Recipient Organization
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
SAN DIEGO,CA 92182
Performing Department
Marketing
Non Technical Summary
The purpose of the Community Food Project is to increase the accessibility, availability, and affordability of produce in San Diego County. The geographic focus area consists of National City (population: 61,394) and the federally designated San Diego Promise Zone (population: 77,241). Both communities are majority minority communities where residents experience higher rates of chronic disease, unemployment, population density, and concentrated poverty and limited access to affordable housing, healthcare, and healthy foods compared with San Diego County. The lack of healthy food access in these communities can result in unhealthy eating and food insecurity, which is associated with adverse health outcomes and affects one out of every seven people in San Diego County. Limited access to supermarkets contributes to the lack of healthy food access in these communities, which are characterized as having a higher concentration of liquor, corner and convenience stores (hereafter referred to as community stores), and greater unhealthy food availability and accessibility. Community stores face challenges when attempting to carry fresh produce, including a lack of distributors that service small stores, limited experience with produce, financial risks associated with perishable foods, and uncertain consumer demand.BrightSide Produce (BrightSide) is a produce distribution service that delivers produce to independently-owned community stores that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments. BrightSide distributes produce to stores weekly, offers low costs without minimum order requirements, and provides services so that community stores can successfully and profitably offer produce to customers at affordable prices. BrightSide is currently working with 19 community stores, 13 in National City and six in San Diego. As part of the Community Food Project, BrightSide will further increase the availability, accessibility and affordability of fresh produce in the San Diego Promise Zone through produce distribution to an additional 10 community stores. Additionally, BrightSide will partner with local growers to aggregate and incorporate produce that is locally-grown into its distribution to community stores. By the end of the grant period, at least 15% of the produce distributed by BrightSide will be locally-grown. As a result of these efforts, twenty-nine community stores in National City and San Diego will carry locally-grown produce, improving healthy food access, increasing the number of healthy food options available for SNAP participants, supporting local small businesses, growers and the economy, and benefiting all community residents. San Diego Promise Zone residents will have access to fresh produce, including locally-grown produce, within a 10-minute walk of their homes. National City residents, who already have access to fresh produce within a half-mile of their homes as a result of BrightSide's services, will have access to locally-grown produce. The Community Food Project takes a comprehensive approach to meeting the food needs of residents in two underserved areas of San Diego County and increasing food access through a produce distribution program that will have a noticeable short-term, long-term, and sustainable impact on the community. The innovative processes, procedures and systems implemented as part of the Community Food Project have the potential to serve as models for addressing food insecurity challenges and improving local food systems nationwide.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The Community Food Project (CFP) will increase the accessibility, availability, and affordability of produce in San Diego County, while strengthening the local food system and contributing to the economic development of the region. It leverages existing local capabilities and assets to increase access to healthy foods in National City and San Diego by connecting for- and non-profit organizations working in the food system in these communities to address food accessibility challenges.The CFP is a collaboration among three experienced and established organizations in San Diego County committed to strengthening the local food system, improving food access, reducing food waste, and providing nutrition education: BrightSide Produce (BrightSide), Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center (Olivewood), and Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP). BrightSide is a produce distribution service that was designed to address the challenges and barriers preventing small stores from carrying fresh produce. It partners with small markets, and liquor, corner and convenience stores in underserved communities and delivers fresh produce to partner stores weekly while offering store owners a suite of services to ensure they can successfully offer produce to store customers. Olivewood provides science-based environmental education and nutrition lessons, hands-on gardening and cooking classes, and job skills and leadership development programs for youth, adults, and families. It also operates a farming operation that grows organic produce. CHIP uses place-based empowerment, leadership, and community health initiatives to improve access and support for local, healthy foods through institutions, increased business potential for local farms, and greater environmental sustainability within the local food system. These organizations will work together to achieve two goals that directly align with the objectives of the Community Food Project Competitive Grant Program. Goal 1: Increase the availability, accessibility and affordability of fresh produce through produce distribution to 10 independently-owned food, liquor and corner stores (hereafter referred to as community stores) that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments. BrightSide currently distributes fresh produce to 19 community stores in National City and San Diego. This goal focuses on providing produce distribution to community stores located in the San Diego Promise Zone (SDPZ; population: 77,241), which consists of 6.4 square miles of neighborhoods in south and southeastern San Diego. In addition to the Promise Zone designation, all SDPZ census tracts are classified as Opportunity Zones. In the SDPZ, residents experience higher rates of chronic disease, unemployment, population density, and concentrated poverty and limited access to affordable housing, healthcare, and healthy foods compared with San Diego County.Based on assessments and research conducted, the addition of produce distribution services to 10 community stores in the SDPZ will result in SDPZ residents having access to fresh produce within a 10-minute walk of their homes. Over the three year funding period, BrightSide will enroll at least 10 community stores in BrightSide's produce distribution services (Objective 1). Community stores will carry a variety of produce items, with varieties and quantities determined by store size and customer demand. Produce sales will initially be low as community residents become aware of the produce offerings and start visiting the community stores to make these purchases. Same-store produce sales will increase 5-10% per year after the launch period (Objective 2). All community stores will accept SNAP payments and 100% will be in compliance with the USDA's Enhancing Retailer Standards in SNAP Final Rule (Objective 3). BrightSide will only recruit community stores that accept SNAP payments and will conduct audits to ensure compliance. BrightSide is committed to reducing food waste through source reduction, produce rescue and composting. BrightSide refunds store owners for produce that spoiled or did not sell and will not last. Items that are still edible are donated for prepared meals and inedible items are composted. BrightSide will rescue produce each week and divert 100% of the produce that would have been thrown away to donations or compost (Objective 4). The primary outcomes of this goal are an additional 10 community stores will receive BrightSide's services and carry produce, resulting in SDPZ residents having access to produce at a community store within a 10-minute walk of their homes.Goal 2: Increase the amount of produce grown, aggregated and distributed in local communities by (a) scaling the production farming capabilities of a local nutrition and growing learning center, and (b) working with established farmers seeking to expand distribution into local communities. San Diego County has more small farms than any other county in the nation. While demand for locally-grown produce is growing, distribution can be limited, prohibitively expensive, or highly competitive. BrightSide will aggregate and incorporate locally-grown produce into its distribution services. Currently, BrightSide distributes at least 10 items that can be grown locally in San Diego County. BrightSide and Olivewood will crop plan based on BrightSide's needs and Olivewood will establish and prepare a growing area and grow produce for BrightSide. CHIP has extensive experience connecting small farms to markets and developing their capacity to crop plan to customer needs. CHIP will identify one local farmer per year that grows items that BrightSide distributes and facilitate connections. By the end of Year 3, at least 15% of the produce distributed by BrightSide will be from a local source (Objective 1). The primary outcomes of this goal are that 29 community stores will carry locally-grown produce, making locally-grown produce accessible and available to residents in National City and the SDPZ.CFP activities were strategically selected to increase access to produce, including locally-grown produce, in National City and San Diego, building the long-term capacity of the communities to address their food needs with a sustainable approach that strengthens the local food system and benefits community residents, business owners, and local farmers.
Project Methods
Evaluation will be conducted using a longitudinal, multi-method plan that includes formative and summative evaluations and assessments.Goal 1: Increase the availability, accessibility and affordability of fresh produce through produce distribution to 10 independently-owned food, liquor and corner stores that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments.Objective 1 - Over the three year funding period, BrightSide will enroll at least 10 community stores in BrightSide's produce distribution services.Prospective Store List Recruitment Form - store name, approach date, and if enrolled, enrollment date and first delivery date.Metrics: Number of stores approached and enrolled per year.Indicator of Success: 10 stores recruited and enrolled by the end of year 3.Store Audit Form - captures store characteristics, whether produce is being offered, and if so, current produce availability, among other factors.Indicator of Success: store audits completed for all new stores at baseline.Analyses: descriptive statistics to characterize stores.Owner/Manager Interviews - interviews to determine baseline store needs and assess storeowners/managers evaluations of BrightSide services and community needs.Indicator of success: interviews completed for all new stores at baseline.Analyses: descriptive statistics to characterize stores, store owner, and community needs.Objective 2 - Same-store produce sales will increase 5-10% per year after the launch period.Weekly Produce Sales to Stores Tracking Form - form will capture the unit sales to each store, including produce varieties and quantities, and produce removed from stores with the buyback program.Milestones: weekly data collection will be analyzed quarterly to assess progress towards the objective and to make adjustments, as needed.Indicator of success: same-store produce sales are growing as expected.Objective 3 - All community stores will accept SNAP payments and 100% will be in compliance with the USDA's Enhancing Retailer Standards in SNAP Final Rule.SNAP Audit - tool designed to assess whether stores are in compliance with the SNAP minimum stocking requirements.Milestones: audits conducted at all new stores at baseline. Stores that are not meeting the requirements will receive extra assistance in order to ensure they are in compliance.Indicator of success: all stores are in compliance.Objective 4 - BrightSide will rescue produce each week and divert 100% of the produce that would have been thrown away to donations or compost.Weekly Produce Donation Tracking Form - captures weight of produce taken out of stores that was donated and composted.Indicator of success: tracking is conducted weekly and objective is met.Additional evaluation related to this goal includes conducting ongoing analyses of weekly tracking forms to assess the program and implement changes, and geographic analyses to assess how accessibility to and availability of produce changed as a result of BrightSide distribution to the ten new stores.Goal 2: Increase the amount of produce grown, aggregated and distributed in local communities by (a) scaling the production farming capabilities of a local nutrition and growing learning center, and (b) working with established farmers seeking to expand distribution into local communities.Objective 1 - By the end of Year 3, at least 15% of the produce distributed by BrightSide will be from a local source.Weekly Produce Source and Destination Tracking Form - captures produce type and quantity purchased from each grower, produce type and quantity sold to Brightside stores, and produce type and quantity sold to BrightSide store customers.Milestones: weekly data collection will be analyzed quarterly to assess progress towards the objective and to make adjustments, as needed.Indicator of success: percentage of produce distributed by BrightSide that is locally-grown will increase year over year to meet objective.Additional steps related to this goal include developing plans, processes, procedures and systems for collaboration between BrightSide and growers and conducting ongoing analyses of weekly tracking forms to assess the program and implement changes, as needed.