Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Our project targets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollees in high-need communities across Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont as well as regional farmers. Changes/Problems:Generally we have no major changes to report during this project period aside from small changes in operating outlets. The following is a report from our sub awardees on program changes. CHANGES Connecticut During this time period, two previous outlets did not participate. These outlets were contacted multiple times during contract collection and never responded and therefore did not offer the project. Another outlet completed a contract to participate but has not submitted any data and have been unresponsive to follow ups. Although some sites did not continue, EHCT! onboarded more new outlets, including their first CSA outlet and first brick-and-mortar Co-op outlet which offers the opportunity for extended hours of operation for SNAP shoppers to access CT Fresh Match benefits. New Hampshire The NHFB incentive program saw several notable changes in its implementation and outreach this past year. They onboarded Bob's Shur-Fine Market in Ashland, NH, after its new management expressed interest in reinstating the program after a hiatus of 2 years. This is a significant addition, as Ashland is classified as a food desert, and the program will help increase access to fresh, nutritious food for residents in the area. Additionally, they formed a new partnership with Barrington Area Market Management (BAMM), an organization overseeing three farmers markets in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Through this collaboration, they aim to broaden our reach and provide more accessible options for nutritious food within the Lakes Region. Vermont NOFA-VT started a pilot program of a full SNAP-match incentive in 2023 called Crop Cash Plus. Through this program, coupons are distributed that can be used on any SNAP-eligible item. This program was immensely popular, as, in addition to the Crop Cash coupons that could be used for produce, it effectively tripled SNAP dollars during the 2023 season. This program was paid for through an allocation of money from the state of Vermont and additional foundation support. NOFA-VT also raised our incentive match amount from $10 to $20 for the summer 2023 season running from May-November, meaning that customers could spend $20 of SNAP and receive $20 of Crop Cash and and additional $20 of Crop Cash Plus. During summer 2023, families with school-aged children were issued P-EBT benefits which led to a large influx of new SNAP users at markets in Vermont who were able to take advantage of our incentive programs. Due to the issuance of P-EBT and Crop Cash Plus, as well as other unforeseen factors, NOFA-VT ran over budget on incentives and had to pause the program from December 1st, 2023 until May 1st 2024. This timeframe was during a slower season for the program but nevertheless was confusing for shoppers and partners who understood the program to be a reliable source of support year round. Maine Participating outlet, Papa's Produce in Scarborough closed its doors this summer creating a gap in access to fresh produce for our Greater Portland Area BIPOC community which had relied on the market for affordable, healthy produce options. However, the closure coincided with onboarding Food For All in Portland, which has helped fill the void left by Papa's Produce as Food For All's mission prioritizes service to Maine's growing BIPOC community. This transition allowed GSFB to expand reach and enhance offerings, ensuring residents access to culturally relevant produce. This past period, the Orono Market was able to become FNS authorized and begin accepting Maine Harvest Bucks, making it one of the last large markets in Maine to adopt the program. In May 2024, we restored the incentive match to a one-to-one match with no cap after nearly two years of limitations to prevent budget shortfalls. Additionally, MFFM began offering specialized support services to 20 markets across the state, significantly reducing the administrative burden of operating these programs. We estimate this service saves each market around two hours of volunteer time per week and are essential for the program's sustainability, as they streamline operations and increase overall efficiency for all parties. PROBLEMS As most partners in our network have been operating nutrition incentive programs for many years there have not been significant problems to report. Some of the main challenges that partners faced were related to maintaining adequate staffing levels at nonprofits which have not necessarily been able to keep up with for-profit pay increases. Independently securing match funding to support these programs across the region has also been an ongoing challenge as all partners are independent organizations each with unique relationships to their state legislative partners around the availability and opportunities for long term sustainability. The change in program pause with NOFA-VT underscores this issue. In our attempt to issue additional incentive funding to their community and achieve the mandated funding requirements, the organization received an influx of customers and ran though their limited available federal and match funding sources available. An additional challenge that has been experienced across all partners is the cost of EBT processing equipment and associated processing fees, hotspots or internet infrastructure required to facilitate SNAP payment processing. A federal funding opportunity is available to new sites and will cover 1 year of operating expenses but since a majority of outlets have been in operation for 8+ years it is unavailable to them. As older outlets establish themselves, they can attract enough SNAP shoppers to justify covering costs, but newer outlets are hesitant to pay more in technology fees than the opportunity of benefits redeemed by fewer customers if they are not guaranteed those customers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?End Hunger Connecticut! EHC! has very detailed self-guided training and data tracking tools for all outlets that join the program and staff are available for questions and individual walk-throughs as needed for training. Materials are updated every year/as needed if there are any changes to program operations. New outlets get all these materials when they are onboarded, but they are also provided materials as refreshers to continuing markets at the start of each new season. NH Food Bank NHFB participated in several nutrition incentive-related training and development opportunities during this past grant period. They attended the NH Nutrition Equity Summit on October 23, 2023 where they had the chance to connect with other stakeholders focused on advancing nutritional equity across the state. On May 14, 2024 the NHFB program director presented to a virtual learning cohort hosted by the Fair Food Network, discussing strategies for sourcing local produce in nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs. Additionally, their program director presented at the GusNIP External Evaluators Community of Practice Webinar, focusing on local sourcing in program evaluation. These opportunities allowed them to share insights and collaborate with others in the field. Good Shepherd Food Bank GSFB facilitated several nutrition incentive-related development opportunities this past year including biannual in-person meetings with outlets and quarterly all-store meetings to foster collaboration and share best practices. Additionally, they provided individualized support and training as needed, ensuring that all participants had access to the resources necessary for successful program implementation. NOFA-VT The NOFA VT staff presented a session on SNAP processing and Crop Cash at the Vermont Farmers Market Conference in March, 2024. They also run a training in April of each year, before the start of the summer market season, which is available to all market managers operating the Crop Cash program at their markets. This past year they presented about the new language access work at the annual 3SquaresVT conference hosted by Hunger Free Vermont. Maine Federation of Farmers Markets The Maine Farmers' Market Conference took place in February 2024 and included a workshop on low-income food access, providing an overview of the SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks programs. MFFM also trained 23 markets and farm stands during the winter of 2024 to operate SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks. FFRI This past year FFRI was able to host a RI Farmers Market Manager conference in February 2024 in which they provided training and technical assistance to sites operating the Bonus Bucks program. Additionally, we were able to work with the Fair Food Network to host an EBT Integration kick-off meeting on March 22, 2024 where partners across the country learned about the RI Bonus Bucks program and EBT integration efforts happening in the state of RI. This engaged partners from California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington states. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This past year our outlets were able to receive impact summary reports through our partnership with the NIFA NTAE Gretchen Swanson Research Center. These reports have been shared with local community partners to help them understand how each of our programs work and the impacts that they are having in different geographies represented in this project What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our project will continue to monitor opportunities for program expansion to new sites and continue to work with the National Training and Technical Assistance Entity (NTAE) on our evaluation efforts. To date we have twice come in above target in achieving the required number of surveys of SNAP participants to evaluate our program efficicacy.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
OUTLET EXPANSION Our project was able to successfully increase the number of outlets engaged this past year from the year prior. This expands our impact by allowing more opportunities for SNAP shoppers to access nutrition incentives across the region. # Outlets: Good Shepherd Food Bank Year 1 - 19 Year 2 - 16 Change - (16%) Maine Federation of Farmers Markets Year 1 - 55 Year 2 - 82 Change: 49.% Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont Year 1 - 40 Year 2 - 50 Change: 25% New Hampshire Food Bank Year 1 - 52 Year 2 - 82 Change: 58% Farm Fresh Rhode Island Year 1 - 30 Year 2 - 29 Change: -3% End Hunger Connecticut! Year 1 - 23 Year 2 - 35 Change: 52% TOTAL OUTLETS YEAR 1 - 219 TOTAL OUTLETS YEAR 2 - 294 CHANGE: 34.25% MARKETING & OUTREACH Connecticut End Hunger Connecticut! (EHCT!) created their own social media accounts @CTFreshMatch to help promote their CTFresh Match incentive program to prospective partners and SNAP customers. They also provided all outlets with curated marketing toolkits that included recognizable branding elements for the program. Partners also received marketing collateral including small and large promotional banners, lawn signs, flyers, sandwich board signs, and posters in English and Spanish to promote SNAP-doubling. Additionally, End Hunger Connecticut shared flyers to partner organizations serving SNAP populations to help reach new SNAP customers and drive them to participating outlets. Lastly, they made a map on their website that shows the location and information for every outlet participating in our program. Visitors can type their address into the map and find all the SNAP-doubling markets nearest them. New Hampshire The New Hampshire Food Bank (NHFB) implemented several targeted strategies for marketing and outreach in our nutrition incentive programs (Granite State Market Match and Double Up Food Bucks) this past period. They collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to design a new quad-fold brochure, which has been distributed through their regional offices and included in SNAP welcome packets sent to new SNAP customers. To reach a broader audience, they translated all outreach materials and store signage into Spanish and Swahili, ensuring accessibility for diverse communities. They also sent monthly newsletters to a subscriber list of over 700 individuals, keeping them updated on program developments and incentives. Finally, they maintained a consistent presence on social media, particularly on Meta platforms, to engage and inform the wider community about our program and initiatives. Maine The Good Shepherd Food Bank (GSFB) employed a multifaceted approach to marketing and outreach for our nutrition incentive program, Farm Fresh Rewards. This included translating resources into six different languages to ensure accessibility and promote the program across our various social media platforms. They collaborated with local stores to enhance marketing efforts and provided education and outreach initiatives. Additionally, they engaged in conversations and presentations in diverse settings to raise awareness and foster community involvement in their Farm Fresh Rewards program. The Maine Federation of Farmers Markets (MFFM) used social media ads and distributed signage and flyers across more than 20 towns. To reach customers in areas without access, they set up mobile markets in areas densely populated with shoppers who use SNAP/EBT. Additionally they mailed postcards to promote over 30 markets and farm stands, sending them directly to SNAP households near these outlets and also invested in radio and print advertising. Vermont The Northeast Organic Farmers Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) worked with food security organizations across Vermont to promote their incentive program, VT Crop Cash, to SNAP users across the state via email communication and in-person outreach. They partnered with their Vermont SNAP agency to mail an informational insert with newly issued EBT cards during the beginning of the summer market season. They also translated many of their outreach materials into several different languages used by immigrant communities in Vermont, both historic and recent. These materials were distributed to markets that requested them depending on the specific makeup of their SNAP communities. To supplement these new materials they hosted a couple of "language access" days at a market where interpreters were available to help community members navigate using SNAP and Crop Cash at the farmers market. Farm Fresh RI During this project period Farm Fresh RI (FFRI) paid an external contractor to optimize google advertisements to drive keyword searches to a landing site of outlets participating in the RI Bonus Bucks nutrition incentive program. This was paired with paying for targeted meta platform advertisements leveraging previous successes in geo-targeting areas near participating outlets. Additionally, we were able to partner with our state SNAP agency, Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS), to issue a paper mailing to promote sites participating in the program in the Spring of 2023. This is now the seventh year of partnership with DHS on this seasonal mailing and partnering with state SNAP agencies on outreach has consistently been one of the most successful outreach strategies for the program reported by all partners. SUCCESSES & HIGHLIGHTS Connecticut This past period a major highlight was EHCT! being able to secure their first brick and mortar grocery co-op and CSA outlets. Over the past year they have been engaging in outreach trying to onboard co-ops and CSAs, but were running into issues of potential sites being non-responsive or operational logistic challenges with potential implementation. New Hampshire A major success for the NHFB nutrition incentive program was the development of a comprehensive Eligible Foods List specifically tailored to the program. Building on this list, they created a PLU and UPC catalog for our retail partners of the products on the list enabling them to seamlessly identify and accurately add eligible items to their POS systems. This project has greatly streamlined the process for retailers, making it easier to integrate the program and enhancing the overall experience for both retailers and customers. Maine This past period Blackie's Farm Fresh Produce in the Auburn, Maine area, made significant strides in providing nutrition incentives to BIPOC communities, reflecting the store's commitment to expanding access to produce for underserved populations. MFFM has began providing more direct support, providing EBT equipment and staffing for some markets as well as supporting weekly vendor reimbursements. Markets are very pleased with this service, and while operating this model MFFM is able to receive valuable back-end sales data for analysis, helping to better understand the program's full reach and impact. The launch of Maine Harvest Bucks at the Orono Farmers' Market was another highlight this year. Located in an underserved area with an abundance of fresh produce, the Orono Farmers' Market recorded over $12,000 in combined SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks sales in its first year. Vermont By many measures, the VT Crop Cash program this project period was an unprecedented success. NOFA-VT saw the highest number of individual users and the highest dollar amount of redeemed incentives. The number of Crop Cash redemptions was about 300% of the 2019-2020 season. This past year NOFA-VT also translated many of their outreach materials into several different languages used by immigrant communities in Vermont, both historic and recent and we consider that another highlight.?
Publications
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Our project targets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants in high-need communities across Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont as well as local farmers and food producers vending at Farmers Markets, CSAs, Farmstands, Mobile Markets and Brick and Mortar sites Changes/Problems:During year 1 of our project, the Neighboring Food Cooperative Association (NFCA) experienced a leadership transition which resulted in significant staff changes and institutional memory loss. After negotiating with the new NFCA Executive Director and Board, they have decided not to participate in our GusNIP project. The NFCA would have been our only new subawardee partner to the previously established New England Nutrition Collaborative (NENIC), and they were going to establish a Double Up Food Bucks program in 4 cooperative grocery stores in the state of Vermont. Currenly we have no concerns about being able to distribute those funds to other subawardee partners and outlets over the life of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In our first year of this project we have been planning but not yet organized trainings or professional development. We look forward to hosting trainings and convenings for SNAP incentive project managers in the areas of technology, and marketing best practices starting in the next reporting period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The evaluation and findings from our first year of the project are being analysized and will be shared once complete. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our project parters will continue to issue nutrition incentives at the point of sale for SNAP participants across all outlets. Some outlets will need to reduce the incentive level in order to ensure sustained operation of the program given budget constraints. We are planning to onboard new outlets in CT and ME in year 2 of the project. Additioally, we will be hosting convenings in order to help establish and share best practices in early spring of 2024
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This final project year was very successful for SNAP spending and redemption. Here are some of our accomplishments broken down by regional partner: SNAP Spent Year 1 Good Shepherd Food Bank $284,859.82 Maine Federation of Farmers Markets $208,129.05 Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont $179,725.81 New Hampshire Food Bank $1,635,304.37 Farm Fresh Rhode Island $46,086.36 End Hunger Connecticut! $58,280.73 Incentives Redeemed Year 1 Good Shepherd Food Bank $59,619.49 Maine Federation of Farmers Markets $172,252.59 Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont $113,675.63 New Hampshire Food Bank $174,731.15 Farm Fresh Rhode Island $34,402.90 End Hunger Connecticut! $51,699.27 Outlets worked with Year 1 Good Shepherd Food Bank 19 Maine Federation of Farmers Markets 55 Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont 40 New Hampshire Food Bank 52 Farm Fresh Rhode Island 30 End Hunger Connecticut! 23 The first year of this project marked a successful transition from our previous FINI award, which ended in June 2023, to our GUSNIP project and established the baseline spending and redemption for this grant. The smooth transition and continuation of our incentive programs was the major achievement during the three months this project was active during this reporting period.
Publications
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