Source: IOWA HEALTHIEST STATE INITIATIVE submitted to
IOWA DOUBLE UP FOOD BUCKS STATEWIDE NUTRITION INCENTIVE PROJECT
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1027399
Grant No.
2021-70030-35920
Cumulative Award Amt.
$4,634,700.00
Proposal No.
2021-06380
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[FLSP]- FINI Large Scale Project
Project Director
Brooks, J.
Recipient Organization
IOWA HEALTHIEST STATE INITIATIVE
301 GRAND AVE
DES MOINES,IA 50309
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Iowa Double Up Food Bucks Statewide Incentive Project aims to address Iowa's SNAP participants' barriers to purchasing and consuming fruits and vegetables by providing the financial incentive to purchase more fruits and vegetables, offer innovative electronic incentive redemption, nutrition education and marketing efforts focused on the nutritional/taste benefits of fruits and vegetables and ease of storing and preparing before expiration and work to increase the amount of locally produced fruits and vegetables made available to and consumed by the SNAP population.The proposedIowa Double Up Food Bucks Statewide Incentive Project'sgoal isto increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers participating in the federal food assistance program (SNAP) by providing electronic cash incentives for produceat the point of purchase in grocery stores and faremrs markets. To increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among SNAP participants, the Iowa Double Up Food Bucks Statewide Incentive Project will provide SNAP participants with a dollar-for-dollar match incentive, up to $10 per visit for fresh fruits and vegetables purchased at the point of sale at 57participating locations including Iowa farmers' markets, mobile markets, farm stands and retailgrocery stores.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
40%
Developmental
40%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
7045010000150%
7036010101030%
9026099000110%
9017410303010%
Goals / Objectives
Goal Statement: The Iowa Double Up Food Bucks Statewide Incentive Program aims to offer fruit and vegetableincentives, using electronic redemption technology, at 57participating retail firms across Iowa by 2024; evaluating the Epic Fresh Incentives Technology and using innovative consumer marketing strategies to promote produce purchasing and consumption among SNAP participants.Project Outcomes:Expand and test the Epic Fresh Incentive Technology to redeem $1 million dollars of Double Up Food Bucks fruit and vegetable incentives at 57participating sites in 20 counties across Iowa. The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative (IHSI) will administer and manage a fresh F&V incentive program, offering a 1:1 match of Double Up Food Bucks at the point of sale when an EBT purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables is made, up to 10 incentive dollars per visit. Providing electronic benefit redemption, consistent messaging, effective communication between communities & partners, and offering tools and technical assistance made available by the NTAE.Increasing consumer awareness and utilization of the program using innovative marketing techniques to drive website visits to the I-DUFB site and measuring program utilization with data analytics. Digital display advertising will target likely SNAP participants (based on demographic data) within a 15-mile radius of a participating farmers market location or 5-miles of a retail grocery location, tracking number of I-DUFB location visits by individuals after being served an ad.Evaluation will meet all NTAE requirements, will drive program development and improvement and will show 75% of annual survey respondents reporting increased awareness, knowledge, purchase and consumption of fresh produce because of the Double Up Food Bucks program. The IHSI in partnership with the University of Iowa will to conduct a program evaluation that includes both process and outcomes of IHSI's innovative delivery of nutrition incentives and educational materials aimed at increasing their understanding of purchasing, preparation, and preservation of fruits and vegetables.All retail grocery stores participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program will increase their procurement of local produce by 1% annually, or until a threshold of 15% local produce procurement is met. Stakeholders from local farm organizations, cooperative extension services, and grocery associations will be brought togetherto elevate the farmer-grocer relationship and inform future efforts to elevate local produce purchasing.
Project Methods
This project will include a robust combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess effectiveness of the Epic Fresh Incetnives technology,produce incentives, outreach and education activities, participant knowledge gained, and the value of community partnerships to drive continuous quality improvement of the project for the duration of the grant.SNAP Participant Surveys -Market & grocery store patrons participating in the program will be asked to complete a self-administered survey, available in English & Spanish, via the Qualtrics online data collection platform on an annual basis to yield repeated cross-sectional data. Surveys will include the NTAE participant level core metrics, demographic information, behavior changes related to produce purchasing/consumption and understand perceptions related to the marketing and electronic redemption innovations detailed in this proposal.Retail Transaction Data - Retail firm SNAP and DUFB real-time transaction data will be collected via the Epic Fresh Incentive technology and available via the administrative portal web browser.Local Procurement Data - Retail grocery firms will submit a report to IHSI documenting the participating locations local produce procurement data via the Epic Fresh Incentive vendor portal for the growing season months of May - October.Digital Advertising Data - Next Step Advertising will collect and report advertising performance data including performance by channel, tactic, and platform monthly to qualitatively demonstrate cost per site visit or store walk- in and cost per engagement.Qualitative Key Informant Interviews - Qualitative interviews of customers, vendors, market managers, and brick and mortar employees will be used to gather their perceptions of implementation, program experiences, and in- depth feedback to drive needed improvements to the I-DUFB program and technology

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Double Up Food Bucks 2023-2024 target audience were located in the below counties - Adams Allamakee Benton Black Hawk Cass Cerro Gordo Clay Clinton Dallas Decatur Des Moines Dubuque Fayette Franklin Freemont Hancock Henry Jasper Jefferson Johnson Lee Linn Lucas Marshall Monroe Montgomery Muscatine Page Polk Pottawattamie Poweshiek Ringgold Scott Story Tama Taylor Union Wapello Washington Wayne Webster Winnebago Winneshiek Woodbury Changes/Problems:Farmer's Markets, farm stands, CSA's and retail grocery store locations continue to implement and support users regarding digitalDouble Up Food Bucks. We will continue to work on how to communicate usage and sign-up. Exploring text messages and other marketing tools to increase awareness and usage of DUFB points. Additionally, we see a lot of transition of market staff which causes delays in implementation. We will continue exploring ways to continuously train new managers throughout the year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?DUFB Iowa provides training for participating site managers on implementing the program and Fresh Incentives. We work with local organizations that serve SNAP users to train on using the Double Up Food Bucks program and training at farming associations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the DUFB program are shared with the creation of an annual report, which is disseminated to program sponsors, legislators, program partners, participating firms, state and county agencies, and the general public via website and social media. We are partnering with United Way to expand support in requesting appropriation for the program. These efforts help to showcase the work of our program and its impact. Additionally, information on the program is shared during quarterly advisory committee meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, Epic Fresh Incentives Technology will introduce new updates to the DUFB participating sites that will enhance usage for the vendors, managers, and users. We will see greater access to the app with a map that allows users to find nearby participating locations. We are working to create better onboarding and training for staff and volunteers at markets. We will create marketing material packets to market the program across all sites at surrounding social services. We will continue to partner with the retail grocery stores, marketing, and awareness campaigns to increase program participation and generate new customers. Survey data collected through September 2024 will be analyzed, synthesized, published, and distributed to program stakeholders. We continue exploring how to collect produce procurement data from grocery stores and cooperatives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Iowa Double Up Food Bucks (I-DUFB) program aims to address Iowa SNAP participants' barriers to purchasing/consuming fresh fruits and vegetables by providing financial incentives to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables. The I-DUFB program has decreased financial barriers to purchasing to fruits and vegetables for SNAP users in 2024, by providing financial incentives that have resulted in Iowa SNAP EBT families bringing home over $600,000 in fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. Increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among Iowa families positively impacts their health outcomes while lowering the use of medical services, both directly benefiting Iowa's economies Goal 1: Expand and test the Epic Fresh Incentive Technology to redeem $1 million dollars of Double Up Food Bucks fruit and vegetable incentives at 94 participating sites in 44 counties across Iowa. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted • Iowa Healthiest State Initiative trained and implemented the Epic Fresh Incentives redemption technology at 34 farmers market, CSA or farm stands. • 71 new retail grocery stores were onboarded and began accepting Double Up Food Bucks 2. Data collected; • All participating firm-level sites report SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks earned and spent on a weekly basis • Retail firm level address, operating hours, and digital contact information collected and published online at doubleupiowa.org 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results and • 71 participating grocery stores and food co-ops reported over $380,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables • 34 farmers markets, farm stands and CSA's reported over $194,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables • 29 farmers markets, farm stands and CSA's successfully went digital as of January 1, 2024 using the new fresh incentives app for customer DUFB earning and redemption payments and online reporting requirements • 11 new grocery store sites were added in partnership with Iowa Obesity Program Leveraging Activities and Partnerships to Address Obesity (Iowa LEAP) •Over 100,000 individuals served through DUFB Iowa digitial Goal 2: Increasing consumer awareness and utilization of the program using innovative marketing techniques to drive website visits to the I DUFB site and measuring program utilization with data analytics. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted; • Implemented a marketing campaign to target shoppers by location and detailed demographics, serving ads on websites and apps (local news, entertainment, weather), streaming audio, and paid social media. • Utilized Double Up Food Bucks Newsletter to communicate to partners and community members updates to the program; over 600 subscribers receive updates monthly • Created Double Up Food Bucks toolkit for grocery store transition materials; implemented new logo to distinguish DUFB from SNAP EBT •Created a marketing material request form for local social service and public health providers •Connect with local food banks, pantries and home visiting programs •Hired an AmeriCorps member to conduct site visits in two counties and create a marketing plan for community engagement strategies • Connect with partners about digital transition; updated website to include FAQs and "How To" Double Up at firm locations • Connect users to the website to sign up and check their balance 2. Data collected; • Monthly ad campaign analytics were collected • Total impressions served (ads shown to people within 5 mile radius of a participating retail location) • Total click rate on ads at 102.40% • Estimated location visits after seeing an ad at 11,181 Summary statistics and discussion of results are below - 9/1-7/31 - Ads for shopping at local farmer's markets, farm stands, and co-ops • Display campaign served 774,000 impressions and 4,841 clicks. • DUFB Location List had 1500 reach and 29 likes with 10 shares • Farmers Market Geo-Fencing display had 9/1-7/31 - 231,000 impression and 187 clicks •Field to Family, Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, LSI Global Greens Market, and Clear Lake Farmers Market had the highest impressions, with over 100,000 Geo-Fencing Impressions. •Fareway in Creston, Des Moines, Burlington, and Decorah, IA, had the highest impression, with over 10,000 impressions •320x50 Ad in 5.2024 for Farmers Market had the highest impressions at 218,666 •50 social media posts for DUFB include recipes, currency expiration, sites, request materials, newsletter, and general DUFB information •DUFB Iowa saw 28,000 reaches on Facebook, 847 reaches on Instagram, and 1627 impressions on LinkedIn 3: Evaluation will meet all NTAE requirements, will drive program development and improvement and will show 75% of annual survey respondents reporting increased awareness, knowledge, purchase and consumption of fresh produce because of the Double Up Food Bucks program. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. • Met with NTAE staff and external evaluator, the University of Iowa to create and implement the customer surveys • Printed and disseminated the customer surveys to firm locations. 2. Data collected; • Data is not available. Currently being reviewed for a final report by 2024. •2023 survey response totals 100; 93 English, and 7 Spanish •2024 survey response totals 129; 127 English, and 2 Spanish 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results and • N/A 4. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. • Customer survey completed and finalized. Goal 4: All retail grocery stores participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program will increase their procurement of local produce by 1% annually or until a threshold of 15% local produce procurement is met. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. • Working with firm locations to understand procurement policies and how to best track local procurement. 2. Data collected; • N/A. 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results • N/A 4. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. • Collected Signed MOU's from firm locations

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:No registration is required for participation in the Iowa Double Up Food Bucks program, limiting reporting on the demographics of the populations we target. Targeted populations included Iowa SNAP participants purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables using SNAP EBT in the following Iowa counties: Adams Black Hawk Cass Cerro Gordo Clay Dallas Decatur Des Moines Dubuque Fayette Freemont Hancock Henry Jefferson Johnson Lee Changes/Problems:Farmer's Markets, farm stands, CSA's and retail grocery store locations continue to implement and provide support to users regarding the digital transition to Double Up Food Bucks. We will continue to work on how to communicate usage and sign up. Exploring text message and other marketing tools to increase awareness and usage of DUFB points. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the DUFB program are shared with the creation of an annual report, which is disseminated to program sponsors, legislators, program partners, participating firms, state and county agencies, and the general public via website and social media. Additionally, information on the program is shared during quarterly advisory committee meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the Epic Fresh Incentives Technology will introduce new updates toretail grocery stores participating in the Iowa Double Up Food Bucks program. Allowing customers to redeem incentive points on initial sign up. The introduction of the app for Double Up Food Bucks users will be in Spring. Preparing and implementing strategies for the app. Continuing to partnerwith the retail grocery stores, marketing, and awareness campaignsto increase program participation and generate new customers for the program. Survey data collected through September 2023will be analyzed, synthesized, published, and distributed to program stakeholders. We are continuing to explore how to collectproduce procurement datafrom grocery stores and cooperatives.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The Iowa Double Up Food Bucks (I-DUFB) program aims to address Iowa SNAP participants' barriers to purchasing/consuming fresh fruits and vegetables by providing financial incentives to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables. The I-DUFB program has decreased financial barriers to purchasing to fruits and vegetables for SNAP users in 2023, by providing financial incentives that have resulted in Iowa SNAP EBT families bringing home over $500,000 in fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. Increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among Iowa families positively impacts their health outcomes while lowering the use of medical services, both directly benefiting Iowa's economies Goal 1: Expand and test the Epic Fresh Incentive Technology to redeem $1 million dollars of Double Up Food Bucks fruit and vegetable incentives at 87 participating sites in 36counties across Iowa. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted Iowa Healthiest State Initiative trained and implemented the Epic Fresh Incentives redemption technology at 29 farmers market, CSA or farm stands. 28 new retail grocery stores were onboarded and began accepting Double Up Food Bucks 2. Data collected; All participating firm-level sites report SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks earned and spent on a weekly basis Retail firm level address, operating hours, and digital contact information collected and published online at doubleupiowa.org 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results and 58 participating grocery stores and food co-ops reported over $350,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables 29 farmers markets, farm stands and CSA's reported over $198,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables 29 farmers markets began using the new fresh incentives app for customer DUFB earning and redemption payments and online reporting requirements 54 participating farmers markets, farm stands and CSA's began using the new fresh incentives app for customers DUFB earning and redemption payments and online reporting requirements Goal 2: Increasing consumer awareness and utilization of the program using innovative marketing techniques to drive website visits to the I DUFB site and measuring program utilization with data analytics. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted; Implemented a marketing campaign to target shoppers by location and detailed demographics, serving ads on websites and apps(local news, entertainment, weather), streaming audio, and paid social media. Utilized Double Up Food Bucks Newsletter to communicate to partners and community members updates to the program; over 600 subscribers receive updates monthly Created Double Up Food Bucks toolkit for grocery store transition materials; implemented new logo to distinguish DUFB from SNAP EBT Connect with partners about digital transition; updated website to include FAQs and "How To" Double Up at firm locations Connect users to the website to sign up and check their balance 2. Data collected; Monthly ad campaign analytics were collected Total impressions served (ads shown to people within 5 mile radius of a participating retail location) Total click rate on ads Estimated location visits after seeing an ad Estimated reach by social media Summary statistics and discussion of results are below - 9/12-11/17 - Ads for shopping at local farmer's markets, farm stands, and co-ops Display campaign served 19,633 impressions and 25 clicks. The 320x50 ad size served the most impressions, with 12,025 impressions with 17 clicks. Farmers Market Visits by Location had 8 Total visits, with Ames and Washington having the most total visits of 3. 10/13 - 11/28 - Ads for digital transition to Double Up Food Bucks at local grocery stores Display campaign served 188,322 impressions with 204 clicks. The 320x50 ad size served the most impressions, 118,767 impressions with 126 clicks. When looking at Farmers Market Visits by Location, they had 136 Total visits, with Ames (56 visits) and Washington (52 visits). 3: Evaluation will meet all NTAE requirements, will drive program development and improvement and will show 75% of annual survey respondents reporting increased awareness, knowledge, purchase and consumption of fresh produce because of the Double Up Food Bucks program. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. Met with NTAE staff and external evaluator, the University of Iowa to create and implement the customer surveys Printed and disseminated the customer surveys to firm locations. 2. Data collected; Data is not available. Currently being reviewed for a final report by 2024. 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results and N/A 4. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Customer survey completed and finalized. Goal 4: All retail grocery stores participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program will increase their procurement of local produce by 1% annually or until a threshold of 15% local produce procurement is met. 1. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. Working with firm locations to understand procurement policies and how to best track local procurement. 2. Data collected; N/A. 3. Summary statistics and discussion of results N/A 4. Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Collected Signed MOU's from firm locations

    Publications


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

      Outputs
      Target Audience:No registration is required for participantion in the Iowa Double Up Food Bucksprogram, limiting reporting on demographics of thepopulations we target. Targeted populations includedIowa SNAP participants purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables using SNAP EBTin the following Iowa counties: Adams Black Hawk Cass Cedar Cerro Gordo Clay Dallas Decatur Des Moines Dubuque Fayette Freemont Hancock Henry Humboldt Jackson Jefferson Johnson Lee Linn Lucas Marshall Monroe Page Polk Pottawattamie Poweshiek Ringgold Scott Story Taylor Union Washington Wayne Webster Winnebago Winneshiek Woodbury Changes/Problems:Phase 1 retail grocery store locations have not gone live with the EPIC Fresh Incentives technology according to the originally suggest timeline. However, Phase 2 farmers market and farm stand locations did go live according to timeline expectations. Phase 1 retail grocery store locationscontinue to work towards the goal of implementing the EPIC fresh incentives technology in stores. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period the Epic Fresh Incentives Technolgoy will be introduced to the retail grocey stores participating in the Iowa Double Up Food Bucks program. Alllowing customers to redeem incentive points digitally at the grocey store. Partnering with the retail grocery stores, marketing and awareness campagins will be launched to increase program participaton and generate new customers for the program. Suvery data collected through September 2022 will be analyzed, synthesided, published, and distributed to program stakeholders. Local produceprocurement data will be collected from grocery stores and cooperativesand reported in the annual report.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? The Iowa Double Up Food Bucks (I-DUFB) program aims to address Iowa SNAP participants' barriers to purchasing/consuming fresh fruits and vegetables by providing financial incentive to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables. The I-DUFB program has decreased financial barriers to purchasing to fruits and vegetables for SNAP users in 2022,by providing financial incentives that have resulted in Iowa SNAP EBT families bringing home over $450,000 in fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. Increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among Iowa families positively impacts their health outcomes, while lowering the use of medical services, both directly benefiting Iowa economies Goal 1:ExpandandtesttheEpicFreshIncentiveTechnologytoredeem$1milliondollarsofDoubleUpFoodBucksfruitandvegetableincentivesat57participatingsites in20countiesacrossIowa. Major activities completed / experiments conducted; Iowa Healthiest State Initiative trained and implemented the Epic Fresh Incentives redemption technology at 30 farmers market, CSA or farm stands. 28 new retail grocery stores were onboarded and began accepting Double Up Food Bucks Data collected; All participating firm-level sites report SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks earned and spent on a weekly basis Retail firm level address, operating hours, and digital contact information collected and published online at doubleupiowa.org Summary statistics and discussion of results and 62 participating grocery stores and food co-ops reported over $450,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables 32 farmers markets, farm stands and CSA's reported over $60,000 in Double Up Food Buck incentives redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables 32 farmers markets began using the new fresh incentives app for customer DUFB earning and redemption payments and online reporting requirements Goal 2: Increasingconsumerawarenessandutilizationoftheprogramusinginnovativemarketingtechniquestodrive websitevisitsto theI DUFBsiteandmeasuringprogramutilizationwithdataanalytics. Major activities completed / experiments conducted; Implemented a marketing campaign to target shoppers by location and detailed demographics, serving ads on websites and apps(local news, entertainment, weathr), streaming audio, and paid social media. Data collected; Monthly ad campaign analytics were collected Total impressions served (ads shown to people within 5 mile radius of a participating retail location) Total click rate on ads Estimated location visits after seeing an ad Estimated reach by social media Summary statistics and discussion of results and Oct - December 2021 572,720 ads shown to people (meeting demographics) within 5 miles of participating locations 495 people clicked the ad 150 people visited a location after seeing the ad 20,790 people reached via social media ads Jan - March 2022 1,571,199 ads shown to people (meeting demographics) within 5 miles of participating locations 560 people clicked the ad 14,321 people visited a location after seeing the ad Goal 3:EvaluationwillmeetallNTAErequirements,willdriveprogramdevelopmentandimprovementandwillshow75%ofannualsurveyrespondentsreportingincreasedawareness,knowledge,purchaseandconsumptionof freshproducebecauseoftheDoubleUpFoodBucksprogram. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. Met with NTAE staff and external evaluator, the University of Iowa to create and finalize the customer surveys Printed and disseminated the customer surveys to firm locations. Data collected; N/A Summary statistics and discussion of results and N/A Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Customer survey completed and finalized. Goal 4: AllretailgrocerystoresparticipatingintheDoubleUpFoodBucksprogramwillincreasetheirprocurementoflocalproduceby1%annually,oruntilathresholdof15%localproduceprocurementismet. Major activities completed / experiments conducted. Firm locations signed the MOU indicating commitment to increasing their procurement of local produce by 1% annually Data collected; N/A. Procurement data will be collected retroactively for the months May - October 2022. Summary statistics and discussion of results and N/A Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Collected Signed MOU's from firm locations

      Publications