Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Link Up Illinois supported SNAP (Illinois 'Link') recipients by providing Link Match nutrition incentives to farmers markets, food cooperatives, retail neighborhood and regional grocery stores, CSAs, and mobile markets operating in Illinois. Changes/Problems:The project did not encounter any major changes or problems. However, we learned that expanding nutrition incentives to grocery stores is a significantly slower process than anticipated, sometimesrequiring years of discussion,planning, and development. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Link Up Illinois provides a variety of opportunities for training and development to partner firms as well as our own personnel. All farmers markets, food cooperatives, CSAs, mobile markets, corner stores, and grocery stores participating in Link Up Illinois' Link Match program were required to receive training in program implementation, best practices, and data collection. Most of these training sessions and webinars occurred virtually, although corner store and grocery store technical assistance and trainingsoccurred in person. Experimental Station staff also provided general outreach regarding the program and training to partner firms at in-person convenings, such as Illinois Farmers Market Association conferences. Experimental Station staff also participated in USDAand Nutrition Incentive Hub virtual convenings, as well as communities of interest meetings organized through the Hub. Additionally, with Hub support, Experimental Station staff undertook a variety of capacity-building trainings, including grant management and OMB requirements for finance staff, and Google data analytics with the aim of developing a new data collection tool for the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Experimental Station creates an annual Increasing Food Access Report that reports on program gains and GusNIP survey results from the previous year. The annual reports are available on the Experimental Station website at experimentalstation.org/resources. They are also mailed in hard copy to all Illinois state legislators and are distributed to stakeholders of all types across the state both digitally and in hard copy. Experimental Station and Link Up Illinois program staff report on program results at a variety of meetings and convenings during the course of the year, including meetings sponsored by the USDA, Illinois Farmers Market Association, and Illinois Farm Bureau. Experimental Station and Link Up Illinois staff also meet and share results with staff from the offices of the Illinois Department of Human Services, US Senator Richard Durbin, and US Senator Tammy Duckworth. Dissemination of program results to legislators and Illinois state administrators has enabled the Link Up Illinois program to receive significant state funding over 3 years and for $500,000/year of that funding to be written into the state budget. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Grocery Store Expansion: From 2021-January 2023, Experimental Station partnered with the Midwest Independent Retailers Association (MIRA) to pilot expansion of Link Match to three independent grocery stores operating in three of Chicago's south side neighborhoods. The targetedgrocery stores were two Cermak Fresh Market stores both serving a primarily Hispanic clientele and the One Stop Foods located in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, serving a low-income Black/African American clientele. During the project period, Experimental Station/Link Up Illinois and MIRA worked closely with the owners of Cermak Fresh Market as the latter changed/upgraded their existing POS system to be able to accommodate incentives. Cermak Fresh Market launched their first Link Match program in late winter2022 with Link Match incentive purchases averaging less than $400/week in the first months and growing to more than $3,000/week in 2023. SNAP customers are able to receive a $5/day matching incentive for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Rather than expand Link Match to the second Cermak Fresh Market (which has held off on expansion), Link Up Illinois and MIRA began to work with Pete's Fresh Market, another regional independent grocery store chain. Conversations with Pete's Fresh Market stalled in 2022, but resumedin 2023.Meanwhile, Experimental Station and MIRA continued to provide technical assistance to One Stop Foodsthroughout 2022, enabling them to launchtheir Link Match incentive program at last in April 2023. One Stop saw immediate embrace of the Link Match incentive by their SNAP clientele and have exceeded expectations for incentive redemption. At the same time, Experimental Station also began conversations with Albertson's/Jewel-Osco and Yellow Banana to expand to at least 4-5 stores between the two partner firms in 2023. As of August 2023, Albertson's plans to launch Link Match in as many as 4of their stores later in 2023 (twoin underserved African-American neighborhoods onChicago's south side, one in DeKalb, one in Antioch, IL). During the project period, Experimental Stationhas striven to build needed staffing and infrastructure to advance the program goals. In December 2021, Link Up Illinois created a Program Associate role to support expansion of Link Match to corner stores. With added staff and with the intention of expanding our corner store initiative, we took time in February 2022 to rethink the program's brick-and-mortar structure (creating various tiers--Neighborhood Grocers, Regional Grocers) and create new policies and processes for each tier. With these in place, Link Up Illnois was able to bring Link Match to Town Square Marketin East St. Louis and the Go Green Community Fresh Market in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, while continuing to support 4 food cooperatives located in Bloomington, Carbondale, Oak Park, and Chicago, and the Mi Mexico and Morgan Mini-Mart corner stores in Chicago's struggling Englewood and Gage Park neighborhoods. Link Up Illinois workedclosely with these firms to ensure success of the program, providing promotional materials as well as onsite promotion. Link Up Illinois staff also began to work with several additional Neighborhood Grocer stores to implement Link Match. However, these have not advanced to the implementation stage. Altogether, in 2022, Link Up Illinois provided Link Match funding, training, technical support, and promotional materials to 12 brick-and-mortar locations. CSA and Mobile Market Expansion: During the project period, Link Up Illinois provided funding, training, and technical support to expand Link Match to CSA programs (The Urban Canopy, Urban Growers' Collective, Chicago Patchwork Farms), mobile markets (Urban Growers' Collective), and delivery services (Top Box Foods). Due to SNAP rules,CSAs and delivery service require a different approach to administering the incentives; partner firms employ a discount model, allowing SNAP clients to make 1/2 of the purchase with their SNAP benefits and the other half with the earned incentive. Statewide Link Match Program Support: With the addition of a second Program Associate positiondedicated to farmers markets and other farm-direct firms in 2022, Link Up Illinois undertook outreach to CSAs, farmers markets, and other partner venues, and administered MOUs and grant contracts to provide funds, training and technical support to 83Illinois farmers markets, CSAs, farm stands, and mobile markets. For participating farmers markets, Experimental Station designed and provided universal Link Match currency, which SNAP customers were able to earn at one market and spend at any other participating farmers market in the state. With GusNIP and significantly expanded incentive funding provided by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health and Illinois Department of Human Services, Experimental Station was able to increase the match limit for SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets in August 2021, which continued through 2023. The $25 per day match limit for farmers markets was increased to a $25 per SNAP transaction limit, immediately resulting in increased Link Match usage. Our Link Up Illinois program also benefited from its creation of two Link Hubs in central and southern Illinois, whereby two partner firms worked with small, low-capacity farmers markets in their region, helping them to become authorized to accept SNAP and to implement Link Match. Our southern hub, led by Food Works, enabled eight markets to accept SNAP and provide Link Match incentives in 2022 and 2023. Link Match Statewide Promotion: In winter and spring 2021, 2022, and 2023, Experimental Station created and produced a variety of printed promotional materials, including the universal Link Match currency, 60,000 copies (40,000 in English, 20,000 in Spanish) of the annual Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Grocery Stores Accepting Link and Link Match, 350 copies of the Experimental Station annual Food Access Report, 'We Link Match' signs for farmers market partners, and promotional flyers, shelf talkers, and posters for grocery retail firms. The annual Guide was distributed to participating farmers markets, CSAs, mobile markets, food cooperatives, participating grocery stores, partner firms,and agencies throughout the state. The annual Food Access Report was mailed with a cover letter to every Illinois State Senator and Representative and distributed via hard copy and email to funders and stakeholders. In addition, each year, Experimental Station promoted Link Match in Chicago through strong targeted CTA bus and train promotion. In partnership with CBS Broadcasting, Experimental Station created a 30-second and a 15-second television advertisement, targeting SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets and participating grocery stores in the Chicago region. The ad was the basis for a television campaign in Cook County (in which Chicago is located) and the six surrounding counties in the northeast corner of the state. The CBS television campaign broadcast ran during such programs as The Price Is Right, The Young & The Restless, Judge Judy, The Local News, The Late Late Show, and The Late News. CBS also provided a direct email, social media, and streaming campaign during the market season. Data Collection and Evaluation: In July-August each year, Link Up Illinois and partner firms across the state implemented program evaluation surveys (available in English and Spanish) to their SNAP clients. The survey sites included farmers markets, food co-ops, and grocery stores. For the first time, in 2023, the survey was available in both paper and electronic form.Survey participants received $10 in cash for their participation. Partner firms willing to implement the survey received $200 for their assistance. Dr. Chelsea Singleton (Tulane University) received the data and submitted it to the Gretchen Swanson Center.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
2022 Increasing Food Access Report, Experimental Station (April 2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
2023 Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Grocery Stores Accepting Link and Link Match (English and Spanish), Experimental Station (June 2023).
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Link Up Illinois supported SNAP (Illinois 'Link') recipients by providing Link Match nutrition incentives to 80farmers markets, food cooperatives, retail neighborhood and regional grocery stores, CSAs, and mobile markets operating in Illinois. This number does not include multiple sitesserved (mobile markets) or multiple days per week offered (farmers markets). Changes/Problems:Although not a problem, due to increased city, state, and federal funding in 2021 and 2022, Experimental Station will be extending this GusNIP award to 2023. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All farmers markets, food cooperatives, CSAs, mobile markets, corner stores, and grocery stores participating in Link Up Illinois' Link Match program were required to receive training in program implementation, best practices, and FM Tracks data collection. Most of these training sessions and webinars occurred virtually, although several occurred in person. Experimental Station staff also provided general outreach regarding the program and training to partner firms at in-person convenings, such as the Illinois Farmers Market Association conference in Peoria, Illinois. In addition, Experimental Station staff participated in USDA and Nutrition Incentive Hub virtual convenings, as well as communities of interest meetings organized through the Hub. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As noted above, the Experimental Station2021Food Access Report was disseminated both in hard copy and digitally to Link Up Illinois partner firms, funders and partners, legislators, and any others interested in learning about Experimental Station's food access work. Experimental Station also presentedthe results of the Link Up Illinois program throughout the year at conferences andmeetings with local, state, and national stakeholders and interest groups. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Link Up Illinois program will continueto grow and improve its infrastructure, as it expands to new direct-to-consumer and brick-and-mortar partner firms across the state. In the next reporting period, we will be finalizing and implementing a new and streamlined online grant application, finalizing changes to brick-and-mortar payment structures, and launching a new, in-house-developed data collection tool to replace FM Tracks. Each of these refinements to our practices and infrastructure will be followed with trainings for partner firms to ensure awareness of the changes and knowledge of how to employ the new systems. To further build our statewide infrastructure, Link Up Illinois will be working with an additional partner firm to become a third Link Hub to further expand SNAP acceptance and Link Match in small, low-capacity markets. We will also continue to fund and provide technical assistance to existing firms across the state.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Grocery Store Expansion: During the reporting period, Experimental Station continued to partnerwith the Midwest Independent Retailers Association (MIRA) to pilot expansion of Link Match to three independent grocery stores operating in three of Chicago's south side neighborhoods. The three grocery stores are two Cermak Fresh Market stores both serving a primarily Hispanic clientele and the One Stop Grocery located in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, serving a low-income Black/African American clientele. During the reporting period, Experimental Station/Link Up Illinois and MIRA worked closely withthe owners of Cermak Fresh Marketas the latterchanged/upgraded their existing POS systemto be able to accommodate incentives. We are thrilled to report thatCermak Fresh Market launched their first Link Match program in spring 2022 with Link Match incentive purchases averaging $2,500 per week. At the same time, Experimental Station and MIRA continued to work with One Stop Grocery throughout 2022, providing techical assistance, funding, and promotional materials. One Stop Grocery is set to launch their Link Match incentive program in early December 2022. During the reporting period, Experimental Station's Link Up Illinois program has striven to build needed staffing and infrastructure to advance the program goals. In December 2021, Link Up Illinois brought on a Program Associate to support expansion of Link Match to cornerstores. With added staff and with the intention of expanding our corner store initiative, wetooktime in February 2022 to rethink the program's brick-and-mortar structure (creating various tiers--Neighborhood Grocers,Regional Grocers)and create new policies and processes for each tier. With these in place, Link Up Illnois was able to bring Link Match to Town Square Market and Neighborhoodin East St. Louis and the Go Green Community Fresh Market in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, while continuing to support 4 food cooperatives(Bloomington, Carbondale, Oak Park, Chicago), and the Mi Mexico and Morgan Mini-Mart corner stores in Chicago's struggling Englewood and Gage Park neighborhoods. Link Up Illinois' works closely with these firms to ensure success of the program, providing promotional materials as well as onsite promotion. Link Up Illinois staff also begun to workwith severaladditional Neighborhood Grocer stores to implement Link Match. However, these have not advanced to the implementation stage. Statewide Link Match Program Support: With the addition of a second Program Associate positiom dedicated to farmers markets, from January thru August 2022, Link Up Illinois undertook outreach to farmers markets and other partner venues, and administered MOUs and grant contracts to provide funds, training and technical support to approximately 80Illinois farmers markets, farm stands, and mobile markets.For participating farmers markets, Experimental Station designed and provided 2022universal Link Match currency, which SNAP customers were able to earn at one market and spend at any other participating farmers market in the state. With GusNIP and significantly expanded funding provided by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Human Services to support SNAP/EBT programs at Chicago farmers markets and Link Match programs operating across the state, Experimental Station was able to increase the match limit for SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets in August 2021, which continued through 2022. The $25 per day match limit for farmers markets was increased to a $25 per SNAP transaction limit, immediately resulting in increased Link Match usage. Our Link Up Illinois program also benefited from its creation of two Link Hubs in central and southern Illinois,whereby two partner firms worked with small, low-capacity farmers markets in their region, helping them to become authorized to accept SNAP and to implement Link Match. Our southern hub alone, led by Food Works, enabled eight markets to accept SNAP and provide Link Match incentives in 2022. Link Match Statewide Promotion: In winter and spring 2022, Experimental Station created and produced a variety of printed promotional materials, including the 2022universal Link Match currency, 60,000 copies (40,000 in English, 20,000 in Spanish) of the 2022Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and GroceryStores Accepting Link and Link Match, 350 copies of the Experimental Station 2021Food Access Report, and 'We Link Match' signs for farmers market partners. The 2022Guide was distributed to farmers markets, food cooperatives, participating grocerystores, partners and agencies throughout the state. The 2021 Food Access Report was mailed with a cover letter to every Illinois State Senator and Representativeand distributed via hard copy and email to funders and stakeholders.In addition, Experimental Station promoted Link Match in Chicago through strong targeted CTA bus and train promotion. In partnership with CBS Broadcasting, Experimental Station created a 30-second and a 15-second television advertisement, targeting SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets and participating grocery stores in the Chicago region. The ad was the basis for a television campaign in Cook County (in which Chicago is located) and the six surrounding counties in the northeast corner of the state. The CBS television campaign broadcast randuring such programs as The Price Is Right, The Young & The Restless, Judge Judy, The Local News, The Late Late Show, and The Late News. CBS also provided a direct email and social media campaign during the same months. Data Collection and Evaluation: In July-August 2022, Link Up Illinois and partner firms across the state implemented program evaluation surveys to their SNAP clients. The survey sites included farmers markets, food co-ops, and grocery stores. Altogether, Link Up Illinois collected 276 surveys. Survey participants received $10 in cash for their participation. Partner firms willing to implement the survey received $200 for their assistance. Dr. Chelsea Singleton (Tulane University) received the data and submitted it to the Gretchen Swanson Center.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Experimental Station 2021 Food Access Report, published in April 2022, reporting on data and outcomes from the previous year.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Experimental Station produced the 2022 Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Grocery Stores Accepting Link and Link Match.
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Link Up Illinois works with firms throughout the state of Illinois to provide nutrition incentives to SNAP recipients. Changes/Problems:Experimental Station experienced staff changes during the grant period with the promotion of our long-time Link Up Illinois Senior Program Manager to Deputy Director of Operations in fall 2020, and the retirement of his replacement in June 2021. The Senior Program Manager position was again filled in July 2021. These transitions, while ultimately leading to a stronger staffing structure for the Link Up Illinois program and organization, disrupted communication with some of our partners and required significant time for recruitment, hiring, and training. Fortunately, all of the MOUs, grant contracts, funding, and training for our farmers market partners had been completed in the spring, prior to the retirement of our Senior Program Manager in June. The pandemic had an impact on the number of farmers markets we supported during the grant period. Some markets did not operate in 2020, and some reduced their dates of service or made other changes in 2021 as well. We anticipate that they will return to fairly normal operations in 2022 and will again apply for Link Match funding. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All farmers markets, food cooperatives, CSAs, mobile markets, corner stores, and grocery stores participating in Link Up Illinois' Link Match program were required to receive training in program implementation, best practices, and FM Tracks data collection. In addition, Experimental Station staff participated in Nutrition Incentive Hub virtual convenings, as well as communities of interest meetings organized through the Hub. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Link Up Illinois 2020 Food Access Report was disseminated both in hard copy and digitally to Link Up Illinois partner firms, funders and partners, legislators, and any others interested in learning about the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Experimental Station will continue to partner with MIRA to launch Link Match at the delayed One Stop grocery store, and to learn from the Cermak Fresh Markets and One Stop grocery pilots as we expand Link Match to additional brick and mortar venues around the state. Experimental Station will also continue to expand Link Match to new farmers markets, CSAs, and mobile markets serving underserved communities and to fund current market, corner store, and food co-op partners. In 2022, we will again produce a Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Retail Stores Accepting Link Match, and a 2021 Link Up Illinois Food Access Report. In partnership with CBS Broadcasting, we will again carry out television and social media advertising, and will purchase CTA bus and train advertising.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Grocery Store Expansion: During the reporting period, Experimental Station partnered with the Midwest Independent Retailers Association (MIRA) to pilot expansion of Link Match to three independent grocery stores operating in three of Chicago's south side neighborhoods. The three selected grocery stores are two Cermak Fresh Market stores both serving a primarily Hispanic clientele and the One Stop grocery store located in the Bronzeville neighborhood, serving a low-income Black/African American clientele. Although the Cermak Fresh Market stores already offer a large selection of culturally appropriate fresh fruits and vegetables, a high percentage of the population still suffers from overweight, obesity, and diabetes. By contrast, the One Stop grocery store offers a very limited selection of fresh produce, making this store an especially desirable choice for launching a Link Match program, as the store owners have demonstrated excitement about using Link Match as a way to expand their produce section and increase sales generally. As a pilot, the expansion of Link Match to two different types of stores will provide the opportunity for greater learning. Experimental Station's Link Up Illinois staff interviewed and began to work with SNAP2Save in 2021 to provide the data services (integration of Link Match incentives into the stores' POS systems, etc.) needed to operate Link Match in the grocery store venues. Experimental Station and MIRA met on multiple occasions with the owners of Cermak Fresh Market and One Stop in spring and summer 2021, introducing the Link Match program and ultimately completing MOUs, creating contracts, and launching work on the Cermak stores' POS systems. Although the Cermak stores anticipated launching their Link Match programs by September 2021, the process was much slower than anticipated, as they encountered challenges with adapting their existing POS system with the incentive program. The Cermak stores management decided to change/upgrade their existing POS system in the fall 2021 to be able to accommodate incentives. Also slower than anticipated, One Stop showed strong interest but little capacity to move forward throughout the summer of 2021, being short on staff and challenged by the pandemic. Experimental Station maintained contact with the owners to move the project forward as they were able. CSA Expansion: During the reporting period, Experimental Station piloted Link Match expansion to The Urban Canopy CSA program. Statewide Link Match Program Support: From August through December 2020, Experimental Station worked with two corner stores located in two of Chicago's most challenged South Side neighborhoods to implement Link Match programs. Link Up Illinois staff worked closely with the owners of Mi Mexico and Morgan Mini-Mart stores to design a program that would work in their stores. The programs launched in October 2020, with a $10 per day match limit, funded with GusNIP matching funding provided by Link Up Illinois. Shortly afterward, with grant funds provided to the stores quickly expended, Link Up Illinois reduced the daily limit to $5. Printed promotional materials, available in English and Spanish, were reprinted with the new $5 limit. From January thru June 2021, Link Up Illinois undertook outreach to farmers markets and other partner venues, and administered MOUs and grant contracts to provide funds, training and technical support to 63 Illinois farmers markets, 4 food cooperatives (Bloomington, Carbondale, Oak Park, Chicago), and the 2 corner stores. 26 of the 63 farmers markets were located in Chicago, while the remaining farmers markets were located elsewhere in the state. Working with the Illinois Farmers Market Association, the City of Chicago Department of Public Health, the Illinois Public Health Institute, and other partners both in and outside of Chicago, Link Match was able to expand to new markets. For participating farmers markets, Experimental Station designed and provided 2021 universal Link Match currency, which SNAP customers were able to earn at one market and spend at any other participating farmers market in the state. With GusNIP and significantly expanded funding provided by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Human Services to support SNAP/EBT programs at Chicago farmers markets and Link Match programs operating across the state, Experimental Station was able to increase the match limit for SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets in August 2021. The $25 per day match limit for farmers markets was increased to a $25 per SNAP transaction limit, immediately resulting in increased Link Match usage. Link Match Statewide Promotion: In winter and spring 2021, Experimental Station created and produced a variety of printed promotional materials, including the 2021 universal Link Match currency, 70,000 copies of the 2021 Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Corner Stores Accepting Link Match brochures, 350 copies of the Link Up Illinois 2020 Food Access Report, and 'We Link Match' signs for farmers market partners. The 2021 Guide was distributed to farmers markets, food cooperatives, corner stores, and agencies throughout the state. In addition, Experimental Station promoted Link Match in Chicago through targeted CTA bus and train promotion. In partnership with CBS Broadcasting, Experimental Station created a 30-second and a 15-second 'I Link Match' television advertisement, engaging SNAP customers shopping at farmers markets in Chicago to participate in the ad. The ad was the basis for a television campaign in Cook County (in which Chicago is located) and the six surrounding counties in the northeast corner of the state in July and August. The CBS television campaign broadcast ran 77 times during such programs as The Price Is Right, The Young & The Restless, Judge Judy, The Local News, The Late Late Show, and The Late News. CBS also provided a direct email and social media campaign during the same months.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Experimental Station produced the 2021 Guide to Illinois Farmers Markets, Food Co-ops, and Corner Stores Accepting Link Match.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Experimental Station produced the 2020 Food Access Report, with data and program outcomes from the previous year.
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