SULLIVAN COUNTY FOOD SAFETY OUTREACH PROGRAM

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1020598
• Grant No.: 2019-70020-30347
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $95,716.00
• Proposal No.: 2019-04216
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2022
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A4182]- Regional FSMA Center

Recipient Organization
CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
64 FERNDALE LOOMIS RD STE 1
LIBERTY,NY 12754

Performing Department
Ag & Food Systems

Non Technical Summary
Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (CCESC) and our partners are requesting assistance to expand existing Food Safety educational and outreach efforts primarily in Sullivan County, with additional assistance for adjoining Delaware County, by working with our stakeholders and fruit and vegetable producers to increase technical assistance to producers exempt from the Produce Safety Rule, increase food safety training opportunities available in the region for small and medium sized farms, provide additional resources to producers covered by the Produce Safety Rule, and provide training and consulting opportunities for producers seeking a third-party Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) audit, through building the capacity of CCESC. The long-term goals are to increase the amount of producers with food safety knowledge, increase the number of food safety trainings and workshop participants over the next two years, increase the number of producers with Food Safety Plans and GAP audits, increase the number of producers participating in the NYS Grown and Certified program and increase the number of producers selling to the Catskills Food Hub. The end result will be an increase in retail and wholesale markets for producers, while providing a safe, nutritious and secure food supply for consumers to purchase farm, fresh products, thus growing the agriculture economy in the region, preventing foodborne illnesses, protecting public health, and providing access to safe and nutritious food for low income communities.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
723	1499	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

fmsa

food safety

Goals / Objectives
Increase the food safety knowledge and training for small and medium sized agricultural producers in Sullivan and Delaware Counties by 60%, while decreasing the number of foodborne illnesses.Increase access to food safety educational resources for small and medium sized farms by developing an educational outreach program through social media, flyers, fact sheets, newsletter articles and one on one CCESC technical assistance.Develop 10 food safety workshops by building capacity of CCESC staff and expanding existing food safety efforts.Host 3 Producer Safety Alliance Grower Trainings over 2 years.Provide training to CCEDC program staff on Food Safety so they can assist with providing resources for Delaware County producers.Schedule individual farm visits by CCESC to asses and provide food safety technical assistance.Increase the number of producers with Food Safety Plans and GAP Audits in Sullivan and Delaware Counties.Assess pre-project the number of producers with Food Safety Plans and GAP audits with assistance from partners.Schedule individual farm visits by CCESC to assess and provide food safety technical assistance.20 farms will become Produce Safety Rule (PSR) recordkeeping compliant6 producers will have received GAP audits, with assistance from a certified food safety consultant.Increase the number of producers in Sullivan and Delaware Counties that are NYS Grown and Certified and have the ability to sell to the Catskills Food Hub.Work with partners to implement Food Safety Educational Outreach Plan (from Objective #1).Host 2 NYS Grown and Certified informational workshopsHost food safety workshops (as part of Objective #1) at the Hub6 producers will become NYS Grown and CertifiedIncrease the number of producers selling to the Catskills Food Hub by 20%Increase access to safe and nutritious food for low income communities and decrease foodborne illnesses.The Hub will increase the number of small and medium sized producers with Food Safety Plans or GAP audits by 20%, which in turn will increase access to safe and nutritious foods for low income communities through distribution programs such as Farm to School and the Mobile Farmers Market.Sullivan Fresh Market on the Move (Mobile Farmers Market) will increase purchases from the Hub from small and medium sized farms with Food Safety plans or GAP audits by 20%.Provide safe food handling demonstrations at the mobile farmers market stops to 400 low income consumers through CCESC certified ServeSafe staff.

Project Methods
CCEDC will collaborate with CCESC to host educational training in Delaware County and assist with outreach to Delaware County producers, workshop surveys and evaluations.The Catskills Food Hub will host food safety trainings in collaboration with CCESC at their facility; assist with outreach to current and potential producers of the hub; assist with post workshop surveys and evaluation. The Hub has identified a need to get additional producers trained in food safety. CCESC serves as an advisory role on the Hub Board of Directors and chairs their Program Committee. The Hub also surveyed all current or potential producers (sellers to the Hub) and has an inventory of who needs food safety training.Produce Safety Alliance: CCESC will work with the Produce Safety Alliance through Cornell University to access lead trainers, educational materials and support for the CCESC hosted PSAGT.CCESC will handle overall project management, develop educational training and workshops, coordinate the project among stakeholders; develop surveys and evaluations tools; develop benchmarks and gather initial post project data. CCESC developed a Farm to Institution producer survey to address the barriers to selling to wholesale markets. Producers noted they did not have the required FSMA/GAP requirements that wholesale buyers require. As mentioned above, CCESC staff have extensive training in food safety, the Produce Safety Rule and overall agricultural and food related education. Therefore, CCESC is the ideal organization to develop and implement a food safety educational program for producers and handlers in Sullivan County and the surrounding region.CCESC has an extensive, established outreach network. Using our producer database, press contacts and partnerships with the regional Cornell Cooperative Extension Network (Delaware, Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester Counties) information about the project, training opportunities and food safety resources will be distributed to producers and the public. Current outreach methods that will be applied to this project include social media (Facebook and Instagram accounts), monthly ag email distribution lists, direct mailing lists, press releases, resource sharing via website, newspaper advertisements and CCESC Extension Connection articles. As a result, we anticipate to reach over 100 fruit and vegetable farms in Delaware and Sullivan Counties, plus outside producers through our regional network who need to attend our trainings and workshops. One on One technical assistance and plan development will be limited to Sullivan/Delaware Counties.Evaluation Process and Data AnalysisAll data will be used to assess progress towards activity/output benchmarks, changes in participants knowledge, skills, and/or behavior, identify areas for improvement or adjustment in approach(es), and program quality. Data triangulation using three different sources of data: outputs, engagement/retention rates, surveys, and publicly available farm data, all tools in which can be shared across similar projects. Participant knowledge of food safety will be measured at the beginning, mid-point, and end of the project. Participants input will be gathered through maintaining attendance and activity records, and implementing surveys and evaluation stakeholder meetings, with assistance from the stakeholders. On site farm visits will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the program and continued needs of small and medium sized producers. Benchmarks and indicators will be solidified by site at the start of the project and used to measure progress and success. Baseline benchmarks will track the number of producers required and exempt from PSR and current knowledge of food safety. Percentage increases in producer attendance at workshops, selling to the Hub, NYS Grown and Certified, food safety knowledge will be measured through post workshop or activity feedback surveys and publicly available NYS data.

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:For this reporting period, we have worked directly with farmers located within Sullivan County. The farmers were primarily of white ethnicity and ranged in age. As part of the Food Safety outreach to consumers, we served community members at public farmers' markets. The demographics included a mixture of white, black, hispanic and asian ethnicities, along with a range of agesThe efforts used to deliver the information to the above target audiences included virtual workshops, recorded webinar trainings and direct community outreach at a public farmers' market. Changes/Problems:A major change under the grant was not hosting more than one PSA workshop since as a result of the pandemic, these workshops transitioned to online, so there wasn't a need to host in person. Instead, we promoted people to attend these trainngs online. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As previosuly stated professional training to 79 individuals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have distributed educational materials to consumers at public farmers' markets, we have added a Food Safety section on our website, and we have mailed and emailed food safety fact sheets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final reporting period for our grant.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Under this period, the following goals were accomplished: 4 additional farms became PSR recordkeeping compliant and 2 are in the progress of undergoing the GAP certification. Individual farm visits were scheduled during the time frame and Farm Food Safety resources were shared via email, newsletter and one on technical assistance. We hosted 3 workshops, on on Organic Certification, one on Wholesale Market Readiness and one on On Farm Composting. In addition, to working with farms, CCE staff provided food safety resources to consumers at our farmers markets and mobile markets.

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:For this project, we have worked directly with farmers located within Sullivan County. The farmers were primarily of white ethnicity and ranged in age. As part of the Food Safety outreach to consumers, we served community members at public farmers' markets. The demographics included a mixture of white, black, hispanic and asian ethnicities, along with a range of ages. Changes/Problems:Aspreviosuly mentioned, during this grant COVID happened, therefore, we had to extend the grant in order to offer educational workshops, demonstrations and one on one technical assistance. In addition, we were not able to reach Delaware County producers due to staffing changes with our partner organization. In addition, we only offered 1 PSA class becase these became available online. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We offered 10 workshops on farm food safety, of which 6 were online. 1 recorded consumer food safety workshop. Educational demonstrations for consumers on food safety at farmers markets and mobile markets. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have distributed educational materials to consumers at public farmers' markets, we have added a Food Safety section on our website, and we have mailed and emailed farm food safety fact sheets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final report, so no additional reporting period.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Worked with farmers to develop 10 farm food safety plans. Provided 10 workshops on farm food safety Offered 1 PSA workshop, but promoted additional online courses 108 people attended workshops 400 people attended demonstrations on consumers food safety 2 producers were assisted with GAP audit. Provided resources such as fact sheets, website information, email blasts and information on newsletter to both produers and consumers. Helpe to increase the number of producers in compliance to sell to the Catskills Food Hub. Provided one on one technical assistance to producers on farm food safety. Purchased products from these prodcuers from the Catskills Food Hub for the Sullivan Fresh program.

Publications

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:For this reporting period, we have worked directly with farmers located within Sullivan County. The farmers were primarily of white ethnicity and ranged in age. As part of the Food Safety outreach to consumers, we served community members at public farmers' markets. The demographics included a mixture of white, black, hispanic and asian ethnicities, along with a range of ages. The efforts used to deliver the information to the above target audiences included virtual workshops, recorded webinartrainings and direct community outreach at a public farmers' market. Changes/Problems:As previosuly mentioned in our last grant report, as part of the grant project, we developed a project management plan that entailed offering educational programming and on site farm visits in Spring/early Summer. However, as a result of Covid-19, we had to delay these tasks. Therefore, we requested a project extension in order to perform these tasks in the fall/winter now that we are permitted to attend on site farm visits once again. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As previously stated, we have offered 4 educational programs. However, due to covid the Spring/Summer workshops were delayed. We are in the process of extending Year 2 workshops into what will now be Year 3 of the grant, due to an extension request that we received. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have distributed educational materials to consumers at public farmers' markets, we have added a Food Safety section on our website, and we have mailed and emailed food safety fact sheets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we plan to offer more educational programming and continue to provide one on one technical assistance and outreach to targeted farmers. As a result, we feel confident we will assist farmers with food safety plans and GAP audits.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The educational and technical assistance component is still in progress. Therefore, the above goals have not been entirely completed. However, as stated in the previous activities section we have offered a portion of the classes, assisted 6 farmers with food safety plans and distributed educational materials to farmers and consumers. We are currently in the porcess of assisting 3 farms with developing their plans. Therefore, we feel confident we are on track to complete the above goals.

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:For this reporting period, we have worked directly with farmers located within Sullivan County. The farmers were primarily of white ethnicity and ranged in age. As part of the Food Safety outreach to consumers, we served community members at public farmers' markets. The demographics included a mixture of white, black, hispanic and asian ethnicities, along with a range of ages. The efforts used to deliver the information to the above target audiences included classroom setting, recorded webinar trainings and direct communiyt outreach at a public farmers' market. Changes/Problems:As part of the grant project, we developed a project management plan that entailed offering educational programming and on site farm visits in Spring/early Summer. However, as a result of Covid-19, we had to delay these tasks. Therefore, we anticipate performing these tasks in the fall/winter now that we are permitted to attend on site farm visits once again. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As previously stated, we have offered 3 educational programs. However, due to covid the Spring/Summer workshops were delayed. We are in the process of extending Year 1 workshops into Year 2 of the grant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have distributed educational materials to consumers at public farmers' markets, we have added a Food Safety section on our website, and we have mailed and emailed food safety fact sheets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we plan to offer more educational programming (virtual if necessary) and continue to provide one on one technical assistance and outreach to targeted farmers. As a result, we feel confident we will assist farmers with food safety plans and GAP audits.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The educational and technical assistance component isstill in progress. Therefore, the above goals have not been entirely completed. However, as stated in the previous activities section we have offered a portion of the classes, assisted 5 farmers with food safety plans and distributed educational materials to farmers and consumers. Therefore, we feel confident we are ontrack to complete the above goals.

Publications