruitment needed through door-to-door flyering.G3O5. 1)Provide 2-3 tours/month. 2)FF records. 3)FF needs better record-keeping foe tours. 4)These are popular but take time and staff. Looking into having fees for tours or utilize volunteers.?
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L., Stanich, N.A., & Kaufman, P. [Workshop]. Building and maintaining a CSA in underserved communities. Community Food Systems Conference, Boston, MA, December 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Kaiser, M.L. & Wheeler, J. (2018). Unearthing potential through cultivation of a vibrant
community food system: An evaluation. Expanding interprofessional education to
achieve social justice. Council on Social Work Education 54th Annual Program Meeting.
[Accepted]. Orlando, Florida. November 8-11, 2018.
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The Unearthing Franklinton's Potential: Cultivating a Vibrant Foodscape project takes place in the Franklinton neighborhood (Census Tracts 30, 32, 40, 42, 43, 50, 51; Zip Codes 43222, 43223) of Columbus, Ohio. This urban Appalachian neighborhood of around 10,000 people experienced decades of population decline, housing decay, historical disinvestment, and low property values related to its declaration as a flood plain restricting residential and commercial development. Households continue to struggle with food access since there is no grocery store in or near Franklinton, and many residents lack reliable transportation to get to a store. A survey of residents showed that nutrition and price were important to around 90% of residents, but Franklinton residents still relied on the prolific corner stores, fast food outlets, and dollar stores to obtain food regularly. Almost 44% of West Franklinton households earn less than $15,000, and in a recent survey of residents, over 60% of households were considered food insecure based on the USDA Food Security Module. Health-related issues include high infant mortality rates, obesity, and chronic diet-related diseases. Efforts during this reporting period were primarily focused on working with existing community partners to identify people who live or work in the Franklinton community. In January 2017, Franklinton Gardens hosted a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service event. We had 48 volunteers from Ohio State University and the Franklinton Gardens (FG) board of directors spend three hours walking door-to-door to engage with 2000 neighbors and distribute promotional door hangers that included information about our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and urban farm programs. We followed up these efforts with three information sessions at the neighborhood-based public library and our FG office. In addition, we shared information about the CSA program at the West Side Food Access meetings, hosted every-other-month at Mount Carmel Hospital's Healthy Living Center and facilitated by a non-profit, Local Matters. Some of our FG staff, board, and Americorps VISTA members attend these meetings and share information with residents and representatives from organizations that serve the Franklinton neighborhood. This includes emergency food providers, settlement house workers, faith leaders, low-income health providers, public and community health workers, nursing school students and leaders, and social service providers. We also knew that word of mouth is the primary way people learn about programs and events in the neighborhood, so we encouraged volunteers, staff members, board members, community partners, and neighbors to share their experiences about FG. Our 40 CSA members shared with us how they learned about FG on their CSA Commitment Forms. The visibility of our 10 gardens across the neighborhood is an important marketing tool. The four kiosks we built in 2016 that house garden maps and information and have a common aesthetic, in addition to the 10 high tunnel hoop houses visible during this time period, along with the wide variety of flowers, fruit shrubs, and vegetable plants have proven to be welcoming to our community. Over 27% of our CSA members stated that they heard about FG because they live or work in the neighborhood and just know about FG or see it around them. Over 32% heard about the CSA through friends, neighbors,co-workers, FG VISTA members or staff, or word of mouth, while 23% learned directly through an agency of church in the neighborhood. In addition, 20% had volunteered, been to the produce stand, donated money, or were affiliated with FG at some point as a board member, staff member, or Americorps member. Others learned about the CSA through flyers, email lists, events, and news coverage. Our participants shared reasons for their involvement through an open-ended question. Answers were then grouped into themes. Over 47% of CSA participants wanted to support Franklinton Gardens because it was a local organization that they valued as an asset in the community and as an opportunity for potential community/economic development. 40% of households wanted local and fresh food, 15% participated because the produce was high quality, and 20% chose to participate simply because they were living in the neighborhood and were surrounded by the FG urban farm. Others were excited about the potential to learn, loved vegetables, had participated in the past, and felt the home delivery was convenient. In Y1, our goal was to have 40 total CSA shares, with 15 subsidized. We ended up with 40 CSA shares for the 21-week summer season from June through October, 20 of which shares that were half price ($210; full price was $420). We had one household member per CSA member household complete a CSA Commitment Form to provide demographic information. The average age of respondents was 36 years old with a range of 22-69 years old. Over half of the households had never participated in the FG CSA summer program, and 9 had participated in the pilot Winter CSA program. Households had a range of between one and five adults living there, and between zero and four children. Nearly 38% of households had at least one person under the age of 18 living there, 60% of which had children under the age of six. Thirty-four respondents were White/Caucasian, while 5% of respondents identified as Black/African American, 12.5% self-identified as more than one race or of Latino/Hispanic ethnicity. Two households included military veterans, and 12.5% were born outside of the U.S. Of the 30 people responding to a question about Appalachian heritage, 66.67% stated that someone in their household identified as Appalachian or of Appalachian descent. 14% of our CSA households are considered "extremely low-income" because they are 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI). 11% are "very-low income" because they are 50% of the AMI, and 37% are low-income, or 80% AMI. We also calculated income for the 35 households reporting income. Three households were below the federal poverty line (FPL). 25% were below 130% FPL, an important marker because of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility. Nearly 43% of households were under 200% FPL, while 54% were under 250% FPL. Of the six households reporting SNAP, the average amount/month was $345, while the WIC average was $19. One-fourth of participants had someone in the household receiving SNAP, six households had participated in Veggie SNAPs (now Produce Perks), a SNAP doubling program, and 30% had participated in Medicaid. Around 85% of our CSA households had someone who was working full-time, and 32.5% had someone working part-time. Nearly 18% of households received income from retirement, pension, or disability, while 12.5% received income from other sources, such as temporary, seasonal, or cash-based work. In a community with food access challenges, our CSA membership included 17.5% of households who used another form of transportation beyond a car to regularly obtain food or go to appointments. Changes/Problems:During Y1, we focused on outreach, recruitment, and infrastructure. We delayed the educational classes so that could first take an inventory of the specific needs, ideas, and interests of our CSA participants and community to ensure optimal participation. During Y2, we will work with community partners and neighborhood residents to prioritize cooking classes, composting/food waste reduction workshops, value-added food products workshops, and gardening practices. Our classes will likely occur in our new Learning Garden, except for the cooking classes which will be hosted by Local Matters at Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center. We will work to identify residents with expertise, which is in part, informed by a post-season focus group and survey that is underway following this reporting period. We did not meet our goals to increase enrollment in SNAP/EBT and Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs. We have determined a few important reasons for these not being accomplished. The first is that our Point-of-Sale (POS) equipment and wireless internet was problematic and had to be replaced. Second, due to complicated farmers' market procedures, we were only allowed to vend at half of the summer markets, reducing the potential customers using SNAP/EBT or FMNP coupons. Third, we moved from a previous farmers' market in the area that seemed to serve more senior customers with FMNP coupon to one in which participation in FMNP is uncertain at this point. We can make this a goal in Y2 now that we have a better understanding of the customer base at the new market and we have a new POS machine. In Y2, we also need to work more with our Americorps VISTA members and volunteers who work at the markets to ensure their understanding of how to engage with these programs. This past summer, we made the decision to shut down our Franklinton Produce Market farmstand. As enrollment in CSA's have increased and a mobile market created, we have had a reduction in customers coming to the market. In Y2, we need to determine the feasibility of maintaining that market, whether we should move the stand to another area of the neighborhood, or whether we need to engage in marketing. One of the challenges of our produce stand was that another agency was providing free produce within a block of the stand, sometimes on days we were open. This is something we need to consider when moving forward in conversations with our West Side Food Access planning groups and community partner meetings. In Y2, we can work more closely with our Veggie SNAPs (now Produce Perks) program to better understand how to reach more SNAP participants. We have an outreach team who has identified additional ways to reach more community members who are low-income, such as the WIC office, senior housing complexes, and programs/classes at the Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center. Since we will be conducting more programming with Integrated Services and Gladden Community House, this will also be an opportunity to identify employees or residents related to these agencies. We have also begun to have conversations with Mount Carmel about offering our CSA or produce to people who work there, and will continue engaging with Clean Turn Enterprises about potential program participants. Lastly, there are a few pockets of immigrant communities new to our neighborhood. We have the opportunity to meet with some of the people who are working with those groups to see if we have any programs that might be appropriate and beneficial to those particular communities. We continue to work through turnover in our Americorps VISTA team that occurs annually and through the cyclical nature of volunteers, interns, and short-term summer VISTA teams. This past year, we focused much more on recruitment and have secured an improved management and training schedule for the team, and we anticipate this could be continually improved in the future. The future of VISTA, in general, is never a guarantee, so we continue to find ways to raise more funds. We are completing our next three-year strategic plan which includes the potential for more funded positions to support the capacity and potential of FG. Our evaluation is slightly behind for Y1. This is, in part, due to developing new survey tools and going through the appropriate avenues to obtain IRB approval to complete the additional research components added on to general data collection being conducted by FG. The post-season survey is nearing ready to be sent, and we just completed a post-season focus group. This process was delayed somewhat by aforementioned staffing/VISTA transitions. In Y2, this process should be smoother, now that procedures have been developed, tested, and have begun to be implemented. We anticipate adding in a pre-season and mid-season gathering in the future, especially because members are now requesting this, which we are very excited about hosting in the future. In our IRB documents, we added in some in-depth interviews which we think will further enhance the stories we can share from our community. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this project reporting period (Y1), we took an inventory of CSA participants' interest in different types of programming to determine where we should focus efforts in terms of educational workshops and trainings. Over 62% of CSA households were interested in workshops around gardening practices, 47.5% wanted to learn about composting and food waste reduction strategies, 47.5% wanted a class on how to use produce for value-added products (e.g., salsa, pesto, jam), 45% were interested in cooking classes, and 12.5% expressed interest in leadership trainings related to food and community development. In Y2, we will work with community partners who teach cooking classes to offer those to our CSA participants and other residents in Franklinton. We also have an Americorps VISTA member working to expand capacity for community composting, and will likely offer this type of workshop. We asked CSA residents to identify their own skills and knowledge around food production and preparation in the hopes of having residents lead workshops on value-added foods. Our newest Learning Garden that has been built houses three high tunnels with the purpose of engaging youth and neighbors in gardening practices. We are working with Intergrated Services Behavioral Health to develop children's gardening and food education curriculum for children attending Avondale Elementary School and Gladden Community House, which are across the street from the Learning Garden. During the reporting period, we worked with Clean Turn Enterprises and the Refuge Ministries to offer urban agriculture learning opportunities for eight adult men for around two months. The men were participating in an intense substance abuse recovery program and lived in an adjacent neighborhood. Between two and five people worked daily with our FG director completing gardening tasks and assisting with the development and transformation of vacant lots into garden sites. We hope to work with them in the future. We also asked participants to identify community assets and household skills. We hope to work with residents and CSA participants in future years to have them present workshops and learning opportunities to further engage people in the neighborhood and financially support residents who lead these workshops. For example, we have 20 people who have personal gardens and some who have offered to work with FG to lead some basic gardening practice workshops for urban areas. Thirteen of our CSA participants know how to pickle foods, 3 can food regularly, 6 are fermenters, 5 make their own jams, and 18 who compost, while several want to learn. By matching those with skills of residents with neighbors who want to learn, we can build social capital and increase knowledge and skills in the neighborhood. Between January 2017-April 2017, the project evaluator, in conjunction with FG, hosted their third class through Ohio State University. The class, SWK5026: Community Food Strategies, is a service-learning class with the primary community partner, Franklinton Gardens. It is an interdisciplinary class that includes undergraduate and graduate students. This year enrollment included nine students who met for three hours/week over the 15-week period. The class is taught at the Franklinton Board of Trade Office and engaged those students in service with Franklinton Gardens, Gladden Community House, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, and Worthington Farmers' Market. Students worked with FG staff, board members, and Americorps VISTA members to develop videos and infographics related to FG's mission which were presented at a community-wide open house and luncheon at the FG office. This was attended by 60 residents, agency representatives, Ohio State Initiative for Food and Agricultural Transformation (InFACT) leaders, College of Social Work staff and faculty, board members, and community partners. Our newest Americorps VISTA team started in August 2017 and includes two previous SWK5026 students now working with FG. During this project reporting period, the FG director and project evaluator were accepted to host a workshop at the Community Food Systems Conference hosted by New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Boston (taking place December 2017). The evaluator also presented some of the work about the CSA project at the Society for the Study of Social Problems annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (August 2017). The director and evaluator attended the annual Community Food Projects project director meeting in August 2017 in Washington, DC. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Describe how the results have been disseminated to communities of interest. Include any outreach activities that have been undertaken to reach members of communities who are not usually aware of these research activities for the purpose of enhancing public understanding and increasing interest in learning and careers in science, technology, and the humanities. During this reporting period (Y1), we have not had much to report as we have been collecting baseline information, but have conducted a number of outreach activities and have been featured in the news. In August 2017, we were featured in the Columbus Dispatch (http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170812/gardens-scattered-across-franklinton-add-up-to-big-produce-operation). FG was featured in a May 2017 article in the Columbus Underground (http://www.columbusunderground.com/buy-groceries-pay-bills-choice-behind-food-insecurity-ls1). We were also featured on the Ohio State University Food Innovation Center website, https://fic.osu.edu/news/news-archive/franklinton-gardens-awarded-usda-grant-to-expand-healthy-food-access.html and on Columbus' WBNS 10TV (https://www.10tv.com/article/urban-food-gardens-fuel-central-ohio-neighborhoods). In the future, our Learning Garden will serve as a space for educational opportunities. It was mentioned on the Rev1 Ventures website, https://www.rev1ventures.com/blog/start-awards-first-grant/. We hosted a summer potluck that included residents, FG staff, Americorps VISTA members, FG interns, and CSA participants. We also invited people to our Ohio State University's service-learning class luncheon in April 2017 and started a weekly online newsletter for people who sign-up, are donors, or are previously volunteers. In addition, CSA participants received a one-page newsletter with their produce shares each of the 21 weeks with FG farm updates. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal 1 O1. The plan is to continue recruitment efforts to low-income households, particularly those with SNAP. Word of mouth, neighborhood canvassing, and neighborhood meetings will be the forms of outreach. O2. FG has engaged a new volunteer through VISTA that is engaging CSA participants to volunteer at the farm. O3. FG will engage Local Matters to work with CSA participants in cooking classes. FG will also food processing workshops at the new Learning Garden to ensure the objective is met. O4. This will be measured with evaluation tools. CSA newsletters and supplementary activities will help to ensure this goal is met. O5. CSA appreciation parties, educational workshops, and volunteering will help connect CSA participants to community-level social capital. This will be evaluated in the post-season evaluation tool. O6. Volunteerism in the garden and other community events will assist with increased appreciation for gardening and farming.This will be evaluated in the post-season evaluation tool. O7. The CSA planning structure ensures new varieties of fruits and vegetables are introduced; due to this variety, it is anticipated that this objective will be met. This will be evaluated in the post-season evaluation tool. O8.The CSA newsletter and cooking classes encourage residents to try new dishes with their produce. This will be evaluated in the post-season evaluation tool. O9. This was nearly accomplished in Y1 and land is under development at the Y2Q1. Farm equipment was purchased at the beginning of Y1 and the beginning of Y2 with funds from other grant sources. Goal 2 To accomplish this goal, we will need to identify participants most likely to engage in these activities based on our evaluation inventory that was completed in Y2. In Y1, we largely focused on recruitment of participants, food production and infrastructure development/enhancement, and delivery/distribution. We also tested communication methods with CSA participants and engaged in community meetings and neighborhood outreach to continue to develop trust in the neighborhood. In Y2, we anticipate the continued involvement of FG at events, classes, and community meetings with our longstanding partners and new partnerships. Since word-of-mouth is such a strong way of communicating in our neighborhood, we anticipate that once we secure involvement in cooking classes, composting/food waste reduction workshops, value-added food products workshops, and gardening practice workshops, we will be able to further reach friends, neighbors, and co-workers of CSA participants interested in engaging in these ways. We will work with Local Matters and Mount Carmel Healthy Living Center in Y2Q2 to solidify dates and slots available for cooking classes. We have provided produce to Mount Carmel in the past for classes, and we will arrange an MOU with Local Matters and Mount Carmel in Y2Q2 regarding the use of produce, as long as our farm manager has enough produce for our CSA operation. During the Cooking Matters classes, evaluation results will help us see if we meet Outcome 1, 2, and 3. During Y1, we continued building out our Learning Garden and worked with Integrated Services, who hired someone to develop curriculum with FG for garden-based education. During Y2, Q1-Q3, the Integrated Services staff member will continue to work with Gladden Community House pre-schoolers and other kids, and by the time the garden is ready, will host a workday for youth. We did not have a food processing workshop in Y1. This was largely related to turnover of experts in this area and the decision to focus more on the CSA and infrastructure on the farm. We will discuss the use of the St. John's kitchen with the staff there in Y2Q2-3, as well as determine the times of year it would make sense to offer those workshops. Again, we have an inventory of people interested in taking this workshop and have some people in the neighborhood who could lead it. This includes a neighbor who uses FG produce to make jams that she sells in stores and markets in Central Ohio. We would than have results for Outcome 5. We just received additional funding for composting work in our neighborhood and have been engaged in a 18-month project with soil scientists at Ohio State University related to composting. We have identified several residents interested in learning more and have charged our Americorps VISTA team member who is primarily working on coordinating sustainability efforts. The aforementioned extra funding will help with equipment needs. We did use more sustainable practices at our most recent FG Fall Festival, focusing on reduction of food waste and landfill components. We anticipate adding in some more information to our weekly newsletters (online and CSA paper-based newsletters) about these new endeavors. We did have conversations during a post-season gathering about how to better use items. For example, one CSA newsletter featured recipes on how to use the green carrots tops in a pesto, which several people mentioned they tried for the first time. Others spoke about using vegetables to make soup stock. We will have Y1 post-season evaluation data about these practices for our next report, along with data from the 2017 Winter CSA and the 2018 Summer CSA. We are waiting to conduct the leadership training until late Y2 and Y3, after we have built stronger relationships with community members. This coincides with implementation of the Local Food Action Plan by the City of Columbus and Franklin County, and we anticipate tapping into neighborhood expertise related to policy, community organizing, and action. 40% of participants want a tour, and we learned from our Y1 Summer CSA participants that they are interested in a gathering and tour at the beginning of the season. Since our farm is scattered, many walk/drive by many gardens regularly, but we anticipate offering this more regularly once we complete some infrastructure projects. We are hoping one of our board members or former board members takes this on as a project to ensure sustainability with any cyclical turnover of FG staff, interns, and volunteers. We will need to ask our participants about special needs, as several are limited by transportation issues, childcare needs, and mobility issues. This can be done during Y2Q2 as we now have stronger relationships with our neighbors and CSA participants. Goal 3 O1.The FG Produce Stand was closed due to lack of patronage and lack of volunteer support. Instead, an online mobile market was created where email inventory of produce available each week is sent to a listerv, neighbors place orders based on inventory, and produce is delivered to residents' house or place of work. Due to the transition, we will monitor increase in mobile market patronage instead of Produce Stand Patronage in Y2 and Y3. Outreach efforts for CSA and Mobile Market ensures the objective is met. O2. SNAP usage decreased in Y1 from the previous year due to a failure in the POS system. FG had a phone-line based POS system, and the phone line was disconnected from the church that had previously paid for it. We could not accept EBT for 1 month, but we have since received a new cellular-based POS that is reliable and is a good platform to increase EBT (and VeggieSNAPs) sales into Y2. All outreach efforts will contribute to this objective being met. O3. Y1 saw a decline from previous years due to inconsistency at Farmers Markets. We will see an increase in Y2 due to renewed consistency at Farmers Markets and increased farm productivity. O4. Volunteerism is actively being promoted through FG's new volunteer coordinator. They are on track to meet this objective. O5. As FG leverages the USDA ComFoods Grant to create more gardens and enhance neighborhood produce distribution in Franklinton, FG becomes more well known in Columbus and has seen a strong increase in additional groups that want to tour the organization. We are on track to meet the Y2 goal.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Franklinton Gardens (FG), a scattered site nonprofit urban farm in Columbus Ohio's near-westside, received a three-year $135k grant from the USDA ComFoods grant program to increase community food security through Urban Agriculture in the Franklinton neighborhood. More than 44% of Franklinton households struggle with extreme poverty, and access to fresh-fruits and vegetables is considered a major limitation in the neighborhood. Franklinton Gardens addresses this issue by growing and distributing food in Franklinton.This grant assists with expanding the FG 20-week CSA (weekly produce basket subscription program) incrementally over three years to 75 shares (half of which are subsidized for low-income residents), involving CSA members in cooking classes that help equip participants with kitchen skills necessary to utilize the weekly CSA produce, and funding farmland expansion and physical infrastructure required to grow enough produce for a 75-share urban CSA. Major impacts during year 1 of the grant program include: 1) successfully recruiting and offering subsidies for 20 low-income households for the 40-member neighborhood summer CSA; 2) successfully recruiting and offering subsidies for 5 low-income households for the 10-member neighborhood winter CSA; 3) leveraging the $35k in USDA ComFoods grant funds dedicated to urban farm land acquisition and farm infrastructure to raise an additional $109k in grant dollars to support farmland and farm infrastructure expansion. 4) developing 2 new farm sites that contribute to FG's 10-site year-round urban farming operation. Progress on accomplishing goals: Some detail, and responses 1-4 that had been labeld n/a were removed to reduce character counts. Goal 1: G1.O1: Low-income Franklinton households will increase access to affordable, neighborhood-grown produce through participation in a low-cost 20-week CSA program that accepts SNAP (Y1-15 households, Y2-20 households, Y3-25 households). 1) Y1- 22 low income households were recruited for the 20-week summer CSA, three were EBT-based, 15 were subsidized through funds in this grant, 2 were unsubsidized, and 5 were subsidized from other funds. 3) Demand for subsidized shares by low income residents during Y1 exceeded expectations and of the 40 total shares, 22 shares were allotted to low-income residents (<80% AMI). 4)Goal was met and exceeded, setting the stage for a successful recruitment in Y2. G1.O2: 10% of CSA participants will increase their knowledge of urban food production through volunteering for Franklinton Gardens. 1)No CSA participants volunteered at FG during Y1 3)Recruitment of CSA participants for volunteerism during Y1 did not occur, largely due to limited outreach capacity. It will be a high priority for Y2 G1.O3: 75% of CSA participants will increase their knowledge about nutrition and cooking through educational workshops. 1)No educational workshops occurred during Y1 3) Educational workshops were not conducted during Y1. It was decided that focusing on educational workshops in Y2 was a better strategy as the workshop content could be crafted based on feedback from Y1 evaluation of CSA participants. 4) Evaluation of CSA participants indicated high demand for educational workshops regarding nutrition and cooking. G1.O4-O8 1)Data not yet available as Y1 CSA ended in October 2017 and post-season evaluation currently underway G1.O9: The amount of urban farmland specifically being developed to provide healthy weekly Community Supported Agriculture shares to Franklinton residents will increase by 70 garden beds in Y2 and be sustained in Y3, and farm production efficiency will be increased by 50% with new farm equipment. 1) 2 new gardens that encompass 0.1 acres with 20 new garden beds were added to FG's farming operation in Y1. Development for three new gardens that encompass 0.48 acres will include an additional 50 garden beds is underway and anticipated to be complete by Q3 of Y2. A new walk-behind tractor was purchased, and a grant for a skid-steer was secured. These purchases increase farm efficiency beyond 50%. 4) Substantial progress was made in developing new urban farm production space and in securing land new land for urban agriculture from the City of Columbus. By Q3 of Y2 the goal of 0.29 acres of land purchased and put into urban farm production will exceed the goal as it projected that a total of 0.58 acres of urban farmland will be permanently established. Goal 2: G2.O1-O8 1) No data as educational classes will be offered during Y2 Goal 3: G3.O1: Increase the number of Franklinton residents who purchase healthy Franklinton Gardens produce at the Franklinton Produce Stand by 5% in Y1, 10% in Y2, and 15% in Y3. 1)Franklinton Produce Market has been permanently closed due to lack of patronage. Instead a mobile market and delivery service has been created that is more engaging than the farm stand. Data will be compared from Y1 and Y2 due to the transition from Franklinton Produce Market to Mobile Market in Y1 4)Outreach and engagement potential has increased due to transition to an online, email-based, mobile market delivery service. A website is planned that will replace the email communications with a professional online storefront. G3.O2: Increase the number of Franklinton residents using SNAP benefits and participating in the Veggie SNAPs (double SNAP benefits) program at the Franklinton Produce Market by 5% in Y1, 10% in Y2, and 15% in Y3 to increase their purchasing power. 1)Franklinton Produce Market has been permanently closed due to lack of patronage. Instead a mobile market and delivery service has been created that is more engaging than the farm stand. Data will be compared from Y1 and Y2 due to the transition from Farm Stand to Mobile Market in Y1 4)Outreach and engagement potential has increased due to transition to an online, email-based, mobile market delivery service. A website is planned that will replace the email communications with a professional online storefront. G3.O3: Increase the revenue from WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program coupons for Franklinton Gardens-grown produce by 5% in Y1, 10% in Y2, and 15% in Y3. 1)WIC and Senior Farmers Market nutrition program coupon redemption was 11% and 71% lower in Y1 than the year prior to Y1 (YP2Y1). 2)Y1/YP2Y1 WIC - $825/$930, Y1/YP2Y1 SFMNP Coupons - $270/$960 3) This is due to staff turnover, and switching farmers markets to a market that does not engage a clientele that regularly uses Senior Farmers Market Coupons G3.O4: By Year 3, Franklinton Gardens will increase the number of volunteers serving by 15% through promotional activities. 1)Baseline volunteers for Y1 was 537 volunteers who volunteered for 1608 hours. Goal for Y3 will be 617 volunteers for 1850 hours 4)AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer coorinator is assisting with increasing volunteer retention and recruitment. G3.O5: The number of people participating in educational tours of garden spaces will increase by 50 people each year (Y1-150, Y2-200, Y3-250). 1)Approximately 180 individuals engaged in tours in Y1 4)AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer coorinator is assisting with increasing tour frequency
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