Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audiences are SNAP participants and local food producers in Montana. This project also specifically seeks to better engage partners in Native American communities and in Central and Eastern Montana as we grow into a state-wide network. SNAP Participants were primarily reached by offering Double SNAP Dollar (DSD) nutrition incentives at farmers markets, CSA programs, retail stores, and a SNAP Fresh Food Box program. A second direct mailing postcard campaign was completed near new brick and mortar stores. Additional outreach was extended to central and eastern Montana through partnerships in Fort Peck, Harlem, Harlowton, Lewistown, and Cut Bank, and through in-person presentations at food sovereignty summits and Native-led events and gatherings. As further outlined in our GusNIP progress report, CFAC continues to make inroads with our State government through participation in a new State Nutrition Action Council (SNAC), Food Security Council, and through deepening relationships with Montana WIC, the Senior Long Term Care and Aging Division, and Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion Bureau at MT DPHHS. These relationships have led to long-term program development, referral services, and collaboration with our State government and their communication channels to Montanans using their programs. Specifically in GusCRR, new innovative partnerships worked to extend CFAC's DSD program into hard to reach areas in Central and Eastern Montana through a growing partnership with Albertsons, and a new program with Associated Food Stores (AFS). Both Albertsons and AFS have presence in priority areas of Montana and these programs have successfully launched nine incentive programs in extremely rural communities with at least 8 more planned for the final year of this grant. The SNAP Fresh Food Box program launched in Year 1 with the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center (MFBCC) continues to be a strong support for Missoula's homebound senior population at highest risk of serious illness. In this project, staff at MFBCC deliver produce to over 400 seniors at assisted living facilities and at their homes. This population is also served by the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, providing referral services between the programs to maximize benefits to seniors. Another key audience, local producers, were reached through the Montana farmers market network, a growers cooperative, CFAC's Local Food and Farm Passport event, CFAC's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, and through organizational partnerships with Hopa Mountain and Montana's Food and Agriculture Development Centers hosting the Healthy Food Financing Program. Changes/Problems:One challenge slowing the growth of our network of firms is mostly due to challenges and barriers in the SNAP retailer authorization process. Many farmers markets in Montana are quite small, serving rural, diffuse populations. Many of these markets that our network identified as future partners in Central and Eastern Montana do not have enough food vendors to qualify as a SNAP retailer, so although interest in SNAP and DSD is high, markets might still not be able to participate until more food and produce vendors are recruited to their markets. As a result, focus in the next period will remain on expansion of BM retail firms in this geography. However, the second Hutterite Colony in Montana recently obtained SNAP retailer status and plans to join DSD as the second Colony to do so in Montana. There are a total of 50 Colonies in Montana which all produce fruits, vegetables, and other staple foods including proteins for the local market. Project staff are hopeful SNAP and DSD will become more popular with these communities as they serve rural populations across the State. For potential BM retail firms, challenges include existing POS integration that is difficult with incentive systems. The two IGA stores that applied and were approved to join DSD last year ultimately dropped out due to POS barriers. This led to the project team working with AFS as a distributor, rather than with individually owned stores, to identify which stores had POS systems capable of automated incentive programs. Overall, more financial support for SNAP EBT technology in the retail setting would help support small and independent retailers in implementing NI programs. For our work with our Tribal partners, challenges persist around long term historic relationships with SNAP, but as the project continues to support food sovereignty initiatives like Produce Prescriptions, perceptions of NI are changing and becoming of higher interest to our Native communities, as evidenced by the largest NI firm in Montana being in Wolf Point, MT, where well over 50% of the population is Native. While many of the relationships our Network has built express interest in DSD, these partners are more suited to produce prescription projects and our program will continue to support these initiatives while we seek common ground over SNAP matching programs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?NTAE-led GusNIP-specific opportunities attended include: Local Sourcing Community of Practice (COP), Brick and Mortar COP, Participant Engagement Learning Cohort (PELC), Members of the project team also attended conferences, trainings, and webinars. Conferences include USDA PD meeting in New Orleans, Rural Grocery Summit in Kentucky, Arlee Food Sovereignty Summit, Fort Peck Food Sovereignty Day, Montana Organic Association (MOA), Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) Expo, Montana Nonprofit Association Annual Conference, and Montana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MTAND) "Diversify Dietetics" Conference. Webinars include: Local Food Marketplace informational webinar for Online SNAP, multiple Farm Bill updates, Empowering Dietitians as Experts and Citizens; Centering Indigenous Knowledge Webinar Series (8) through MT Campus Compact, Empowering Patients through Trauma-Informed Nutrition Education Workshop, NIFA Food and Nutrition Security Webinar Series: Promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty; NIFA Food and Nutrition Security Webinar Series: Promoting Youth Voice. Professional licensure through the Montana Board of Medical Examiners, credentialing through the Commission on Dietetic Registration, didactic opportunities for dietetic interns through the Montana State University program, and continuing education credit requirements were supported by this project for the on-staff Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results are primarily communicated to interested stakeholders through CFAC's network in Montana and our statewide Steering Committee composed of 12 local food, health and wellness, and producer organizations. Each of these organizations also shares project results with their staff and members. Annual impact reports are shared directly with 1,882 CFAC members at the end of each year. Each year annual results are shared back to individual participating firms during annual program training and contract signings. Aggregated results are shared at annual networking meetings. For the first time in 2024, evaluation findings were translated into a one page laminated report that was sent to all firms to present aggregate findings at the POS for participant access. Results are shared to the public at conferences and other meetings. In 2024 results were shared at the USDA PD meeting in New Orleans, Rural Grocery Summit in Kentucky, Arlee Food Sovereignty Summit, Fort Peck Food Sovereignty Day, Montana Organic Association (MOA), Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) Expo, Montana Nonprofit Association Annual Conference, and Montana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MTAND) "Diversify Dietetics" Conference, and Montana's SNAP-ed annual conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, CFAC and our partners plan to maintain the existing network of firms in our extension grant year, remaining steadfast in support of Rural and Tribal communities in Montana. Eight new brick and mortar stores are planned to begin offering DSD in Q1 of FY25, bringing total active firms to 48. TA has also been provided to 1 Hutterite Colony (for a total of 2), 1 more direct marketing farmer (DMF), a 1 farmers market, that would bring total DSD retailers to 51. This BM growth stems from a new partnership with Associated Food Stores (AFS), a retailers cooperative that supports over 450 independent stores through distribution and POS technology. In this past year, CFAC worked with AFS to identify which stores were suited to host NI programming with existing technology solutions, coded UPCs eligible for GusNIP, and began implementation in November 2024. The project team has learned that independent grocers often rely on their distributors for POS technology, and working with distributors in lieu of individual stores offers a pathway toward increased adoption of NI programming in independent stores. The stores currently close to finalizing POS technology to join DSD are with the Reynolds Market group, which has 5 stores in rural Eastern Montana where no other DSD retailers exist, and where farmers markets are rare. The DMF and FM currently working toward DSD are both in Great Falls, MT, the final population center in Montana that does not currently have a DSD location, but serves the Blackfeet Nation to the northwest and has the highest proportion of Natives compared to other population centers in Montana. Support will continue for the project's newest Spoke Organization, FAST Blackfeet, who currently serves in an outreach and extension capacity to refer their clients to DSD firms serving the Blackfeet Reservation. FAST is also a Produce Prescription operator, but stores that offer PPR differ from stores offering DSD, and the project team will work to harmonize these stores to increase access to DSD for the Blackfeet community. Additionally, a local store on the Fort Peck Reservation has been proposed by partners in Poplar, MT, and the project team will work to build relationships with this community in preparation for a future GusNIP proposal. A deepening partnership with the Pte Group in Fort Peck Montana has also led to a proposal to increase capacity there to support DSD firms and one Native-owned grocery store has been proposed for review by the local population. Finally, the DSD Network seeks to share program and equity outcomes through published manuscripts in this final year. A manuscript showcasing program growth and impact is currently being vetted by multiple peer-reviewed journals, and an Equity Case Study highlighting initiatives and strategies of our project is forthcoming.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact Statement: In the third year of our GusCRR Project, DSD provided nutrition incentives to 1,709 participants at 40 locations, including 22 farmers markets, 7 CSA/farm stand programs, and 11 retail grocery stores, across 22 counties in Montana. All combined, DSD participants redeemed $7,438,600 in SNAP benefits and $132,960 in DSD incentives at participating locations. The high SNAP redemptions are largely accounted for by our grocery store partners. Across our Farm Direct firms, farmers and farmers markets redeemed $101,124 in SNAP and $76,502 in DSD, representing $177,626 in local foods purchased by DSD participants, and $230,914 return to the local food economy with a 1.3 economic multiplier effect according to the Nutrition Incentive Hub's economic impact calculator. This represents a 42% growth in incentive redemptions across our network of firms. Out of the total incentives issued vs earned, farm direct sites saw a 93.8% redemption rate, with brick and mortar sites much lower at a 22.62% redemption rate. We increased impact in rural areas through in-person visits to partnering communities, building Tribal partnerships, and through careful selection of new retailers using our Equity Decision Matrix tool. Goal 1: Objective 1: The temporary match increase to $30 at farmers markets remains in place until the end of this project. The increase was introduced in fall of 2021 with most markets implementing the change in spring of 2022. Favorable feedback for the extended match increase is consistently voiced by returning and new SNAP participants. Goal 1 Objective 2:The Senior Fresh Food Box project continues to be a success with 400 boxes distributed to homebound seniors. Goal 1 Outcomes: The temporary match increase to $30 benefited a total of 1,709 participants during this project period. Individuals spent an average of $26 DSD per trip to the market. A total of 400 SNAP Fresh Food Boxes were delivered to homebound seniors in Missoula, MT. Goal 2 Objective 1: Project staff provided TA to 25 eligible retailers. TA included SNAP retailer application, POS and other EBT technologies, support with MarketLink and other grant applications, SNAP EBT program design and token tracking protocols, SNAP-matching procedures and rules, support with data collection, reporting, and marketing. As a result of this TA, three firms attained SNAP retailer status (1 farm and 2 FMs) and nine locations joined DSD. Eight more BM stores are working on POS solutions and are expected to operate in November 2024. Goal 2 Objective 2: Incoming farmers markets are connected through the Montana Farmers Market Network hosted by NCAT. This group provides additional peer-to-peer technical assistance, a Market Mentorship program, funding support, and peer networking calls. In 2024 CFAC obtained a turnkey FMPP grant to continue the annual FM networking meeting through 2026. Goal 2 Objective 3: Seven farms and 23 farmers markets generated $101,124.00 in SNAP sales and $76,502.18 in DSD redemptions, representing $230,913.80 in economic impact according to the NTAE calculator. Goal 2 Outcomes: the DSD Network increased its impact through 9 new retailers this year. Three more worked through their SNAP application and 8 BM retailers are working through POS solutions. Of the 9 new retailers, there were 1 FM, 2 farms, and 6 Albertsons stores. A total of 40 retailers participated in DSD during this reporting period, including 1 food box program, 9 BM retail stores, 7 farms, and 23 farmers markets. A total of 46 participated during the grant period. Goal 3: Objective 1: new proposed DSD sites continue to be ranked according to a Growth through Equity Matrix, updated for the BM and County-specific settings. This has guided the project's growth with BM stores, including 5 new Albertsons locations and 8 independently operated stores that utilize Associated Food Stores distribution and POS. Goal 3 Objective 2: The DSD Network is excited to welcome FAST Blackfeet as our fourth regional Spoke organization, providing outreach and implementation for the Blackfeet Reservation and surrounding communities. Goal 3 Objective 3: The DSD Networks long-term sustainability plan includes foundation and research grants, local government support, community fundraising, and hyper local fundraising with firms, . Goal 3 Outcomes:. Of the 9 new retailers, 1 serves Native American communities, 2 are in opportunity zones, 1 serves rural populations of less than 2,500 people, and 5 are in Central and Eastern Montana.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audiences are SNAP participants and local food producers in Montana. This project also specifically seeks to better engage partners in Native American communities and in Central and Eastern Montana as we grow into a state-wide network. SNAP Participants were primarily reached by offering Double SNAP Dollar (DSD) nutrition incentives at farmers markets, CSA programs, retail stores, and a SNAP Fresh Food Box program. A direct mailing postcard campaign was piloted near a new brick and mortar store. Additional outreach was extended to central and eastern Montana through partnerships in Fort Peck, Harlem, Harlowton, and Harrison, MT. As further outlined in our GusNIP progress report, CFAC made considerable partnerships with our State government through Montana WIC, the Senior Long Term Care and Aging Division, and Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion Bureau at MT DPHHS. These relationships have led to long-term program development, referral services, and collaboration with our State government and their communication channels to Montanans using their programs. Specifically in GusCRR, new innovative partnerships worked to extend CFAC's DSD program into hard to reach areas in Central and Eastern Montana through a partnership with Albertsons. Albertsons has a geographic presence in priority areas of Montana and has successfully launched two store incentive programs in Reservation communities with several more planned for the final year of this grant. The SNAP Fresh Food Box program launched in Year 1 with the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center (MFBCC) continues to be a strong support for Missoula's homebound senior population at highest risk of serious illness. In this project, staff at MFBCC deliver produce to 344 seniors at assisted living facilities and at their homes. This population is also served by the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, providing referral services between the programs to maximize benefits to seniors. Another key audience, local producers, were reached through our Vendor Interview project, our farmers market network, a growers cooperative, CFAC's Local Food and Farm Passport event, CFAC's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, and through organizational partnerships. Changes/Problems:Major challenges slowing the growth of our network of firms is mostly due to challenges and barriers in the SNAP retailer authorization. Many farmers markets in Montana are quite small, serving rural, diffuse populations. Many of these markets that our network identified as future partners in Central and Eastern Montana do not have enough food vendors to qualify as a SNAP retailer, so although interest in SNAP and DSD is high, markets might still not be able to participate until more food and produce vendors are recruited to their markets. As a result, focus in the next period will be placed on expansion of BM retail firms. For potential BM retail firms, challenges include existing POS integration that is difficult with incentive systems. Two new IGA stores applied and were approved to join DSD, but soon learned that their new POS systems would not integrate with incentives automatically and required costly upgrades. As new stores, running multiple POS systems to accommodate SNAP EBT was not realistic at this time. More financial support for SNAP EBT technology in the retail setting would help support these retailers in implementing SNAP EBT programs through their POS systems. For our work with our Tribal partners, challenges persist around long term historic relationships with the USDA and federal food support programs. While many of the relationships our Network has built express interest in DSD, these partners are more suited to produce prescription projects and our program will continue to support these initiatives while we seek common ground over SNAP matching programs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?NTAE-led GusNIP-specific opportunities attended include: Local Sourcing Community of Practice (COP), Third Party Evaluators COP, Brick and Mortar COP, and Participant Engagement Learning Cohort (PELC). Members of the project team also attended conferences, trainings, and webinars. Conferences include Nutrition Incentive Hub's Statewide MiniConvening in Philadelphia, USDA Community Food Projects conference in Washington, D.C., Arlee Food Sovereignty Summit, Montana Organic Association (MOA), Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) Expo, MSU Extension Buy Eat Live Better Program, Montana Nonprofit Association, Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger (MT-PECH, Share Our Strengths), Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MTAAP), and Montana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MTAND) Trainings include Montana Farmers Market Network (MTFMN) meeting and three subsequent Peer Learning sessions, Common Good Missoula's Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization and Fundamentals of Leadership in Organizing, University of Montana's Grant Writing Essentials, Webinars include: Local Food Marketplace informational webinar, Building More Equitable SNAP-ed Collaborations (3 parts), The Farmers' Truck Mobile Markets, 2023 Racial Equity Challenge, The Challenge and Promise of Food is Medicine, NTAE Economic Impact Calculator, Farm Bill for NI Practitioners, CAIANDR Evaluation in Native Communities. Professional licensure through the Montana Board of Medical Examiners, credentialing through the Commission on Dietetic Registration, didactic opportunities for dietetic interns through the Montana State University program, and continuing education credit requirements were supported by this project for the on-staff Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results are primarily communicated to interested stakeholders through CFAC's network in Montana and our statewide Steering Committee composed of 12 local food, health and wellness, and producer organizations. Each of these organizations also shares project results with their staff and members. Annual impact reports are shared directly with 1,882 CFAC members at the end of each year. Each year annual results are shared back to individual participating firms during annual program training and contract signings. Aggregated results are shared at annual networking meetings. Results are shared to the public at conferences and other meetings. In 2023 results were shared at the Montana Farmers Market Networking Meeting, Montana State University Extension SNAP-Ed Conference, Nutrition Incentive Hub Statewide Mini Convening, USDA CFP Annual Conference, Montana Organic Association Conference, Arlee Food Sovereignty Day, Hopa Mountain's Local Food Summit, and at two invited guest lectures at University of Montana. Press releases are issued at the beginning of the season, when new funding is obtained, and when CFAC onboards a new firm What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the project team will explore relationships with larger retail chains that might be able to serve our priority areas of the state where customers experience food desert conditions with a lack of access to farmers markets, direct marketing farmers, and other local food access points. An alternative plan for limited access areas is to increase our partnerships with Montana's Hutterite communities that farm in Central Montana along the "Hi-Line". We provided TA to support Montana's first SNAP-authorized Hutterite Colony and CFAC intends to further explore how these communities can support our food access projects across the state. Overall, non farmers market opportunities still need to be identified to support communities in Eastern and Central Montana where farmers markets and produce farms may not exist. As our network grows and diversifies we also seek to represent this diversity on our DSD Network Steering Committee. For the food box projects, CFAC intends to strengthen and grow the partnership with MFBCC to continue the box distributions to homebound seniors. The SNAP Fresh Food Box project in partnership with Western Montana Growers Cooperative and Mission West Community Development Partners has been paused due to low participation rates and a feasibility study was finalized this year to review before resuming any activities in 2024. New firm recruitment will continue for the next reporting period starting with a focus on expanding the network of Albertsons stores. The project team has identified an additional 7 stores for expansion in January and February of 2024. Recruitment activities for additional BM retailers includes a mailed recruitment packet, webinar, and dissemination of our new Retail DSD Manual. Spring firm recruitment will focus on farmers and farmers markets. TA will continue throughout the year on a case by case basis to pragmatically enroll new firms in the program through time. Additional labor will be devoted to outreach in targeted rural and Tribal communities as our Network works to have our firms reflect the demographics and values of Montanans. Finally, the DSD Network Steering Committee will hold an immersion retreat on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations hosted by our consultant, Native Nexus, to gain a better understanding of the landscape of these communities and build partnerships to begin discussions around NI projects. To increase support for Direct Marketing Farmers, the project team will review the Report from the Vendor Interview Project and will update procedures and marketing resources based on vendor feedback.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact Statement: In the second year of our GusCRR Project, DSD provided nutrition incentives to 1,659 participants at 35 locations, including 24 farmers markets, 7 CSA/farm stand programs, and 4 retail grocery stores, across 18 counties in Montana. All combined, DSD participants redeemed $2,106,680 in SNAP benefits and $93,481.88 in Double SNAP incentives at our DSD locations. The large jump in SNAP redemptions over FY22 is due to inclusion of SNAP data from our new network of Albertsons stores. Looking more closely at our farm direct locations, participants redeemed $104,576 in SNAP benefits and $81,204 in DSD directly on local foods. This is a total of $185,780 returned to the local food system ($241,514 with a 1.3 economic multiplier) This represents a 9% decrease in SNAP sales but 7% growth in incentive redemption at farm direct firmsand 23% growth in incentive redemptions overall. Out of the total incentives issued vs earned, farm direct sites saw a 95% redemption rate, with brick and mortar sites much lower with an 18% redemption rate at large brick and mortar firms. We increased impact in rural areas through a SNAP Fresh Foods food box program, Tribal partnerships, 4 rural CSA programs, and a new partnership with Albertsons. Our Steering Committee made strides towards increasing equity by utilizing our Equity Decision Matrix for our recruitment efforts and by fostering new relationships with Tribally-led organizations. We developed new partnerships for increased direct marketing to SNAP participants through partnerships with the Montana Food Bank Network, Montana State Department of Public Health and Human Services, and Montana WIC. Goal 1: Objective 1: The temporary match increase to $30 at farmers markets has remained in place for a second year. The increase was introduced in fall of 2021 with most markets implementing the change in spring of 2022. The commensurate increase in token inventories has been more reliable than in previous years and reduced opportunity for markets to run out of tokens.. This significantly supported the market's ability to meet increased demand. Goal 1 Objective 2:The Senior Fresh Food Box project continues to be a success with a feasibility study conducted on the rural program serving the Flathead Reservation. Goal 1 Outcomes: The temporary match increase to $30 benefited a total of 1,659 participants during this project period across all farmers markets in the network. A total of 433 SNAP Fresh Food Boxes were delivered to homebound seniors in Missoula, MT. Goal 2 Objective 1: Project staff provided a total of 43.75 hours of SNAP and DSD retailer technical assistance (TA) to potential DSD retailers. A total of 13 hours of TA has been devoted to Albertsons store expansion. TA included SNAP retailer application, POS and other EBT technologies, support with MarketLink and other grant applications, SNAP EBT program design and token tracking protocols, SNAP-matching procedures and rules, support with data collection, reporting, and marketing. As a result of this TA, two firms attained SNAP retailer status and joined our Double SNAP Dollars Program. Goal 2 Objective 2: Incoming farmers markets connected through the Montana Farmers Market Network hosted by NCAT. This group provided additional peer-to-peer technical assistance, a Market Mentorship program, funding support, and peer networking calls. Goal 2 Objective 3: 11 DSD farmers market vendor surveys were completed with vendors at a range of markets across the state. Many spoke of how the program enhances social connection and learning opportunities, increases sales, and increases perceived FV consumption. Few barriers were reported in the FM setting. One vendor reported an increase of $200-$400 per market due to the program. Goal 2 Outcomes: the DSD Network increased its impact through 4 new retailers this year. Many more worked through their SNAP and DSD retailer application and will be fully realized in 2024. Of these 4 retailers, there are three brick and motar grocery stores and one farmers market.. This brings our network from 31 to 35 retailers participating in our DSD program during this reporting period. Ability of new markets to collaboratively fundraise for our program will be reported nearer to the end of the grant through a final year funding strategy. Goal 3: Objective 1: Under Goal 3 Objective 1, new proposed DSD sites continue to be ranked according to a Growth through Equity Matrix developed by our Network Steering Committee. Project staff updated the matrix for the brick and mortar setting and are using it to guide the project's growth with Albertsons stores. Goal 3 Objective 2: New markets were recruited and onboarded in a pragmatic way that made sense with Montana's growing season. Spring outreach and onboarding focused on direct marketing farmers and farmers markets for the 2023 growing season, with a focus on brick and mortar retail recruitment occurring in fall and winter of 2022/2023. Goal 3 Objective 3: The DSD Networks long-term sustainability plan draft is planned for the final project period. Goal 3 Outcomes: During this grant period, 6 retailers have successfully achieved SNAP retailer authorization and 4 joined our DSD program. Of these 4 retailers, 2 (50%) serve Native American communities, 1 (25%) are in opportunity zones, 3 (75%) serve rural populations of less than 2,500 people, and 3 (75%) are in Central and Eastern Montana. The remaining outcomes under goal 3 will be reported at the end of the grant period.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audiences are SNAP participants and local food producers in Montana. This project also specifically seeks to better engage partners in Native American communities and in Central and Eastern Montana as we grow into a state-wide network SNAP Participants were primarily reached by offering Double SNAP Dollar (DSD) nutrition incentives at farmers markets, CSA programs, retail stores, and a SNAP Fresh Food Box program. Additional outreach was extended to central and eastern Montana through partnerships in Bozeman and Billings, MT and in Tribal communities in the Fort Peck, Blackfeet, and Flathead Indian Reservations. As further outlined in our GusNIP progress report, CFAC made considerable partnerships with our State government through Montana WIC, the Senior Long Term Care and Aging Division, and Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion Bureau at MT DPHHS. These relationships have led to long-term program development, referral services, and collaboration with our State government and their communication channels to Montanans using their programs. Specifically in GusCRR, new innovative partnerships worked to extend CFACs DSD program into hard to reach areas in Western Montana through existing channels remaining from Montana's highly successful Farms to Families Food Box Program. In this pilot project, hundreds of people received weekly emergency food boxes throughout Northwest Montana, including the Flathead and Blackfeet Reservations. When the project ended, the network formed a new strategy to recruit customers to a pilot SNAP Fresh Food Box Program. Project partners including Western Montana Growers Cooperative (WMGC, Missoula, MT) Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center (MMFEC, Ronan, MT), Arlee Community Development Corporation (Arlee CDC, Arlee, MT) Land to Hand MT (Columbia Falls, MT), Hopa Mountain (Bozeman, MT), and Salish Kootenai College (SKC, Pablo, MT), helped with program outreach to new audiences. Participants were referred to both new and existing DSD sites partnering with the WMGC to supply the SNAP Fresh Food Boxes. In a separate innovative food box program, CFAC partnered with the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center (MFBCC) to serve a homebound senior population at highest risk of serious illness. In this project, staff at MFBCC deliver produce to seniors at assisted living facilities and at their homes. This population is also served by the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, providing referral services between the programs to maximize benefits to seniors who are experiencing higher rates of isolation than other populations during the public health emergency. Another key audience, local producers, were reached through our existing farmers market network and through the WMGC, CFAC's Local Food and Farm Passport event, CFAC's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, and through organizational partnerships. Additional producer outreach through Tribal programs at partner organizations including Hopa Mountain, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Health, and Nakoda Aaniiih Economic Development Corporation are being planned. Changes/Problems:Though the last year saw community innovation, new partnerships, and overall program growth, several challenges still create barriers to seamless program operation. The COVID-19 pandemic emergency may be winding down, but long-term pandemic related factors still impact our projects on a regular basis. These challenges include turnover at the firm level as market managers resettle after the pandemic, long-term economic impact that increases burden on small producers and vendors, and shopper patterns and habits changing due to perceived risk to health in public spaces. Major challenges slowing the growth of our network of firms is mostly due to challenges and barriers in the SNAP retailer authorization. Many farmers markets in Montana are quite small, serving rural, diffuse populations. Many of these markets that our network identified as future partners in Central and Eastern Montana do not have enough food vendors to qualify as a SNAP retailer, so although interest in SNAP and DSD is high, markets might still not be able to participate until more food and produce vendors are recruited to their markets. For potential retail firms, challenges include existing POS integration that is difficult with incentive systems. Two new retail partners applied and were approved to accept SNAP, but soon learned that their new POS systems would not integrate with SNAP EBT. As new stores, running multiple POS systems to accommodate SNAP EBT was not realistic at this time. More financial support for SNAP EBT technology in the retail setting would help support these retailers in implementing SNAP EBT programs through their POS systems. For our work with our Tribal partners, challenges exist around long term historic relationships with the USDA and federal food support programs. While many of the relationships our Network has built express interest in DSD, these partners are more suited to produce prescription projects and our program will continue to support these initiatives while we seek common ground over SNAP matching programs. Finally, due to the slow start of our pilot Fresh Food Box Program, large amounts of anticipated incentives are remaining from year one. In year two, the project team will analyze overall spending toward this grant and seek additional opportunities for growth in meaningful ways by expanding our Hub and Spoke model to include a new Spoke organization (Regional Organizers) in Bozeman to reach Central Montana, and a Tribal Spoke to reach directly to the Native American population. CFAC is in conversation with Human Resource Development Council/Gallatin Valley Food Bank (HRDC/GVFB) about starting a regional program in the Gallatin Valley, where housing and other costs are leaving low-income citizens behind. The Network continues to seek a Tribal spoke operator to partner with us to implement a Tribal-specific program on one or more Reservations. We hope a formalized partnership with FAST Blackfeet through our Produce Prescription program will yield a long-term broad focus to include working with CFAC on our SNAP and NI projects. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Members of the project team have attended several conferences, including the Nutrition Incentive Hub's Annual Convening, 5th Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition, Fort Peck Food Sovereignty Day, annual meetings of the Montana Organic Association, Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO), MSU Extension SNAP-ed Program, Montana Nonprofit Association, and Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger. Combined with opportunities from the National Farmers Market Coalition, the project team attended 16 webinars focused on local foods, nutrition incentives, produce prescriptions, and racial equity. Project team members also attended several conferences including the Montana Organic Association (MOA), Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO, where we presented on our state policy approach), and of course the GusNIP PD meeting and Nutrition Incentive Hub Annual Gathering. CFAC is a member of Common Good Missoula, who sponsors a decolonization workshop led by indigenous leaders called "Wrestling with the Truth of Colonization." Two project staff are currently enrolled in the workshop series. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results are primarily communicated to interested stakeholders through CFAC's network in Montana and our statewide Steering Committee composed of 11 local food, health and wellness, and producer organizations. Each of these organizations also shares project results with their staff and members. Annual reports are shared directly with 1,760 CFAC members at the end of each year. Press releases are issued at the beginning of the season, when new funding is obtained, and when we onboard a new firm. Each year annual results are shared back to individual participating markets during annual program training and contract signings. Aggregated results are shared through annual networking meetings. Results are shared in-person at conferences and other meetings. In 2022 results were shared through the Montana Farmers Market Networking Meeting, Montana State University Extension SNAP-Ed Conference, Nutrition Incentive Hub Annual Gathering, Montana Great Beginnings, Great Families Conference, and 5th Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, CFAC and our partners plan to strengthen our network by refining our standard operating procedures and goals to ensure we 1) support existing and newly onboarded firms and create sustainability for ongoing program operation, 2) refocus our efforts on outreach and recruitment in rural and Tribal communities in Central and Eastern Montana by drafting a Tribal Engagement Plan with our Tribal consultant, Native Nexus, 3) Explore relationships with larger retail chains that might be able to serve our priority areas of the state where customers experience food desert conditions with a lack of access to farmers markets, direct marketing farmers, and other local food access points. An alternative plan for limited access areas is to increase our partnerships with Montana's Hutterite communities that farm in Central Montana along the "Hi-Line". We provided TA to support Montana's first SNAP-authorized Hutterite Colony and CFAC intends to further explore how these communities can support our food access projects across the state. Overall, non farmers market opportunities need to be identified to support communities in Eastern and Central Montana where farmers markets and produce farms may not exist. As our network grows and diversifies we also seek to represent this diversity on our DSD Network Steering Committee. For the food box projects, CFAC intends to strengthen and grow the partnership with MFBCC to continue the box distributions to homebound seniors. The SNAP Fresh Food Box project in partnership with Western Montana Growers Cooperative and Mission West Community Development Partners has been paused due to low participation rates. When boxes were free under the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, almost 500 boxes were distributed per week. After pivoting to the paid model, participation rates plummeted and participants communicated a desire to have a larger voice in deciding the contents and delivery mechanisms for the boxes. Participants now have to travel to SNAP authorized retail sites to pay for their boxes when they were once distributed to closer locations and dropped off for free. Planning and evaluation for this project is funded by the Montana Healthcare Foundation and our planning team has worked to change year 2 of that proposal into a feasibility study to better understand the needs of our participants and best program models to deliver their food and incentives. The project team will kick off the feasibility study in January of 2023. New firm recruitment will continue for the next reporting period starting with a focus on brick and mortar retail in the fall and winter. The project team is exploring a new relationship with Albertsons Grocery, who serves the majority of Reservations along the Montana Hi-Line and has a wealth of experience in retail NI from their work with their Safeway chain in Washington State. Recruitment activities include a mailed recruitment packet, webinar, and dissemination of our new Retail DSD Manual. Spring firm recruitment will focus on farmers and farmers markets. TA will continue throughout the year on a case by case basis to pragmatically enroll new firms in the program through time. Additional labor will be devoted to outreach in targeted rural and Tribal communities as our Network works to have our firms reflect the demographics and values of Montanans.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact Statement: In the first year of our GusCRR Project, the Double SNAP Dollars Program (DSD) provided nutrition incentives at 29 locations, including 19 farmers markets, 6 CSA/farm direct programs, 2 retail grocery stores, and two food box programs, across 16 counties in Montana. All combined, our programs served 1,312 unduplicated SNAP customers who spent $114,974 in SNAP benefits and $75,952 in Double SNAP incentives at our DSD locations. This is a total of $190,926 returned to the local food system. This represents a 19.76 growth in SNAP sales and a 4% growth in incentive redemption over 2021. We increased impact in rural areas through a SNAP Fresh Foods food box program, Tribal partnerships, and 4 new rural CSA programs. Our Steering Committee made strides towards increasing equity by developing an Equity Decision Matrix for our recruitment efforts and by fostering new relationships with Tribally-led organizations. We developed new partnerships for increased direct marketing to SNAP participants through partnerships with the Montana Food Bank Network and Montana State Department of Public Health and Human Services. Goal 1 Objective 1: The temporary match increase to $30 was met with enthusiasm by program partners and participants. The match increase was introduced in fall of 2021 with most markets implementing the change in spring of 2022. All markets in our farmers market network use similar tokens that differ in color and text to differentiate between markets. CFAC staff coordinated between all markets to procure a 30% increase to token inventories to account for the increase in match. This significantly supported the market's ability to meet increased demand. During this project period, individual SNAP and DSD spending continued to increase with individuals redeeming an average of $56.85 over the course of the year, a 60% increase over 2021. Goal 1 Objective 2:Two food box programs were successfully piloted to varying degrees of success outlined in Goal 1 Outcomes below. Goal 1 Outcomes: The temporary match increase to $30 benefited a total of 1,312 participants during this project period across all farmers markets in the network. A total of 413 SNAP Fresh Food Boxes were delivered across four counties in Western Montana. A total of 99 boxes were distributed to three locations on the Flathead Indian Reservation by the Western Montana Growers Cooperative, with a total of 314 boxes delivered to homes of at-risk seniors in Missoula by the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center (MFBCC). The program for homebound seniors in Missoula has been highly successful and we expect a long term partnership to grow as the program matures. Goal 2 Objective 1: Project staff provided a total of 104.5 hours of SNAP and DSD retailer technical assistance (TA) to 31 potential DSD retailers after hosting a recruitment call in March. TA included SNAP retailer application, POS and other EBT technologies, support with MarketLink and other grant applications, SNAP EBT program design and token tracking protocols, SNAP-matching procedures and rules, and support with data collection and reporting. As a result of this TA, eight markets attained SNAP retailer status and joined our Double SNAP Dollars Program. Goal 2 Objective 2: Incoming farmers markets were connected through the Montana Farmers Market Network hosted by NCAT. This group provided additional peer-to-peer technical assistance, relationship building, and networking opportunities. Goal 2 Objective 3: Goal 2 Objective 3 is currently underway. In addition to participant level surveys, CFAC and our partners have commissioned our evaluation team to provide an additional layer of evaluation this year to probe for successes and challenges at the vendor/producer level. IRB approvals for the producer survey have been granted and the project team is currently developing our vendor survey instrument for implementation in 2023. Goal 2 Outcomes:the DSD Network increased its impact through nine new retailers this year. Many worked through their SNAP and DSD retailer application and will be fully realized in 2023. Of these nine retailers, there are four rural CSA/farm share programs, four farmers markets, and one retailer who ended up closing their store in summer 2022. This brings our network from 24 to 32 retailers participating in our DSD program. Ability of new markets to collaboratively fundraise for our program will be reported nearer to the end of the grant. Goal 3 Objective 1: New proposed DSD sites were ranked according to a Growth through Equity Matrix developed by our Network Steering Committee. Project staff partnered with a graduate student at the University of Montana to build the tool, completing outreach in targeted demographic areas of Montana, hosted a recruitment learning webinar for invited retailers, then followed up with interested retailers with 1:1 TA. TA was prioritized according to the DSD Steering Committee's Growth through Equity Plan, but final results were mixed between targeted firms and firms that were ready to participate because they had already been approved by the FNS to accept SNAP payments. Goal 3 Objective 2: New markets were recruited and onboarded in a pragmatic way that made sense with Montana's growing season. Spring outreach and onboarding focused on direct marketing farmers and farmers markets for the 2022 growing season, with a focus on brick and mortar retail recruitment occurring in fall and winter of 2022/2023. Goal 3 Objective 3: The DSD Networks long-term sustainability plan draft is planned for the next project period. Goal 3 Outcomes: So far nine out of the 28 proposed retailers have successfully achieved SNAP retailer authorization and joined our DSD program. Of these 9 retailers, 2 (22%) serve Native American communities, 2 (22%) are in opportunity zones, 3 (33%) serve rural populations of less than 2,500 people, and 4 (44%) are in Central and Eastern Montana. The remaining outcomes under goal 3 will be reported at the end of the grant period.
Publications
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