December: Education & Skills, Policy & Systems Change and Double Up Food Bucks Strategy Areas

Below is a summary of the Strategy Group work from our November Meeting.  If you are involved in the CHIP Food Security work, please review and identify where you would like to focus your energy.  The Double Up Food Bucks currently is the only group with solid action steps.  The other two have opportunity to help clarify and shape what will take place over the next few months.  

Our next meeting will take place in January.  Visit the meeting doodle to let me know what dates you are available.  After this next meeting we will evaluate how often we will be meeting and what is the preference for how we meet (as a whole group with "team" work or if groups wish to schedule separately. I know there is some crossover involvement.  

Strategy Area Work Summary

Action plan work to date prioritizes building on local successes related to 5 categories of intervention approaches.  Using current assets and that can be committed to this work, teams identified the follow strategies:

1. Establish a community-wide approach to collaborating with and referring to existing skills-based education programs to address healthy eating and food security.
2. Create a model for policy and environmental change to support food security.
3. Implement a Double Up Food Bucks program in local retail settings.

Subgroups identified key concepts, areas to explore and action steps for each of the 3 areas.

Education/Skills

Build on existing relationships with partner organizations to further educational opportunities.  Build the network between organizations.

Groups present: FEAST, YMCA, Mission CI

The YMCA and FEAST identified how this approach can work between their organizations

• YMCA nutrition programs talk to participants in their educational programs to see which of them have kids in FEAST partner schools.  Make connections between the nutrition education happening with the students @ FEAST and the parents @ The YMCA
• FEAST introduce the YMCA educators working with adults to school staff.  Teachers learn about wellness programs via the YMCA that are available to them as educators.  Parents learn about available programs that may be available to them.
• FEAST introduce YMCA educators to our partner school social worker as an option to connect to families in need.   
• Communication between FEAST classes and the mobile kitchen is ongoing, The mobile kitchen knows what FEAST students have been doing so they can reference it in their demonstrations and produce distribution.
• Find other services and avenues of communication between our organizations that can help to bring home the knowledge and skills they are learning with each of us
• Tailor education to coincide between programs to strengthen the message to both youth and adults. Allowing stronger educational take home points.
• YMCA Mobile Kitchen acts as a mobile education site that can fill education gaps on the service map.
• Bridge educational initiatives currently in place to strengthen the overall goal in nutrition education to reflect a decrease in the percentage of food insecurity and increase percentage fruit and vegetable consumption. These bridges act as strongholds and ensure a direct reflection of where education gaps truly exist.

Policy and Systems Change

Groups present: MANNA FoodBank, Youth Empowered Solutions, Mission Community Investment

Key Strengths/Resources:

• Expertise on best practice models
• Existing programs, trainings, etc. offered to the community
• Network of providers
• Connections with agencies across other sectors

Key Ideas:

• Align multiple funders in support of broader, multi-year projects
• Engage general public, key community leaders, and youth in addressing food insecurity
• Train youth as community leaders, and adults to work with youth
• Leverage existing networks to expand connectivity between programs and resources, and the people who need them

Strategies and Ideas:

1. Existing Program with Potential to Grow: Food Insecurity Screening and Referral Pilot project (MANNA) utilizes MANNA’s expertise in the client-choice pantry model, and connects to Mission’s network of providers, who are streamlining and unifying practice models that incorporate connections to community resources.
2. Growth Opportunity - Youth in the community are an untapped resource in creating access to food assistance with less stigma.
1. Youth Empowered Solutions has experience and expertise in engaging youth as community leaders and they can share training for adults working with youth
2. Mission has athletic trainers in many schools across the county through its Sports Medicine programs; this is a potential connection point between programming and students, who establish rapport with athletic trainers that they may not have with other adults. Opportunity to engage students who may be in need and connect with student ambassadors for food insecurity resources
3. MANNA has Packs for Kids partners in 16 counties, allowing early engagement of kids in youth leadership opportunities
4. MANNA and Youth Empowered Solutions can share advocacy training, possibly engage youth as advocates for their communities’ food security

3. Growth Opportunity – Community Alignment and Awareness
1. Engaging community funders to align with CHA priorities and direct more resources to critical work
2. Engage community members and leaders through Poverty Simulations, creating a deeper awareness and level of engagement for the general public and decision-makers
3. Connect with community groups (ex. churches within MANNA’s network) to support needs like transportation through their existing resources

Environmental Change

Establish a Double Up Bucks program in Buncombe County

Short term result: Pilot a Double Up Food Bucks Program in a small retail market in partnership with Mountain Wise as they pilot a site in a western county.  (Click here for a one-pager on DUFB)

Groups Present: ABFPB, Bountiful Cities, Buncombe HHS

• Identify second small retail location to participate in pilot. ( French Broad Food Coop is committed).
• Secure funding for pilot (conversations underway with Community Foundation)

Based on current resources action steps specific to CHIP process:

Develop a system for awareness and community support of DUFB and the role of retail access in addressing food security by:  

• Request for CHIP network to distribute the AB Food Policy Council Food Action Plan survey to networks and constituencies.  The will inform the work of the ABFPC going forward including the Double Up Food Bucks
• Present the DUFB program to the CHIP Advisory Council with request for input into Funding and identification of a lead agency as the program moves from pilot to broader implementation.
• Request formal endorsement of DUFB by CHIP
• Request that all CHIP partners share the DUFB program information and availability with their EBT/SNAP-using clients/contacts

November Update

Our current Population Health Community Indicators include  Fruit and Vegetable consumption (every 3 years) and Food Insecurity (annual).  http://app.resultsscorecard.com/Result/Embed/16806.  We will be attempting to identify more timely data and data that more accurately reflects Food Security (vs insecurity). Some of this frustration may be partially alleviated when we begin collecting performance measure on our strategies. 

Team members will research additional measures around food security, School Free and Reduced Lunch, and Snap Recipient caseload.

Update on Community Activity

o    Double-Up Food Bucks

Developed by Michigan’s Fair Food Network (FFN), DUFB  doubles the value of SNAP/EBT benefits spent at farmers markets and grocery stores.  Dollars earned ($1/ $1 spent) purchasing produce can be used to buy local fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables helping people bring home more healthy fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers.  DUFB has demonstrated  increases in fruit & vegetable consumption, grocery story profit, and local growers benefit.  The USDA FINI grant has funded the SNAP benefit match with many of these.  The bulk of the funds needed to support DUFB is for the SNAP benefit dollar match.  A local match is required.

A FINI grant likely not feasible this year.  Not all pieces are  in place and biggest piece is who will "house" the grant.  The Asheville Buncombe Food Policy does not have the capacity to "house" the program and that is the biggest current need.  Mountain Wise is possibly interested in becoming a lead but not possible this year. 

ABFPC wants to focus on grocery stores which is where most local folks are likely to shop.  Mountain Wise is willing to help in 1 grocery store pilot in 2017. The French Broad Food Coop is very interested in being the pilot site this year.  This isn't ideal because it's not where most SNAP recipients are shopping but it is scalable for future years.  Also our coop uses the same system that all coops across the state and other Coop's (including Durham) are interested.  Mountain Wise will identify and pilot another store in west.  This is an opportunity to figure out system, work out the kinks and prepare for applying for FINI next year (and scale out regionally and to larger stores.  Food Lion is possibly interested).  Getting the word out to SNAP recipients will be a major part of the planning process.  We are working with the FFN on this.  They have created tool kits with lots of focus on marketing and education.  FFN has made one trip to Asheville to meet with partners and will continue to help advise us on the pilot and assist in applying for the FINI grant.

UNC Asheville and the NC Center for Health and Wellness will help with the evaluation components.

o    Healthy Corner Stores

Healthy Corner Stores are an evidenced-based approach to increase access to healthier foods in small retail settings such as convenience stores.  NC started this work in 2001 as a pilot in the far east NC as part of the Community Transformation Grants Initiative.  A major barrier to creating corner stores is support in knowing how to successful order, display, and keep foods fresh.  The funds to upgrade are particularly challenging.  CTG, YES! And others advocated for a Healthy Food Financing Policy to support upfront costs, however funds were not allocated.  YES presented to the general assemble and partial funds were allocated last year.  The are now working on getting the full allocation in the state budget

Locally, YES is working with a few stores.  Funds to make additional changes in this store are the major barrier for helping one corner store in Montford. 

A RFP is out for organizations who want to work with YES on creating Healthy Corner Stores.  The deadline is quick.  If you know folks or have folks who are interested in working with youth, please have them contact Diana.

This could also be a great opportunity to incorporate Double-Up Food Bucks in Corner Stores.

o    Mission Community Investment Awards

Seventeen agencies and 16 projects received Community Investment Awards, Several were collaborative project.  Buncombe County HHS and Feast as well and MANNA and the YMCA were funded.  The YMCA/MANNA project is for clinical referral with Mission Health Partners for the food insecure and using the YMCA mobile kitchen

The next funding will start earlier and Food Security will continue as a focus

Mission is also focusing internally on food security looking at how they are supporting employees and patients in a way that is equitable and accessible (Mission system-wide)

Revisiting and Clarifying Strategies 

       Action plan work to date prioritizes building on local successes related related to 5 categories of intervention approaches.  Using current assets and that can be committed to this work, teams are identifying strategies that 1) establish a community-wide approach to collaborating with and referring to existing skills-based education programs to address healthy eating and food security; 2) Implement a Double Up Food Bucks program in local retail settings; 3) Create a model for policy and environmental change to support food security.  

Next Steps

Summaries of each of this strategies will be developed and shared in December and expanded teams will be developed to being working on strategies.

November 10th Workgroup Meeting Agenda & Homework

Our next Food Security Workgroup will be held on November 10th, 9:30 - 12 at MAHEC in Blue Ridge B.  Please click here to RSVP.  Feel free to share this with others you think should be part of this process.  I will also be reaching out to individuals/organizations we discussed an an earlier session.

Our agenda for the meeting includes:

• A report on several local strategies that are in various stages of development
• A brief scorecard overview
• A work session on moving strategies forward

As I mentioned in an earlier email, please take a few minutes to visit the scorecard before our next meeting.  I would like your feedback on what is missing or needs to be changed. In particular, please look at the discussion of activities that are currently underway.  This was completed some time ago with much of it constructed by our summer intern with input from me.  I am confident information is missing and perhaps incorrect but this probably best comes from you.

The following link is to the main Buncombe County Scorecard that includes all of our priority work.  A brief video tutorial is provided to help you learn how to navigate the scorecard.  Scroll down the page and click on our Food Security Result where all our work to-date has been captured. Once redirected, to fully view all the content, click on the + by each of the community indicators (noted by a yellow C).  Under each indicator click on each of the oval buttons below labeled "Data Description", "Story Behind the Curve", "What Works", and "Action Plan".  My request above for special attention requires to the "What Works" section and the current work discussion.  Just email me your edits. Please remember that this is your scorecard and we want it to be correct!

If you have difficulty accessing it online or just prefer reading on paper, you can click here for a pdf version of our scorecard.

October: November Meeting

Since our work group last met in June, we have completed the first iteration of our Food Security scorecard 

as well as conducted research into data and strategies. Many of you participated in Mission's Community Investment grant process, developed some new working partners and are moving forward with new program plans.

It's time to reconvene and get concrete on exactly which strategies we collectively want to work on. Some type of communication strategy seems to be a given based on our work sessions. However, exactly what messages we want to communicate and for what audience still needs to be discussed. There are also some policy and built/social environmental strategies that are gaining traction that could possibly benefit from collective support.

I'm also beginning to have conversations with some of you about how your work and your performance measures can begin to be reflected on the scorecard. And that seems to be a conversations that needs to be had with the whole working group especially as we talking about how to align our work around some common strategies. If 10 workgroup members are interested we can schedule our own training with WNC Healthy Impact on how to use RBA. Let me know if you are interested and we will talk more at our November meeting.

I've identified 3 potential meeting times and ask that you visit this doodle poll and select which of these you are available for.  Between now and our meeting, I also ask that you visit the scorecard and provide feedback on what is missing or needs to be changed. The following link is to the main Buncombe County Scorecard that includes all of our priority work. A brief video tutorial is provided to help you learn how to navigate the scorecard. Scroll down the page to find our Food Security Result where all our work to-date has been captured. If you have difficulty accessing it online or just prefer reading on paper, you can click here for a pdf version of our specific scorecard.The scorecard also includes information on some best practices that you could possible use here. And in particular (if you don't have enough to read), I very much encourage you read the Appalachian Foodshed Project report about Community Food security in WNC.

September Update

This workgroup met on June 7th, clarifying results and indicators that will guide their work and develop more specificity and focus around strategies to pursue. July work focused on updated the scorecard and continuing to work on data.  

An additional strategy has been added to support the work initiated by the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council (ABFPC) to explore and potentially bring a program to Buncombe County that would provide "Double Buck" incentives to SNAP participants to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.  ABFPC,  with participation of CHIP workgroup members hosted a 3-day planning and consultation visit with a representative of the Michigan's Fair Food Network.