Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience has included: NYS Farmers and Producers (who incorporate at least 51% New York State local agricultural ingredients into their products). Food School Directors: Key decision-makers in schools responsible for sourcing and purchasing food. Local Food Hubs: Organizations that aggregate and distribute locally grown and produced food, serving as intermediaries between producers and buyers. Institutions Supporting Direct Farm Buying: This includes organizations such as schools, food banks, and other institutions committed to sourcing directly from local farms. These groups are central to the success of the Wildkale Farm-to-Institution platform, as they are the primary users and beneficiaries of the matchmaking and bid functionalities. Changes/Problems:During the course of this project, several significant changes and challenges were encountered that necessitated adjustments to our approach. These changes include: Redesign of Project Platform: ?Problem/Delay:As the team delved deeper into understanding the procurement processes through discussions with key stakeholders like Food Service Directors and Farm-to-School Coordinators, it became clear that the platform needed to accommodate more complex and nuanced user needs than initially anticipated. This required a redesign of the platform to better align with the actual procurement practices and the bidding process used by schools and producers. For example, we realized that full purchasing platform is something that would not work with schools because their payments are still primarily based on issuing and mailing checks. With that, the e-commerce functionallity will be limited. Impact:The initial wireframe had to be revised, delaying the start of development. Although this has impacted the project timeline, the goal is to still have the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ready by October 1st, 2024.? Overall, while these changes have introduced challenges and delays, they have also allowed the project team to better align the platform with user needs, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful adoption and long-term sustainability. The project remains on track for timely completion, with adjustments made to ensure that all critical functionalities are included in the MVP to be tested during the 2024/2025 school year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project team tabled at the '23 New York School Nutrition Association (NYSNA) Annual Conference in Verona, NY, during the first quarter of this project. The '23 New York School Nutrition Association (NYSNA) Annual Conference was an industry conference for school food service directors and producers. NYSNA's Exhibit Hall is a one-of-a-kind experience to improveschool nutrition operations, and for Food School Directors to find more products, ideas, and information. Wildkale was able to speak with many of the attendees during thistradeshow and the 2023 NYS Farm Show, collect survey data and informal interview data, and socialize the idea of the Wildkale.schools platform. The core project team also met with Hannah R., Food and Health Network's Farm to School Coordinator, and Jake P., Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES' (OHM-BOCES) Food Service Director. Hannah and Jake completed a focus group style interview after receiving a framework for aspirational functionality of the project. Spurring from that conversation, the project team was able to better understand the ever-evolving state of Farm to Institution in the region. As ad hoc solutions are required to keep the programming going, the need for an integrated system continues to be a bright light. In response to receiving feedback on the framework, the project team was able to compile additional questions and scenarios of use to update the integration and specifics of the wireframe. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the project have been disseminated to communities of interest through multiple channels. We shared information about the platform on our dedicated website, created posters for display at the '23 New York School Nutrition Association (NYSNA) Annual Conference, three other NYSNA regional events across New York State, and the '23 NYS Farm Show. Additionally, we distributed a newsletter to approximately 300 Food School Directors. These efforts have significantly raised awareness and engaged key stakeholders in the development and adoption of the Wildkale Farm-to-School Platform. In addition to these past events, we have applied and have been accepted to host an educational session to present the project at the next '24 New York School Nutrition Association "NYSNA" Annual Conference In Verona on October 26th and the Inaugural NYS Farm to School Summit in Syracuse, NY on November 21st and 22nd, 2024. The team is working on a presentation for the educational session, titled "Breakout Session Practical Farm-to-School Partnerships in NYS: A Digital Platform for Connecting Farms and Educational Institutions." We will lead with an interactive presentation to provide an overview of our work problem solving around procurement and recordkeeping and then facilitate a conversation around current barriers and solutions. We will encourage participants to describe their barriers to or challenges with participation in Farm to School and envision solutions that would address those barriers and challenges. We will close the session by sharing where we are in designing our solution and ways in which engaged participants can help inform the challenges we address. Additionally, the team will participate at the NY Farm to School Summit, taking place in November, 2024 in Syracuse, NY. This landmark event will gather stakeholders from across the state, including farmers, food service directors, educators, and school administrators, to explore the vital connections between local farms and our school communities. At this inaugural Farm to School Summit, the project director, Ana Jakimovska, will sit on a panel to discuss how producers have developed (or re-developed) products in response to demand from schools by using locally grown ingredients. This events are excellent opportunity to further promote the project to representatives from the organizations that support increased institutional buying from small and mid-sized farms such as the American Farmland Trust, Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY, NY Agriculture in the Classroom, NY Farm Bureau, NY School Nutrition Association, NYC Mayors Office of Urban Agriculture, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, NYS Education Department. The events will be a key opportunity to onboard producers, local food distributors, and school food directors to our SBIR platform. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The team is currently focused on ensuring that the platform's core objectives are fully integrated into the working software. This is essential for the successful onboarding of farmers, Food School Directors, and other institutional buyers. In the coming months, we plan to present the platform at five different industry events across New York State. These presentations will showcase the platform's features and highlight new farmer participants. We will also promote the platform and its benefits through a newsletter targeted at our network, including farmers, Food School Directors, and other stakeholders. Once thiswireframe is developed, it will be shared with key partners, including farmers and food service directors, for review. Their feedback will be incorporated into the Wildkale.schools platform. Following this, the platform will go live with a selected number of farmers and buyers from for the pivot phase of the platform. Wildkale will onboard "super users" -- those who work closely with multiple schools or producers -- to help populate the marketplace, ensuring it reaches the critical mass needed to be effective.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The structure for project management was established during the first quarter of theproject. A Google Drive was set up for document sharing, a biweekly and weekly meeting cadence was established for project partners as well as protocols for sharing progress through emails. Additionally, a project management page was set up in Notion. This project management page includes a forward facing project summary that can be shared with key stakeholders and private project tracking and other tools that are used by the core group of project partners. The core project team continued meeting with key food service directors and allied industry professionals to flesh out the wireframe design of the wildkale.school platform. The feedback received from a diverse set of food school directors was aligned with the themes identified in the Phase I project, but provided additional texture and nuance that was helpful in creating the wireframe detailed below. Of most use, we discovered that allied industry folks like extension educators and affinity group leaders would be interested in acting as "Super Users" on behalf of their producers to help manage the listings; this additional functionality will be added to the initial build of the interface and will enhance initial uptake of the technology. Additionally, we were able to build enthusiasm for the platform among Food Service Directors and collected a robust e-mail list of people who want to be notified about the platform when it is available.Wewere also able to delve into two major themes -- the understanding the needs of various users, including when there is overlap between roles, and the industry climate of digital document management and electronic vs. paper responses. This resulted in a further brainstorm of needs that identified for Farmer Producers there are four functions worth exploring: Document Management: Perhaps a digital folder containing all their documents, which could be shared via a link with potential buyers or allow buyers to access directly. E-Store Functionality: This would be beneficial for farmers or sellers without their own webstores, allowing direct order placements. Unified Food Bid Platform: A single location for all food bids would ease the burden for upload and provide honest competition Direct Communication Portal: A platform for direct communication with Hudson Harvest and NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, including Grown & Certified, and providing access to the most updated comments and Product Formulation Statements. The conversation centered around improving the procurement process for schools, with a focus on streamlining the system, automating tasks, and promoting local purchasing. The project team and meeting participants discussed the challenges of managing small purchases for fresh produce, emphasizing the importance of a streamlined farm-to-school procurement system. An exploratory conversation emerged of ways to improve the online marketplace for local food buyers and sellers, including adding search features and offering micro purchasing options. The group then discussed ways to enhance the bid submission process and accepted electronic responses to make it more efficient and accessible for producers. Overall the meeting resulted in a list of challenges and opportunities, as described below. Challenges: Variation in procurement timelines and processes between large districts planning over a year in advance vs smaller districts able to source more immediately. Limitations of using micro-purchases for perishable produce due to lack of advance planning and response to auditors. Integrating with existing procurement software and processes used by school districts. Determining appropriate funding model and priorities for platform features. Ensuring effective communication and coordination between producers, super users, and buyers on the platform. Addressing concerns around changing traditional in-person bid opening procedures. Opportunities: Provide a centralized platform for farmers/producers to share product information, availability, and pricing with potential buyers. Streamline delivery logistics and scheduling for farmers to sell to schools. Enable competitive shopping and justification of purchases for school business offices. Facilitate communication and collaboration between producers and buyers of all sizes, not just large districts. Explore options for electronic bid submission while maintaining existing opening procedures. The project team then worked to first prioritize, then dive into the impact of implementing the challenges and ideas that came out of conversation. Once narrowed down, with continued conversations - the group prioritized what would be included in the wireframe to produce a first draft of the platform. Summary of Progress: In the second halfof this phase, the wireframe document was sent to the developer to begin wireframe design andinitial development.The design of the wireframe has been completed in Figma. This wireframe,informed by stakeholder feedback, will now be connected into a fully functional Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Our goal is to have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ready by October 1st, 2024, in preparation for its presentation and testing with schools and producers at the NYSNA (New York School Nutrition Association) Fair in late October and the NY Farm-to-School Summit in November 2024. We aim to drive platform adoption and collect valuable feedback at these Farm-to-Institution events, which will inform upgrades to the MVP. An enhanced version of the platform will be presented at subsequent NYSNA events in January and February 2025.
Publications
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