Progress 11/01/23 to 10/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:In Year 2, Inside Out continued to focus on central North Philadelphia and the surrounding area targetingincarcerated individuals at the Philadelphia prison and the community of individuals throughout Philadelphia who have previously been incarcerated and suffer from food insecurity and diet-related health problems at high rates. In the past year, the project worked with individuals and groups (community-based groups, employers and Philadelphia institutions) to increase the availability of fresh, locally grown food and to create job training and opportunities to work in the 'green' and culinary sectors with growing, distributing, preparing and marketing healthy foods. Approximately half of individuals in prison report having had a chronic condition, many of which are connected to food insecurity, the focus of this project. Changes/Problems:As explained in our Year 1 Progress report, The Food Trust team conducted market research to inform program development to identify public private investments to develop a culinary training start-up. This research included meeting with food entrepreneurs, culinary training and job placement programs, small business development programs, restaurant/catering companies and business consultants to understand the opportunities and challenges for a start-up catering business for the formerly incarcerated. The team also issued an RFP to identify a business consultant. Based on the information from these experts, it was decided that it wasn't recommendedto develop and implement a startup catering company that could likely only support one or two formerly incarcerated persons. These advisors recommended partnering with other programs that have similar goals for increased job opportunities and to create the potential for startups to evolve. Based on these assessments, and in coordination with formerly incarcerated persons, the team pivoted in Year 2 to develop a training/certification program in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia. That program is now in place with several job placement sites ready to hire formerly incarcerated persons. The other change/problem that was reported in year 1 and continued through year 2 is the ongoing security issuesat the prison, coupled with severe guard shortages. During year 2, no male incarcerated persons were allowed to work at the prison orchard and the job training and certification program was halted for the foreseeable future. In the Fall of 2023, a prisoner escaped from the orchard, while working there, and was found dead a few days later. While the training program was halted for the year, female incarcerated persons were recruited and able to work at the orchard. They were great and will likely continue in 2025 but it's unlikely that the prison commissioner will allow a training program totakeplace. The prison is under federal monitoring and a lawsuit from the city to try to improve the situation. The team is hopeful that the prison continues job training in the future but it will not take place during the course of this grant. As reported in year 1, these problems continue to affect some of the activities and budget. A budget amendment was submitted and is currently under revision to address reallocating some of the business consulting fees and the number of formerly incarcerated programs who receive the budgeted stipends. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Food Trust provided culinary and ServSafe food safety training to individuals who were formerly incarcerated as part of the Philadelphia's Office of Reentry Partnerships programming. Adding culinary and food safety skills expands job opportunities and extends the months that jobs are available, since agricultural employment is often seasonal and there are limited opportunities in Philadelphia. This partnership is now well established and discussions about continued funding are taking place. To date, 15 men have received certificates from TFT and all but one person passed the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe Certificate Program. Ongoing classes are planned at the city's Neighborhood Resource Centers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The team is continuing to collect data and ensure it is accurate before dissemination. In the next few months, a report will be written and disseminated to communities of interest. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?• Continue implementing a sustainable fresh food distribution system linking the prison orchard with the halfway houses and community settings to implement a sustainable system. Specific actions include continuing to identify volunteers to support growing, harvesting and distributing the foods to the community to ensure the food receives those who can most benefit. The team is also exploring funding to support these efforts. Several grants have been submitted as well as a meeting with a Pennsylvania state senator. • Continue to implement and evaluate nutrition education lessons, food journals and focus group discussions in the prison and halfway houses. Data will continue to be collected and analyzed in a way that will yield accurate information. • Identify additional food and 'green' businesses that are receptive to working with formerly incarcerated individuals and develop a system to support and track job placements. This work will continue with the Philadelphia's Office of Reentry Partnerships, Department of Prisons, halfway houses, culinary training programs and job placements sites. • Finalize legally-reviewed subcontracts for internship placements and payments for the formerly incarcerated individuals who have completed their training and are interested in job placements. • Continue to assess foods in hallway houses and offer recommendations to improve the foods served in these locations. • Continue to assess the foods that are sold and served at the prison including working with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Department of Prisons and food service contractors to ensure the foods meet Philadelphia's nutrition standards and that the quality isacceptable to the incarcerated individuals. • Continue to provide community-based nutrition education, food demonstrations and food tastings to support the families and friends of those who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated. • Continue to identify restaurants that are interested in partnering to train and hire the formerly incarcerated, and to continue to support training and identifying employment in the green sector. Publish and disseminate a report describing the program and results to serve as a model for other prisons, reentry programs and to contribute to the conversation about how to create food production and sustainable distribution systems at prisons in collaboration with communities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. The team continues to work with partners, incarcerated and previously incarcerated persons and the composting company that supportsmaintenance of the prison orchardand composting facilities to identify preferences for planting and distributing food. The strength of the team's partnership with the prison and outside organizations has grown throughout the course of this project ensuring long term sustainability and increased production. 2. Since the beginning of this project, the Prison Orchard's harvest has increased from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds a year with increased opportunities to distribute food to halfway houses, behavioral health programs andfaith-based organizations. The team has organized volunteer days to bring in partners and interested persons to support maintainingand harvesting. During the course of this project, the number of individuals supporting the orchard has grown from 25 to over 50 individuals who participate in community workdays. Volunteers learn about the Prison Orchard, agriculture, composting and healthy eating. 3. The team has piloted and evaluated the newly developed prison nutrition curriculum over the past year, worked with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (DoPH) and Philadelphia Department of Prison (DoP) administrators and food contractors to improve the foods sold and served at the prison. In year 2, six-week nutrition education series were implemented at the prison, halfway houses, behavioral health programs and with the City of Philadelphia's Office of Reentry Partnerships IORP). Pre-post tests were administered at all settings. A summary of results from the prison includes: Perceived healthfulness of foods purchased from the commissary increased from an average of 1.63 at pretest to 2.25 at posttest, Frequency of cooking/preparing meals lower in sugar, salt and fat (SFAS) from the commissary remained the same with average scores of 2.13, Frequency of commissary purchases: Oatmeal and cereal increased from 2.25 to 2.86 Meats and fishes increased from 3.25 to 3.50 Juices increased from 2.25 to 2.29 Frequency of making small changes to eat healthier increased from 2.88 to 3.00. Frequency of making small changes to be more active increased from 2.38 to 2.50 Among formerly incarcerated persons: 40% indicated they had increased vegetable consumption, 61% increased their planning before going to the grocery store by comparing prices, checking what they already had, planning a meal, and making a list, 49% increased their efforts to budget for groceries, including comparing prices, planning meals, using coupons, checking items on sale before and at the store, and creating a monthly spending plan. 48% showed improved food security over the course of the series through, by having food throughout the month, being able to afford balanced meals, and not having to cut meals 33% increased the amount of exercise they did or made small changes to be more active 48% showed improved food security over the course of the series by having food throughout the month, being able to afford balanced meals, and not having to cut meals Prison participants also complete food journals to document the foods they ate, the time of the meal/snack, if the portions were sufficient, their mood after eating and what, if any, foods they purchased at the Commissary to substitute or complement their meals. The team also initiated focus groups in year 2 to provide additional qualitative data to better understand the barriers and opportunities that exist for incarcerated persons. 4&5. In Year 2, Temple University decided not to continue with the Vocational Certificate program and the DoP Commissioner put a hold on the program due to security issues, which included an escape from the orchard that resulted in a death. In addition, a 50 percent guard shortage prevented guards from safely escorting men from their cells to the prison training academy and the orchard. As an alternative, for the first time, women were recruited to work at the orchard but no employment training program was offered this past year, due to security issues. To address this challenge, the team developed a partnership with ORP, a city programthat works with individuals returning to the community from prison. In partnership, TFT offered vocational training and a nutrition education series. To date, 15 men have received certificates from TFT and all but one person passed the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe Certificate Program. 6. TFT continues to work with the prison and halfway houses to increase the availability of healthy foods on the menus and to increase the amount of food grown at the prison orchard. The pounds of food grown and distributed in year 2 increased to 10,000 pounds, a 4,000 pound increase from the start of the project. TFT also doubled the number of volunteers who help maintain and harvest. These volunteers include residents of halfway houses, city officials, employees of local foundations and the Attorney General Office's Reentry Program. In Year 2, The Food Trust partnered with the DoPH and DoP to work towards improvements in the prison menu and an RFP for a new food vendor contractor. The team shared results from the food journals, which record what the incarcerated persons are served and what they eat, and results from focus groups that were conducted. This information led the prison to conduct a survey in the prison which received over 600 responses and led to menu improvements. The recent (January 2025) RFP that was released by DoP for a food service contractor ensured that menus meet the DoPH Nutrition Standards In year 2, the team conducted assessments of the menus and inventory in the kitchens of halfway houses, providing nutrition education and offering recommendations and technical assistance to improve the foods that are served. Four settings are currently reviewing these recommendations and planning to make improvements in their food to meet the City's Nutrition Standards 7. TFT continues to work throughout the greater Philadelphia area to provide nutrition education and policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes, with a focus on communities where formerly incarcerated individuals live. This work promotes healthy eating at farmers markets, corner stores, schools, food assistance sites, community settings and residential facilities. During Year 2, nutrition programming in schools and afterschool programs provided 25,969 direct contacts to youth including taste tests and cooking demonstrations. Adult programming included nutrition education, taste tests and food demonstrations providing 10,934 direct contacts. 8. As reported in year 1, the team met with several entrepreneurship, culinary and green skills training programs and business consultants to assess the feasibility of developing a startup catering business run by the formerly incarcerated that would prepare, sell and deliver food to local stores and community events. Upon the advice of consultants and established organizations, and in discussion with formerly incarcerated individuals, it was determined that higher rates of employment could be attained through training and job placement than through a startup catering business. Individuals who have been previously incarcerated have very limited resources on which to live and require work that pays a living wage, without waiting for a startup to be successful. In partnership with ORP and culinary and green skill training programs, several places have been identified that are willing to hire persons who have been formerly incarcerated. Much of year 2 was dedicated to building these relationships and implementing a training program to support the development of skills prior to placements.
Publications
|
Progress 11/01/22 to 10/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:In Year 1, Inside Out took place in central North Philadelphia and the surrounding area, where residents suffer from food insecurity and diet-related health problems at high rates. Thistarget population includds those who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, who return from prison to this area in higher numbers than other parts of the city. In the past year, the project worked with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and other groups (community-based groups, employers and Philadelphia institutions) that serve them to increase the availability of fresh, locally grown food and to create job opportunities to work in the 'green' and culinary sectors with growing, distributing, preparing and marketing healthy foods. Approximately half of individuals in prison report having had a chronic condition, many of which are connected to food insecurity,the focus of this project. Changes/Problems:In Year 1, The Food Trust team conducted market research to inform program development for Objective 8: "Identify public-private investments to develop a culinary training start-up." This research included meeting with food entrepreneurs, culinary training and job placement programs, small business development programs, restaurant/catering companies and consultants to understand the opportunities and challenges for a start-up catering business for the formerly incarcerated. We also issued an RFP to identify a business consultant. Based on the information we learned from all these experts, we decided that it was not feasible to develop and implement a startup catering company that could support formerly incarcerated persons and procure contracts for catering jobs. Our advisors recommended that we partner with other programs that have similar goals as a starting point. From this effort, potential startups might evolve. After assessing the landscape, the team determined that the greatest potential for jobs in the culinary field is with available programs that have well-developed culinary training and job placement programs, and with restaurants and catering businesses that have expressed interest in training and employing the formerly incarcerated. The start-up may still occur with the men and women who are trained and employed; for instance, one of the incarcerated men who was employed by the composting company at the prison chose to start his own composting business. The Food Trust's team provided culinary and ServSafe training to ten individuals as part of the 18-week Philadelphia prison/Temple University program on urban gardening, composting and culinary skills. This change in approach will affect some of the activities and steps in the project's evaluation and some budget items. Budget changes include combining the remaining $15,910 in consulting fees with the $3,750 in stipends to total $19,550 for six formerly incarcerated individuals to be compensated for half of the time for the first nine weeks of employment at existing catering companies ($15/hr. for a 40-hour week + 20% benefits). These funds will be used during culinary job training programs prior to being hired by the catering company. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Food Trust provided culinary and ServSafe food safety training toindividuals who are incarcerated as part of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons and Temple University's Vocational Certificate in Urban Greening and Sustainable Landcare Program. In the past, the program has been focused on 'green skills' which offered employment opportunities with composting and land care. Adding culinary and food safety skills expands job opportunities and extends the months that jobs are available, since agricultural employment is often seasonal. Professional developmentopportunities included attending conferences and presenting on "Opportunities to Improve the FoodEnvironment in Correctional Facilities" at The National Association of Law Enforcement Oversight's29th Annual Conference which brings together experts from the United States and around the world. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results are still preliminary, and the methods are being improved. Dissemination will take place in Year 2. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue implementing a sustainable fresh food distribution system linking the prison farm with the halfway houses and community settings to implement a sustainable fresh food distribution system. Specific actions include identifying volunteers to support growing, harvesting and distributing the foods to the community to ensure the food receives those who can most benefit. Continue to implement and evaluate nutrition education lessons in the prison and halfway houses. The evaluation tool for these sessions will be revised to ensure that the data is collected and analyzed in a way that will yield accurate information. Changes will also be made with the food journals. Identify additional food businesses that are receptive to working with returning citizens and develop a systemto support and track job placements. This work will continue with the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, Temple University and halfway houses, along with culinary training programs and job placements sites. Evolve program implementation to address and correct challenges identified during the first year of this grant,including: improved vetting of the incarcerated men who are recruited for the program, increased opportunities for employment and establishing legally-reviewed subcontracts for internship placements and paymentsearly in the program. Continue to assess foods in hallway houses and offer recommendations to improve the foods served in these locations. Data from the food journals will help to present information that support requests for changes in the prison and halfway houses. Continue to learnwhat participants are eating from the foods that are served in the prison and the foods they purchase at the Commissary.We plan to compare these findings to the prison menu to better understand what foods are actually served and if these foods meet the City of Philadelphia's nutrition guidelines. Continueto provide community-based nutrition education, food demonstrations and food tastings to support the families and friends of those who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated. Continue to identify catering companies and restaurants that are interested in partnering to train and hire the formerly incarcerated, and to continue to support training and identifying employment in the green sector.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1: To develop a sustainable and healthy food environment for formerly incarcerated individuals, the team surveyedindividuas, halfway houses and community institutions about their preferences to ensure the fruits and vegetables that are grown and procured match the cultural and ethnic preferences of the target audience. 2: Throughout the growing season, people who are incarcerated worked at the 3-acre prison farm/orchard to plan, maintain and harvest food fordistributionto the community. During this time, these individuals learned about agriculture, composting and healthy eating. The Food Trust (TFT) team worked with the prison, halfway houses and faith-based organizations to distribute 7,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables with accompanying nutrition education and recipes. Technical assistance was provided in utilizing these fresh products with storage information and preparation skills. 3: TFT staff developednew lesson plansthat address the food environment and challenges that exist in prison. The lessons were piloted, revised accordingly and used to teach a six-week series in the prison. Participants enrolled in nutrition education programs were invited to participate in pre- and post-evaluations of their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the health and nutrition information provided in the program. These evaluations were administered during the first and last weeks of the programming. Participants were also given food journals to document their eating routines between weekly sessions. Data was collected to document fidelity and participant acceptability through educator field notes and surveys. A total of 66 participants in nutrition programs at the prison completed surveys and evaluation forms. Of those, 31 also completed surveys upon completion. Overall healthfulness of foods purchased from commissary increased from M=1.48 at pre to M=1.81 at post, indicating an increase in reports of how healthy commissary purchases were. Frequency of cooking/preparing meals lower in sugar, salt and fat (SFAS) from the commissary increased from pre to post in the full sample, indicating at pre-test, average scores were M=1.68 (never-sometimes) and increased to more frequent purchased of foods with reduced SFAS M=2.10) (sometimes-usually) Average reported frequency of making small changes to eat healthier on purpose was higher at post, but the difference was not significant. Frequency of exercise for at least 30 minutes in the past week increased from M=1.83 at pre to M=2.17 at post among females. Average reported frequency of making small changes to be more active was higher at post, but the difference was not significant. Average purchases of salty (among men only) and sweet (among men and in the full sample) snacks increased from pre to post among men. Overall purchases of proteins increased. This change was significant among men and in the full sample Mental wellbeing did not improve from pre to post for the group. During each series, participants were asked to complete a food journal indicating the foods they ate, the time of the meal/snack, if the portions were sufficient, their mood after eating and what, if any, foods they purchased at the Commissary to substitute or complement their meals. 118 food journals were completed and analyzed. The team learned that asking class participants to complete the journals during the week in between classes led to a lack of uniformity and making it difficult to summarize the data accurately. In Year 2, the completion of these journals will be integrated into classroom time to guide participants through the process with more fidelity. 4:Incarcerated individuals applied to work at the prison farm/orchard to learn skills to help them secure employment in food production and landscaping, upon release. In Year 1, TFT, Philadelphia Department of Prisons and Temple University partnered to offer an 18-week training program, consisting of 12 weeks of learning in the classroom, on the prison farm and at the prison's composting facilities. During the 12 weeks, participants learned about organic agriculture, plant care, crop harvesting, composting, culinary skills and food sanitation. The training was followed by early release for an 8-week paid internship. As part of this initiative, TFT offered culinary and ServSafe certification with the opportunity to work with local food businesses and restaurants. 5:The prison and TFT worked together to identify opportunities for men in the vocational training program to be placed in internships. The prison identified opportunities at their composting facility, Temple University offered internships on their college campus related to green skills and TFT developed relationships with local restaurants and catering companies. Over 25% of the men who participated in the program and interned with the composting company that contracts with the prison were offered full-time jobs. One individual is now developing his own composting business. 6:TFT is working to increase the availability of healthy foods on the menu at halfway houses and to increase the amount of food grown at the prison farm/orchard. The amount of food grown in Year 1 was approximately 7,000 pounds, an estimated 1,000 pounds more than the previous year. TFT organized volunteer days to bring more individuals to the orchard to help maintain and harvest. Since the COVID pandemic, the number of prison guards has been greatly diminished with some estimates of a 40% reduction. This impacts how many incarcerated persons can work at the farm. By bringing volunteers from outside the prison, TFT helped to maintain the farm. TFT is also conducting assessments of the menus/foods observed in the food pantries at halfway houses, providingnutrition education and offeringrecommendations and technical assistance to improve the foods that are served. 7:TFT works throughout Philadelphia to provide nutrition education and policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes, especially in the communitieswherethe formerly incarcerated live. This work promotes healthy eating in corner stores, schools, community settings and residential facilities. In Year 1, nutrition programming in schools and afterschool programs provided 6,282 direct contacts to youth including taste tests and cooking demonstrations. Adult programming in the community included nutrition education, taste tests and food demonstrations providing 459 direct contacts at farmers markets, corner stores and community settings. 8:TFT met with a variety of entrepreneurship and culinary training programs and consultants to assess the feasibility of developing a startup catering business run by the formerly incarcerated that would prepare, sell and deliver food to local stores and community events. The team determined that several of these culinary training programs and catering companies are interested in working with the formerly incarcerated to offer training and potential employment. The teamdecided that the best opportunities for employment areto work with already established catering companies and restaurants to identify, place and support the formerly incarcerated in developing job skills and employment. During Year 1, TFT piloted culinary training skills and ServSafe certification and is working to expand these training programs in Year 2 to increase employment opportunities for those who complete the training.
Publications
|