Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland (DUFB) healthy food incentive is a program for people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program is implemented at grocery stores, farmers markets, farm stands and mobile markets in Kansas and Missouri. The participating firms are in 52 Kansas communities (35 counties) and 17 Missouri communities (10 counties). These communities are in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Nine of the forty-five counties served have more diverse populations, with greater than 15 percent of their population represented by racial or ethnic minority populations. Thirteen of the counties have more than 20 percent of their population represented by people who are 65 years old and above and 3 of the counties have more than 25 percent of their population represented by children 18 years old and younger. An average of nearly 334,000 people received SNAP each month in the counties with one or more participating locations during this reporting period. In May 2023, 53,794 households received SNAP benefits in the zip codes with participating firms (data provided by the Kansas Department of Children and Families and the Missouri Department of Social Services). These households represented 110,278 people Changes/Problems:Internet/WIFI access continues to be a challenge for rural communities, causing problems with timely reporting, tracking, having machines work for sales, and other operations important for DUFB implementation. Staff turnover at participating locations of all types has also been a continuing challenge. For farmers markets, if the market manager applied for the market's FNS number using their identifying information, and they leave the position, a new market manager has to go through the application process. This transition can be disruptive to the Double Up Food Bucks program at that location. For grocery stores, staff turnover is most challenging for reporting. New store managers have to learn all the reporting systems of the store and for some stores, daily reports need to be saved each day in order to provide data that feeds into the DUFB Monthly Reporting requirements. New store managers also often get confused by data terms that our program asks about that are terms more aligned to farmers market operations. Staff turnover at MARC has also presented a challenge this reporting period. The staff person that had been working with the grocery stores took a different position at MARC at the end of 2022. A new employee was hired at the end of February. It took a while to train and acclimate the new hire to the processes involved with the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative provides training for all new firms coming onto the program, including information about the forms to be used for data collection, documentation required to be submitted with the forms for reimbursement, and the process and timeline for seeking reimbursement. In addition, the Collaborative partners work with firms to create training materials which include general information about the Double Up Food Bucks incentive and specific, tailored instructions regarding the implementation of the program. This reporting period, MARC staff has worked with a couple of grocery owners and their store managers to revise a document called "Monthly Reporting Instructions" so that the document provides specific information for each store describing where the required data can be found. The revised instructions are intended to provide more specific information should there be future turnover in store management. Members of the collaborative have had opportunities to attend workshops, conferences, and trainings related to their role and healthy food incentives in general. These training and professional development events for the staff included in the collaborative include the following: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's annual winter meeting focusing on federal legislation. Kansas Food Action Network Food Advocacy Day Nutrition Incentive Hub's Convening K-State University Research & Extension's Local Foods Town Halls Nutrition Incentive & Nutrition Education Community of Practice meeting SW Kansas Hunger Action Summit in Hays, KS Economic Impact Calculator Pilot Participation Kansas Appleseed Hunger Action Statewide monthly meeting Self and System Change Learning Cohort by the NTAE How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An Annual Status Report 2022 has been created and distributed to the funders which provide match to this USDA grant and to partners who are either actively involved in implementing the Double Up Food Bucks program or who are involved in other efforts to improve the food system in Kansas and Missouri. In addition, each presentation given at conferences or workshops or meetings with community partners includes information about the number of locations offering the program, the amount of Double Up Food Bucks redeemed, and other information. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative plans to continue implementing the Double Up Food Bucks program at the participating farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets and grocery stores. Three Springfield, Missouri farmers markets will be joining our program in 2024 and a couple of grocery stores are in the process of onboarding as well. If the budget allows additional new locations, we will add them in the first few months of 2024. Most of our efforts for this last year of the grant will be encouraging promotion of the program at all the locations so that each firm can utilize the existing funding. The Collaborative will continue to meet and discuss ways to improve our processes and awareness of the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 and Objective 2: Between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023, the number of locations participating in the portion of the Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland program supported by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program 2020 grant stayed steady at 94 in Kansas and western Missouri. Of those, 52 are farm direct (farmers market, farm stand or mobile market) and 42 are grocery stores. Geographically, 53 of the locations are in Kansas outside of the Kansas City metro area (29 farm direct and 24 grocery stores), 36 of the locations are in the Kansas City metro area (19 farm direct and 17 grocery stores), and 5 locations are in the western Missouri area outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area (4 farm direct and 1 grocery store). In 2023, several of the farmers markets in Kansas experienced turnover of their market managers and this affected their ability to offer the Double Up Food Bucks program. Six farmers markets (3 in Kansas and 3 in Kansas City) were brought onto the program in 2023. One of the Kansas City grocery stores had Double Up Food Buck redemptions during this reporting period but closed at the end of 2022. The number of firms offering the Double Up Food Bucks program and supported by this grant in Kansas, Kansas City and Western Missouri has stayed the same since the previous reporting period. However, the Kansas City area gained three farmers markets and the Western Missouri area had three markets that either stopped offering the program or closed altogether. Overall there were over 548,000 SNAP transactions at the participating locations totaling nearly $25.8 million. The total amount of Double Up Food Bucks incentives distributed/earned was over $1.47 million and the total amount redeemed was $1,017,613, a 69% redemption rate. The farm direct locations distributed over $279,000 of Double Up Food Bucks and over $257,000 was redeemed, a 92% redemption rate. The grocery stores supported by this grant issued over $1.19 million of Double Up Food bucks and over $760,000 was redeemed, a 64% redemption rate. The redemption rate in the Kansas City stores (85%), which predominantly use a loyalty card method to track Double Up Food Bucks, was significantly higher than the redemption rate at the Kansas grocery stores (40%) which primarily rely on coupons to implement the program. Locally Grown Produce One of the aims of the Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland program is to support local farmers. The program does this by working with participating locations which sell locally/regionally grown produce. All the produce purchased with Double Up Food Bucks incentives at participating farmers markets is grown locally. The program works with grocery stores committed to offering locally grown produce as a part of their overall produce section at least during the local growing season. Some of the grocery stores report how much locally grown product they purchase from local growers (wholesale) and other grocers report the amount of locally grown produce they sell to customers (retail). Only a few grocery stores reported locally grown wholesale or retail numbers for every month during this reporting period. Almost all grocery stores reported locally grown data for September and October 2022 and June through August 2023. Twenty-six of the stores reported wholesale data for both local and non-locally grown produce purchased. For the months when locally grown products were purchased by the stores, the amount that locally grown produce represented of total produce purchased ranged from 1% to 30%. Local produce represented a higher percentage of total produce purchased at smaller stores generally. Sixteen stores provided data on the retail sales of locally grown produce. Retail sales in those stores of locally grown produce ranged from 1 percent (June 2023) to 12 percent (August 2023) of total produce sales. A total of 34 different locally grown produce items were purchased by grocers. Together, the participating grocery stores purchased from 42 different growers. Objective 3: Communicating to SNAP/food assistance participants about the program is key to the success of the Double Up Food Bucks program. As people have continued to deal with a challenging economy, communication efforts continue to be important. The following communications activities were implemented: signs at all participating firms, a mailing/text blast campaign directly to SNAP recipients, brochures distributed to community partners in the communities with a participating firm, print advertisements, radio advertisements, social media, streaming advertisements, on-line advertisements, commuter and transit advertisements, and outreach to community partners. Objective 4: The core partners in the Double Up Heartland Collaborative during this reporting period include: Mid-America Regional Council -- grant administration, communications coordination, and grocery store coordination. Cultivate KC -- Kansas City metro area farmers market and farm stand coordination. K-State University Research and Extension -- Kansas (outside of KC area) farmers market, farm stand and mobile market coordination. West Central Missouri Community Action Agency -- coordination of farmers markets in western Missouri. University of Missouri Extension - coordination of farmers markets in eastern, central, and southern Missouri. University of Kansas Medical Center -- evaluation activities. These core partners have met once a month virtually to discuss communications and outreach opportunities, supply needs, training, evaluation activities, and the general status of the program. The partners supported by this grant (GusNIP) include Mid-America Regional Council, Cultivate KC, K-State Research and Extension, West Central Missouri Community Action Agency, and the University of Kansas Medical Center. The Double Up Heartland Collaborative assists interested and participating firms in four areas: recruitment, capacity building, onboarding, and technical assistance. Objective 5: Starting in September 2022 and continuing in the summer of 2023, evaluation activities led by the University of Kansas Medical Center and assisted by evaluator teams from K-State Research & Extension and the University of Kansas included environmental scans of locations chosen for the sampling plan and intercept surveys of SNAP customers. 54 grocery store environmental scans and 35 farmers market environmental scans were completed. Evaluation activities are continuing into the fall of 2023. Preliminary results from the intercept surveys include the following: 194 intercept surveys completed. 127 (65%) had used DUFB; 67 (35%) were SNAP beneficiaries who had not used DUFB at the time of the survey. Primarily female (75%) respondents. Average age 50 years. Race/ethnicity: American Indian or Alaska Native (7%). Asian (1%). Black or African American (25%). Native Hawaiian (1%). White (65%). 8% of Hispanic, Latino/a or Spanish origin. Most survey respondents (76%) have been SNAP beneficiaries for more than one year. About 57% were classified as food insecure (32% low food security, 25% very low food security) 53% indicated fair or poor health. Comments about the DUFB program are generally positive with most indicating that using the program has allowed them to eat more fruits and vegetables and that they would like to see DUFB expanded to additional sites.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
SNAP Customers Who Fail to Use the Nutrition Incentive Program
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Market Managers Perspectives on a SNAP Nutrition Incentive Program at Farmers Markets
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland (DUFB) healthy food incentive is a program for people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program is implemented at grocery stores, farmers markets, farm stands and mobile markets in Kansas and Missouri. The participating firms are in 49 Kansas communities (33 counties) and 15 Missouri communities (10 counties). These communities are in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Nine of the forty-three counties served have more diverse populations, with greater than 15 percent of their population represented by racial or ethnic minority populations. Thirteen of the counties have more than 20 percent of their population represented by people who are 65 years old and above and 3 of the counties have more than 25 percent of their population represented by children 18 years old and younger. An average of nearly 334,000 people received SNAP each month in the counties with one or more participating locations during this reporting period. In May 2022, 53,020 households received SNAP benefits in the zip codes with participating firms (data provided by the Kansas Department of Children and Families and the Missouri Department of Social Services). These households represented 110,555 people. Over 40,600 unique SNAP customers are estimated to have used the Double Up Food Bucks program during this period. With this estimate of the unique SNAP customers participating in the program, the total number of people who are benefitting from the program is likely over 87,000. Changes/Problems:No major changes or problems have been experienced resulting in a change of approach to the program. In general, internet/WIFI access continues to be a challenge for rural communities, causing problems with timely reporting, tracking, having machines work for sales, and other operations important for DUFB implementation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative provides training for all new firms coming onto the program, including information about the forms to be used for data collection, documentation required to be submitted with the forms for payment, and the process and timeline for seeking reimbursement. In addition, the Collaborative partners work with firms to create training materials which include general information about the Double Up Food Bucks incentive and also specific, tailored instructions regarding the implementation of the program. Members of the collaborative have had opportunities to attend workshops, conferences, and trainings related to their role and health food incentives in general. These training and professional development events for the staff included in the collaborative include the following: The Power of Food Forum: Cultivating equitable policy through collective action. (September 20-22, 2021) Success: Philanthropy in an Era of Social Change (October 28) Nutrition Incentive Hub National Convening (January 18-20, 2022) National Grocer Association Show (February 27 - March 1) Attended InTents: The Farmers Market Conference (March 6-9) National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference (March 15-17) Kansas Appleseed Southwest Kansas Hunger Action Summit (May 23) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An annual report and a Year 1 Evaluation Report for the first year of this grant were created and shared with local funders and interested partners.The results from this reporting period are being summarized in an annual progress report document and a Year 2 Evaluation Report. Both will be shared with local funders and partners. All of the presentations delivered during this past year have included information about the results/impacts of the Double Up Food Bucks- Heartland program thus far. Other ways the awareness about the program and its results have beenshared include the following: Farmers Market Grocery store manager interviewed about DUFB on KSN 3 in Wichita Program staff interviewed about DUFB on KWCH in Wichita, KS DUFB featured in Harps stores weekly circular (KC area and southern MO) Program staff participated in an interview about DEIJ efforts with the podcast Real Talks, part of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems An article about the Double Up Food Bucks Heartland program published in FEAST magazine, a publication related to The St Louis Post Dispatch Program staff wrote newsletter for the Kansas Department of Agriculture about the process for farmers and farmers markets to become authorized SNAP retailers Market manager for the Reno County Farmers Market featured on a radio show about DUFB What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative will continue to implement the Double Up Food Bucks incentive program at firms already participating in the program. The Collaborative is working with additional firms to bring them onto the program during the next reporting period. In addition, the Collaborative will build on the diversity, equity and inclusion work that has been started. The Collaborative will also seek ways to learn about challenges and barriers experienced by SNAP recipients trying to use the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 and Objective 2: Between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022, the number of locations participating in the part of the Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland program supported by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant expanded from 81 to 94 in Kansas and western Missouri locations. Of those, 52 are farm direct (farmers market, farm stand or mobile market) and 42 are grocery stores. Geographically, 53 of the locations are in Kansas outside of the Kansas City metro area (29 farm direct and 24 grocery stores), 33 of the locations are in the Kansas City metro area (16 farm direct and 17 grocery stores), and 8 locations are in the western Missouri area outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area (7 farm direct and 1 grocery store). Almost all the areas of the DUFB-Heartland service area saw an increase in the number of locations for both farm direct and grocery stores, with the greatest increase (10 new locations) occurring in the number of Kansas (outside of the KC metro area) grocery stores. At the ninety-four participating locations, over 640,000 SNAP transactions were made totaling over $29,820,000 in sales. Over $1,500,000 in Double Up Food Bucks were distributed/earned related to those SNAP sales and nearly $1,030,000 ofincentives were redeemed, a 68 percent redemption rate. The redemption rates were generally higher for the farm direct sites (95 percent redemption rate) compared to the grocery stores (55 percent redemption rate). Among the grocery stores, different methods were used to implement the incentive program including loyalty/reward programs, coupons, and 50 percent discount models. The stores using the 50 percent discount model had a 100 percent redemption rate. Stores implementing that type of model supported by this grant had redeemed a relatively low dollar amount of incentive, just over $5200 collectively. The stores using a coupon had redemption rates between 22 and 38 percent. Those grocery stores collectively redeemed over $122,000 in incentives. The grocery stores using a reward/loyalty program to implement the program had redemption rates between 68 and 99 percent (average of 79 percent). Their collective redemptions for this reporting time equaled over $640,000. One of the aims of the Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland program is to support local farmers. The program does this by working with participating locations which sell locally grown produce. All the produce purchased with Double Up Food Bucks incentives at participating farmers markets is grown locally. The program works with grocery stores committed to offering locally grown produce as a part of their overall produce section. Some of the grocery stores report how much locally grown product they purchase from local growers (wholesale) and other grocers report the amount of locally grown produce they sell to customers (retail). Both reporting approaches show local produce transactions in September and October 2021 and May through August 2022 during this reporting period, consistent with a typical growing season for Kansas and Missouri. For September and October 2021 and May 2022, 14 grocery stores reported data for the dollar amounts they purchased of locally grown produce. During June through August, 26 grocery stores reported. Locally grown produce represented between 1.4 percent (May 2022) to 19.2 percent (September 2021) of the total amount of produce being purchased by the stores. For the whole year, nearly 6.9 percent of produce purchased by the stores was locally grown. Sixteen stores provided data on the retail sales of locally grown produce for the same months. Retail sales in those stores of locally grown produce ranged from 0.4 percent (May 2022) to 6.3 percent (October 2022) of total produce sales, with an average for the year of nearly 5 percent. A total of 66 different locally grown produce items were purchased by grocers. Together, the participating grocery stores purchased from 63 different growers. Objective 3: Communicating to SNAP/food assistance participants about the program is key to the success of the Double Up Food Bucks program. As people have continued to cope with and recover from the impacts of COVID as well as a challenging economy has been important. The following communications activities were implemented: signage at all participating firms, a mailing/text blast campaign directly to SNAP recipients, brochures distributed to community partners in the communities with a participating firm, print advertisements, radio advertisements, social media, streaming advertisements, on-line advertisements, commuter and transit advertisements, and outreach to community partners. Objective 4: The core partners in the Double Up Heartland Collaborative during this reporting period include: Mid-America Regional Council -- grant administration, communications coordination, and grocery store coordination. Cultivate KC -- Kansas City metro area farmers market and farms stand coordination. K-State University Research and Extension -- Kansas (outside of KC area) farmers market, farm stand and mobile market coordination. West Central Missouri Community Action Agency -- coordination of farmers market in western Missouri. University of Missouri Extension - coordination of farmers markets in eastern, central, and southern Missouri. University of Kansas Medical Center -- evaluation activities. These core partners have met once a month virtually to discuss communications and outreach opportunities, supply needs, evaluation activities, and the general status of the program. The partners supported by this grant (GusNIP) include Mid-America Regional Council, Cultivate KC, K-State Research and Extension, West Central Missouri Community Action Agency, and the University of Kansas Medical Center. The collaborative of partners has continued to build on and improve the resources that have been developed for the program over the last six years. Work included: Maintaining a diversity, equity, and inclusion subcommittee with representation from three of the partnering organizations. The subcommittee developed a work plan for 2022 which has been implemented throughout the reporting period Continued to utilize new technologies to streamline reporting and improve Collaborative communication. The Double Up Heartland Collaborative assists interested and participating firms in four areas: recruitment, capacity building, onboarding, and technical assistance. Objective 5: Starting in the summer of 2022, evaluation activities led by the University of Kansas Medical Center and assisted by evaluator teams from K-State Research & Extension and the University of Kansas included environmental scans of locations chosen for the sampling plan and intercept surveys of SNAP customers. 65 grocery store environmental scans and 41 farmers market environmental scans were completed. Evaluation activities are continuing into the fall of 2022. Preliminary results from the intercept surveys include the following: 249 intercept surveys completed 137 (55 percent) have used DUFB; 112 were SNAP beneficiaries who have not used DUFB. Primarily female (81 percent) respondents. Average age 49 years. Race/ethnicity: White (57 percent). Black or African American (36 percent). American Indian or Alaska Native (4 percent). Other Pacific Islander (2 percent). Asian (1 percent). Native Hawaiian (1 percent). 8 percent of Hispanic, Latino/a or Spanish origin. Most survey respondents (72 percent) have been SNAP beneficiaries for more than one year. About 58 percent were classified as food insecure (31 percent low food security, 27 percent very low food security) 49 percent indicated fair or poor health. Comments about the DUFB program are generally positive with most indicating that using the program has allowed them to eat more fruits and vegetables and that they would like to see DUFB expanded to additional sites.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Valentine, H., Mercier, R., Gibson, C. A qualitative analysis of a SNAP nutrition incentive programs impact on eating habits and self-perceived health. Poster presented at: American Public Health Association National Conference, Food and Nutrition program. 2022, Nov 6-9; Boston, MA.
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The Double Up Food Bucks - Heartland healthy food incentive is a program for people who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program is implemented at grocery stores, farmers markets, farm stands and mobile markets in Kansas and Missouri. These participating firms are in 36 Kansas communities (23 counties) and 15 Missouri communities (12 counties). These communities are in rural, suburban, and urban areas. The number of people receiving SNAP benefits in the counties with one or more participating locations averaged about 355,000 each month during this reporting period. The Kansas Department of Children and Families provided data on the number of households receiving SNAP benefits in the Kansas zip codes where the participating firms are located. In May 2021, 35,510 households received SNAP benefits in the zip codes with participating firms. These households represented 76,338 people. The Missouri Department of Social Services was not able to provide us with numbers of SNAP recipients in the zip codes with participating firms due to an increased workload from COVID-19. An estimate from transaction data of the total number of unique SNAP customers using the Double Up Food Bucks program during this period is 36,342. With this estimate of the unique SNAP customers participating in the program, the total number of people who are benefitting from the program is likely over 78,130. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative provides training for all new firms coming onto the program, including information about the forms to be used for data collection, documentation required to be submitted with the forms for payment, and the process and timeline for seeking reimbursement. In addition, the Collaborative partners work firms to create training materials which include general information about the Double Up Food Bucks incentive and also specific, tailored instructions regarding the implementation of the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from this reporting period have been summarized in a progress report document which will be shared with the private funders of the program as well as any community partners or other interested parties. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Double Up Heartland Collaborative will continue to implement the Double Up Food Bucks incentive program at firms already participating in the program. The Collaborative is working with additional firms to bring them onto the program during the next reporting period. In addition, the Collaborative will build on the diversity, equity and inclusion work that has been started. The Collaborative will also seek ways to learn about challenges and barriers experienced by SNAP recipients trying to use the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 and Objective 2: Between Oct. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, the Double Up Food Bucks Heartland program grew from 62 locations to 81 locations in Kansas and western Missouri. The following table shows the current breakdown of locations by geographical region: Type of Location Kansas (except KC Metro area) Kansas City Metro Western Missouri Totals by Type Farmers Markets/Farm Stands/Mobile Markets 28 14 9 51 Grocery Stores 14 16 0 30 Totals by Geography 42 30 9 81 Results The following tables summarize results from October 2020-August 2021: Locations - type and region Number of locations # of SNAP transactions Value of SNAP Sales Value of incentives distributed Value of incentives redeemed % Double Up Food Bucks Redeemed Kansas Farmers Markets 28 3,730 $76,961 $74,770 $58,741 79% Kansas City Metro Farmers Markets 14 8,421 $129,866 $115,500 $104,311 90% Western Missouri Farmers Markets 8 1,558 $43,821 $40,683 $32,444 80% Southeastern Kansas Grocery Stores 14 53,609 $1,487,756 $96,459 $34,250 36% Kansas City Grocery Stores 16 326,235 $16,277,802 $513,314 $274,310 53% Totals 81 393,553 $18,016,205 $840,725 $504,057 60% The number of Kansas farmers markets, farm stands and southeast Kansas grocery stores saw the greatest expansion between Oct. 1, 2020-Aug. 31,2021. Eight new farmers markets/farm stands, and nine new southeast Kansas grocery stores implemented the program during this reporting period. The number of farmers markets/farm stands in the Kansas City metro area stayed the same, although there were locations that discontinued the program and new ones that joined the program. The west central Missouri area added several locations from Missouri farmers markets that had been participating in Double Up Food Bucks prior to 2020. Eight of the nine new southeast Kansas grocery stores are owned and operated by G&W Foods. They join two G&W stores in Girard and Iola, Kansas, that have offered the program to their SNAP customers for several years. The incentive program in these stores is given via a coupon. Coupons generally have a very low redemption rate (average of approximately 1%) so a redemption rate of 36% is considered quite good, although compared to other methods it is still low. Two new Sun Fresh stores owned by the Balls Foods Corporation offered the program as well. Although they use a loyalty card system to track and manage the Double Up Food Bucks program, the redemptions at these two stores was lower than expected (less than 31%). This low redemption may partially be due to the stores being new to the program. In addition, the Sun Fresh stores in the Kansas City metro area do not actively promote their loyalty program so customers may be less likely to provide their loyalty card to earn and redeem Double Up Food Bucks. Redemptions in the grocery stores in general may have been lower in 2021 because the program was not offered to SNAP customers until June 2021. The pause from October 2020 through May 2021 may have resulted in a slower start in the grocery stores. Locally Grown Produce The monthly percentages of produce purchased wholesale from local growers by the southeast Kansas stores is shown in the following table. Month Year Number of stores Percentage of Locally Grown Purchased of All Produce Purchased (wholesale) October 2020 5 3.00% June 2021 13 4.28% July 2021 14 3.38% August 2021 14 5.22% The monthly percentages of produce purchased wholesale from local growers by the participating Kansas City stores is shown in the following table. In addition, the percentage of locally grown purchased by customers (retail) of all produce purchased is shown. Month Year Number of stores Percentage of Locally Grown Purchased of All Produce Purchased (wholesale) Percentage of Locally Grown Purchased by Customers of all Produce Purchased (retail) October 2020 14 9.7% 2.94% November 2020 14 0.1% 0.71% December 2020 14 0.05% 0.22% June 2021 15 7.0% 1.59% July 2021 15 15.0% 3.91% August 2021 15 6.0% 7.49% During the months that the Double Up Food Bucks program was offered in all the participating grocery stores, a total of 55 different produce items were purchased from local growers and available to customers for purchase. Together, the participating grocery stores purchased locally grown produce from 54 different growers. Objective 3: Communicating to SNAP/food assistance participants about the program is key to the success of the Double Up Food Bucks program. During the past year, as people have experienced the results of COVID and struggled with the resultant economic downturn, communicating information about the Double Up Food Bucks program to those receiving food assistance -- possibly for the first time in their lives -- was critical. The following communications activities were implemented: new tokens designating new funding, signage at all participating firms, a mailing directly to SNAP recipients, brochures distributed to community partners in the communities with a participating firm, print advertisements, radio advertisements, social media, streaming advertisements, on-line advertisements, commuter and transit advertisements, and presentations to community partners. Objective 4: The core partners in the Double Up Heartland Collaborative during this reporting period include: Mid-America Regional Council -- grant administration, communications coordination, and grocery store coordination. Cultivate KC -- Kansas City metro area farmers market and farms stand coordination. Kansas State University Research and Extension -- Kansas (outside of KC area) farmers market, farm stand and mobile market coordination. West Central Missouri Community Action Agency -- coordination of farmers market in western Missouri. University of Kansas Medical Center -- evaluation activities. These core partners have met once a month virtually to discuss communications and outreach opportunities, supply needs, evaluation activities, and the general status of the program. Collaborative Capacity Building The collaborative of partners has continued to build on and improve the resources that have been developed for the program over the last five years. Work included: Establishing a diversity, equity and inclusion subcommittee with representation from three of the partnering organizations. Adapted new technologies to streamline reporting and improve Collaborative communication. Developing application, rules and reporting process for a farm stand model. Establishing a process and guidelines to help farmers markets wishing to implement "triple match" events to provide additional incentives. Recruitment, Capacity Building, Onboarding and Technical Assistance The Double Up Heartland Collaborative assists interested and participating firms in four areas: recruitment, capacity building, onboarding and technical assistance. Objective 5: Starting in the summer of 2021, evaluation activities led by the University of Kansas Medical Center and assisted by evaluator teams from K-State Research & Extension and the University of Kansas included environmental scans of locations chosen for the sampling plan and intercept surveys of SNAP customers. Evaluation activities are continuing into the fall of 2021. Preliminary results from the intercept surveys include the following: 266 intercept surveys completed 178 have used DUFB; 88 were SNAP beneficiaries who have not used DUFB. Primarily female (84%) respondents. Average age 47 years. < > White (64%). Black (27%). American Indian or Alaska Native (7%). Asian (1%). Other (1%). Most survey respondents have been SNAP beneficiaries for more than one year. About 50% were classified as food insecure. 44% indicated fair or poor health. Comments about the DUFB program are generally positive with most indicating they want the program to be continued and expanded to additional sites.
Publications
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