Source: TULSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION submitted to
DOUBLE UP OKLAHOMA | EXPANDING ACCESS TO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR LOW-INCOME OKLAHOMANS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1029368
Grant No.
2022-70415-38569
Cumulative Award Amt.
$14,215,190.00
Proposal No.
2022-06963
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2022
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2026
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[FLSP]- FINI Large Scale Project
Recipient Organization
TULSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
7030 S YALE AVE STE 600
TULSA,OK 741365749
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Oklahoma is one of the most food and nutrition insecure states in the U.S., ranking 49th in fruit and vegetable consumption, combined with some of the poorest health outcomes nationwide. Over 816,000 individuals utilized Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in 2021, or just over 21% of the population.The four-year Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) project seeks to increase produce purchases and consumption and improve nutrition security among SNAP participants by incentivizing fruit and vegetable purchases, as well as improve community access to affordable produce, including local produce, at the point-of-sale. The project will have transformational impact by placing DUO firms in 46 out of 77 Oklahoma counties, reaching as many as 334,000 SNAP households.The DUO project will achieve these goals by increasing the number of DUO participating firms (traditional grocery stores, farmers markets, and small/mobile grocers) in urban and rural low-income, low-access (LILA) areas, increasing DUO redemption rates, increasing the amount of local produce purchased by DUO participating brick-and-mortar firms, expanding program awareness, and engaging SNAP participants in program evaluation.Program evaluation will include coordination with The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) to collect core data to inform quality improvement, measure growth through incentive redemption and firm participation, and collect participant-level outcomes. Participant-level data will be used to evaluate changes in household food security, fruit and vegetable consumption, health measures, and DUO utilization over time.Ultimately, DUO's expected impact includes increased food security, improved long-term health outcomes, the creation of new jobs as firms expand their offerings to meet demand, and the influx of millions of dollars into Oklahoma's economy.Double Up Oklahoma is administered by Hunger Free Oklahoma, a statewide organization with a proven track record of providing services in underserved communities (including Native American, African American, and immigrant) and large-scale statewide program implementation.
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
7046099209050%
7046099117050%
Knowledge Area
704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
2090 - Statistics, econometrics, and biometrics; 1170 - Epidemiology;
Goals / Objectives
Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is a program that increases access to fruits and vegetables for low-income and food-insecure Oklahomans by matching SNAP purchases dollar-for-dollar at participating firms.Goal 1: Increase purchase of fruits and vegetables among Oklahoma SNAP participants by providing incentives at the point-of-sale.O1.1 By September 2026, produce sales among SNAP participants will increase across all stores by 50% from baseline.O1.2 By September 2026, DUO incentive sales will increase by at least 770% annually ($8.7M/year) over the base year of 2021 ($1M/year).O1.3 By September 2026, the estimated number of SNAP participants utilizing DUO each month will increase by 200% from 20,000 in 2021 to 60,000 per month.Goal 2: Improve nutrition security among Oklahoma SNAP participants02.1 By the end of each program year, the mean daily fruit and vegetable consumption among DUO participants will increase by 0.25 cups from baseline.O2.2 By the end of each program year, 75% of those reporting very low, low, or marginal food security at baseline will have an improved food security score.Goal 3: Improve community access to affordable produce, including locally grown produce.O3.1 By September 2026, the number of DUO sites in rural low-access areas will increase by 100% from 15 in 2021 to 30.O3.2 By September 2026, the number of DUO sites in urban LILA areas will increase by 120% from 15 sites in 2021 to 33 sites.O3.3 By September 2026, the number of DUO grocers and mobile grocers operating in low-access and/or LILA areas will increase by 233% from 9 in 2021 to 30.O3.4 By September 2026, the number of DUO farm direct firms operating in low access and/or LILA areas will increase by 100% from 15 in 2021 to 30.O3.5 By September 2026, 100% of participating firms will purchase locally grown produce.
Project Methods
Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is an intervention that 1) increases access to fruits and vegetables for low-income and food-insecure Oklahomans; and 2) improves the livelihoods of local farmers who grow and sell crops. This grant will expand and improve the existing DUO program and provide opportunities to innovate and test new markets across Oklahoma. To increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP recipients, this project provides incentives at the point-of-sale (POS) at authorized firms. DUO incentives can be used to purchase GusNIP qualifying fruits and vegetables including fresh, canned, froze, and dried fruits and vegetables (without additives such as sodium, sugar, or fat).Hunger Free Oklahoma will grow the number of participating firms from 30 to up to 80 firms. These firms will include up to 50 grocery stores (an increase from 10 current grocery stores) and up to 30 farm direct firms or small mobile grocers (an increase from 21 current firms). Sites will be spread across 46 counties, with 67 potential sites in LILA areas, 112 potential sites in low-access areas, 71 potential sites designated as rural by the Census, and 60 potential sites designated as urban. All firms are family-owned, employee-owned, or nonprofits.Hunger Free Oklahoma addresses price, access, and knowledge by increasing low-income Oklahomans' purchasing power by doubling SNAP dollars to buy approved produce, increasing the number of firms in LILA areas, growing public-private partnerships, and by implementing direct to consumer marketing and nutritional education.Hunger Free Oklahoma will grow the DUO Advisory Committee and DUO Participant workgroups and consult with them on program implementation and assessment.The efficacy of the program's efforts will be measured and assessed, with advice and input from public health faculty at OUHSC as detailed in the list below. Measurements will be for all firms unless otherwise noted.Required Site and Project Information for Annual Reporting (NIFA)Required Incentive Program Information for Annual Reporting (NIFA)Project-Specific Process MeasuresFirm Site Visit Checklist: marketing and signage; quantity and quality of fruits and vegetables available; POS/EBT machine functioning; and cashier observationsManagers and Vendors Survey: implementation process, challenges, success of implementation/operations, and improvement/expansion recommendations (FARMERS MARKETS ONLY)Cross-sectional NTAE DUO Participant Survey: SNAP use, firm type, dose of NI Project, satisfaction, consumption, food security, health status, demographics, and geography; interest in participation in the Committee or WorkgroupsLongitudinal DUO Impact Survey: household food security, program knowledge/utilization, firm proximity and transportation, fruit and vegetable consumption behaviors, and health measure (ALL NON-FARMERS MARKETS ONLY)Key Informant Interviews: implementation process, challenges, success of implementation/operations, and recommendations for improvement/expansion (ALL NON-FARMERS MARKETS ONLY)Marketing Effectiveness: website hits, DUO/SNAP participant surveys, Workgroup surveys; analysis of sales data with dates of targeted marketing; perceived benefit of fruit and vegetable education and cooking demonstration.Project-Specific Outcome MeasuresProgram-level Metrics: total number and types of DUO firms (urban, semi-rural, rural, mobile, small/large grocers); unduplicated customers using DUO; dollar amount of incentive transactions; incentive redemption rates; SNAP produce salesFirm-level Metrics: unduplicated customers using DUO; incentive transactions; incentive redemption rates; SNAP produce salesSNAP Fruit and Vegetable Sales: by participating store and comparable non-participating stores; historical SNAP produce sales analysis (ALL NON-FARMERS MARKETS ONLY)Individual-level Metrics: fruit and vegetable intake, food security

Progress 09/15/22 to 08/10/23

Outputs
Target Audience: This final report covers the time from September 15, 2022, to May 31, 2023. The stated purpose of the Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program is to increase access to fruits and vegetables for low-income and food-insecure Oklahomans. Our primary audience is SNAP participants. However, to maximize our impact and focus resources where they are needed most, Hunger Free Oklahoma and our partners have prioritized communities based on geographic, health, and income-related disparities and historically marginalized populations which experience all these disparities at rates that are higher than the state average. In practice, this has resulted in prioritizing the placement of DUO firms in rural Low-Income, Low-Access (LILA) Communities, urban LILA communities, communities where fruit and vegetable consumption is low and preventable diseases are the highest, and in communities where Hispanic, African American, and Native Americans are living and working. During this grant period, HFO worked with 12 grocery stores and 22 farmers markets. In total, we reached 23 LILA communities and served approximately 77,181 SNAP households. ? HFO must work with multiple stakeholders to reach SNAP participants. During the reporting period, HFO prioritized working with small and medium sized grocery stores that serve primarily Hispanic and WIC participating families and farm direct firms in rural and underserved areas for future expansion efforts. Additionally, we worked with community partners integrated into these diverse communities to provide outreach and education and build community trust. Additional audiences of importance included state and local government officials, Point of Sale (POS) vendors, medical care providers, DUO advisory committee members, and research partners. Changes/Problems: There were no major deviations from the program plan during this reporting period. The major substantive change is that in January Hunger Free Oklahoma became a standalone nonprofit, is now operating independently of the Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF), and is in the process of moving grant agreements and contracts from TCF to Hunger Free Oklahoma Inc. ? Our rate of spending is slightly lower than anticipated due to a slower than expected roll out of new stores. This is due largely to the complexity of customizing a store's POS to meet our needs. As an example, one chain is having to modify the incentive program that is currently compatible with their POS system so that DUO will operate per the unique spec guidelines for Oklahoma. Another chain is programming their own DUO incentive program to fit within their inhouse-built POS system. However, we are in the final steps of bringing on three new grocery chains including Supermercados Morelos (5 stores), Choctaw Country Markets (3 stores), and Prime Time Nutrition (12 stores). Each of these is crucial to meeting our goals as they serve focus populations and geographies. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Hunger Free Oklahoma has provided the following trainings/resources related to DUO: Annual Farmers Market Training - HFO and contract partner ONIE provided an all-day training for over 30 people as part of the Oklahoma Local Agriculture Collaborative conference in March 2023. Grocery Store Training - HFO develops custom trainings and deploys them at each grocery store we work with. Follow-up trainings are provided to the grocer as videos for staff to watch during onboarding. HFO staff also engaged in professional development during this grant year including: Three HFO staff members attended the Nutrition Incentive Convening hosted in Arlington, VA in June 2023. Two HFO staff members attended the Nutrition Incentive Scaling convening in Philadelphia, PA in April 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? HFO has focused on improving access to critical information about DUO in the following ways: Developing and implementing a Power BI dashboard for HFO staff, contractors, and advisory committee members to see real-time DUO data to inform decision making. Producing an annual report to cover major learnings and findings from evaluation. Publishing and maintaining a public facing DoubleUpOklahoma.org website to help connect people seeking assistance to locations and information. Disseminating key information to state and local policy makers via legislative briefs and one-pagers. Presenting findings at Nutrition Incentive meetings and relevant convenings. Publishing press releases to raise public awareness about the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? While the measures presented below cover a small portion of the total lifetime of this grant, we believe they indicate measurable progress towards achieving our stated goals. Grocery stores and farm direct firms do not report the same level or detail of data, so different measures are based on different subsets of firms. Each measure indicates the number (N) and type of firms measured. Because this final report only covers the first eight months of our four-year grant, some stated outcomes do not have measures yet. Those are indicated where necessary. Goal 1: Increase purchase of fruits and vegetables among SNAP Participants During the reporting period, SNAP purchases represented approximately 32% of all produce purchases at the stores measured (N=11). This was roughly steady with the previous year. However, when including SNAP and DUO, nearly 63% of all produce purchased was paid for with SNAP and/or DUO. This measure only represents data collected at grocery stores within one family of chains. From September 2022 to May 2023, DUO redemptions totaled $2,210,775 or approximately a 121% increase from the base year of measurement ($1M/year). This measure includes data from all participating firms (N=12) during this period. Below are unique participants per month for all participating grocery stores (N=11). Participation is measured monthly. Duplicates are only removed on a quarterly and annual basis which means that they cannot be summed across month or quarter at this time. However, average quarterly participation between August 2022 and April 2023 was 31, 558 participants or about 158% of our baseline measurement. September - 17,545 October - 16,667 November - 16,096 December - 15,255 January - 18,775 February - 18,274 March - 16,142 April - 15,272 May - 16,009 Goal 2: Improve nutrition security among Oklahoma SNAP participants Both of these measures are based on surveys which are conducted annually. Data that covers September to May will be available in 2024. Goal 3: Improve community access to affordable produce, including locally grown produce. The data provided in this section encompasses all firms (grocery and farm direct) operating during the reporting period. During the reporting period, HFO has operated DUO in 12 firms located in rural low-access communities. This represents 40% of our goal of 30 firms by 2026. HFO is operating DUO in 17 urban LILA communities, representing 57% of our goal of 30 by 2026. Double Up Oklahoma is currently offered at three grocery stores and one mobile grocer operating in urban LILA areas; the mobile grocer has six stops in six LILA areas. In total, DUO is accessible in nine LILA communities representing 30% of our goal of 30 grocery stores operating in LILA communities by 2026. Eleven farm direct firms in LILA communities operated DUO during this reporting period equaling 37% of our goal of 30 by 2026. All firms (N=34) are currently purchasing local produce. The amount or percentage of produce purchased by the firms varies from 100% to 1%. All firms have committed to increasing local purchasing by at least 1% per year through 2026.

Publications