Recipient Organization
PRESENCE CHICAGO HOSPITALS NETWORK
2233 W DIVISION ST
CHICAGO,IL 60622
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The main goal of our project is to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers participating in SNAP. We will accomplish this goal by expanding our market's operations, increasing the point of purchase incentives offered with emphasis on the utilization of EBT cards, and leading healthy cooking demonstrations and education sessions. Ultimately, this program will enhance the health of the populations we serve, as many chronic conditions can be improved through modifiable factors such as diet and exercise.Measureable ObjectivesMarket OperationsWe will enhance market operations by:1. Increasing number of markets offered from 12 per year to 26 per year by moving from a bi-weekly format to a weekly format2. Increasing the number of SNAP beneficiaries served by the market from 1,237 (pilot year) to 7,800 (over 3 years)3. Increasing the number of local/regional vendors from 12 to 15 by the end of the grant period.Point of Purchase IncentivesWe will offer three types of incentives during the grant period- Triple Value Match, Nutrition Rx, and Food Bucks. Utilization targets for the incentives are listed below:1. Triple Value Match: $51,000 over the grant period (average of $17,000 per year)2. Nutrition Rx: 70,200 over the course of the grant period (average of $23,400 per year)3. Food Bucks: $113,100 over the grant period ($37,700 per year)Additional measurable objectives in this area include:1. 50% of SNAP consumers who participate in the Nutrition Rx incentive program will increase their weekly consumption of fruit and vegetables after participating in the program for 7 monthsThe overall incentive redemption rate will increase from 60% (pilot year) to 75% over the course of the grant period.Nutrition Education/Cooking DemosWe anticipate that:1. Each year, 35% of the 2,000 SNAP recipients who participate in an on-site cooking demonstration will indicate their intention to replicate the meal at home.
Animal Health Component
10%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
65%
Applied
10%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of our project is to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers participating in SNAP. This goal mirrors the primary goal of the FINI program as stated in the RFA. We will accomplish this goal by increasing the point of purchase incentives offered with emphasis on the utilization of EBT cards, expanding our market, and leading healthy cooking demonstrations. We will also be evaluating the effectiveness of the different types of incentives we offer, as well as the means of offering those incentives. These activities support Goal 4.2 of the USDA's strategic plan, a key component of which is "to test and expand the use of incentive programs for healthy food purchases, and promote greater use of farmers' markets by SNAP participants." With the approval to operate as a SNAP retailer and to process SNAP benefits, we are directly contributing to the USDAs' performance indicator goals of authorizing 6,000 markets/direct marketing and redeeming $27 million in benefits by 2018. Ultimately, this program will enhance the health of the populations we serve, as many chronic conditions can be improved through modifiable factors such as diet and exercise. Building on the success of our pilot year, we anticipate positive outcomes in the following areas throughout the course of the FIP grant periodExpanded Access to Fresh ProduceWe will expand access to locally sourced, culturally appropriate fresh produce by enhancing farmers' market operations. We will continue to offer cultural staples such as tomatillos, nopales, hot peppers, okra, onions, squash, leafy greens, tomatoes, potatoes, apples and oranges. Additional planned offerings include asparagus, spinach, peas, carrots, eggplant, plums, peaches, corn, cucumbers, and a variety of berries. The following outcomes have been selected for this area: 1) Increase the number of SNAP beneficiaries served by the market from 1,237 over one year to 7,800 over 3 years by moving from a bi-weekly format to a weekly format; 2) Increase the number of local/regional vendors from 12 to 15 by the end of the FIP grant period.Point of Purchase IncentivesWe will increase the number and percent of point of purchase vouchers redeemed by SNAP recipients during our 3-year grant period. As during our pilot year, we will offer three types of incentives: Triple Value Matching, Nutrition Prescription (Rx), and Food Bucks. The Triple Value Matching incentive will match every dollar spent by the SNAP participant with three dollars in market currency (up to $15 for a maximum match of $45) for the purchases of SNAP-eligible produce. The Nutrition Rx incentives are distributed by participating PSMEMC clinics as vouchers that are redeemable for $15 in market currency. Food Bucks are similar to Nutrition Rx with the $15 market currency vouchers, but are distributed by community partners instead of PSMEMC clinics. The intended outcome for incentive utilization is to increase the overall redemption rate for all incentives from 60% to 75%.Nutrition-Related Skills and BehaviorsWe will test the effectiveness of all incentives through focus groups. Our quantitative evaluation, however, will focus on the Nutrition Rx and cooking demo portions of the program. Based on evidence of effectiveness, we anticipate the following outcomes in this area: 1) 50% of the 800 yearly SNAP consumers who use the Nutrition Rx incentive will increase their weekly consumption of fruit and vegetables after participating in the program for 7 months; 2) Each year, 35% of the 2,000 SNAP recipients who participate in an on-site cooking demonstration will indicate their intention to replicate the meal at home.
Project Methods
We willanalyze our processes and assess the effectiveness of our incentives program with our evaluation plan. In addition to cooperating with the independent evaluator selected by the USDA, we will conduct our self-assessments and evaluations with the assistance of Dr. Angela M. Odoms-Young from the Applied Health Sciences Department at University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC). With an extensive background in researching determinants of dietary behaviors in low-income populations, Dr. Odoms-Young will serve as a consultant to the development and implementation of our evaluation plan.Process Evaluation PlanWe will track unduplicated SNAP participants via their unique LINK card numbers. We will track the dollar value of incentives redeemed using the special market currency (tokens) that is used to pay vendors. We will use our records of voucher distribution, combined with the vouchers redeemed to calculate the redemption rate. UIC will be consulted to ensure that we are collecting all of the information required by the USDA evaluator and using the proper methodology to do so.Additionally, we will conduct a qualitative evaluation to augment the quantitative evaluation described above. Feedback from focus groups and Advisory Council members will inform outreach strategies, redemption process, market operations, and overall improvements. Farmers' market staff and community partner will also help recruit 10-15 consistent SNAP participants at our farmers' markets for focus groups.Impact/Outcome Evaluation PlanBaseline information on fruit and vegetable consumption by Nutrition Rx participants will be obtained by participating clinics, via standardized question incorporated into their workflow as desired. Results will be conveyed to the Market Manager on an on-going basis. Results will also include other relevant evaluation data, as well as the participant contact info. The Market Manager will create a Nutrition Rx database/spreadsheet with this data and review it on a quarterly basis. He/she will call to follow-up with participants who have received at least 5 Nutrition Rx vouchers within that quarter. S/he will re-administer the multiple choice question over the phone. The Project Director will analyze and report on this data.Cooking demonstrations will be evaluated via a simple survey administered at the time of the demonstration. The Market Manager will attend each farmers' market. During cooking demos, a survey will be handed out to each person attending the demo. The survey will ask the participants' intent to prepare the food being cooked. It will also ask whether they attended cooking demos in the past. The Market Manager will maintain a spreadsheet/database with responses and the Project Director will analyze and report on the data.