1. Incentivizing use of farmers’
markets through community
partnerships:
snap purchases and produce
prescriptions
Farmer’s market management network conference
march 2013
Erika Meschkat
OSU Extension and Cleveland-Cuyahoga
County Food Policy Coalition
Beth Knorr
Countryside Conservancy
2. Countryside Conservancy
Non profit organization
with several program
areas
Countryside Initiative
Farms
Countryside Farmers’
Markets
Countryside U
3. Snap purchase incentives
carrot cash
Began accepting
EBT in 2009 with
small incentive
program
Partnership with
Wholesome Wave
began in 2011
Matched $20
4. EBT, Debit and Carrot Cash
Debit tokens have
$1.50 service fee
Three different
tokens
5. EBT Sales
0.51%, $3,124.
00
Carrot Cash
Sales, 0.39%
$2,375.00
Debit Token
Sales, 5.21%
$31,784.00
Cash/Check
Sales
93.8%
$572,261.51
Howe Meadow EBT Sales
in 2011 were $1412
Reached $3124 in 2012,
plus $2375 in Carrot Cash
matching dollars
EBT Sales Impact
6. Highland Square EBT sales
were $1526 in 2011
Reached $3662 in 2012,
plus $3499 in Carrot Cash
matching dollars
EBT Sales Impact
EBT Sales
$3,662.00
4%
Carrot Cash
Sales,
$3,499.00
3%
Debit Token
Sales,
$3,906.00
4%
Cash/Check
Sales,
$89,586.57
89%
11. Community partnerships
necessary for success
Single market management
organization = easy
implementation, consistent
data collection
Community partnerships
building
From 2009-2013 only
organization in county
accepting EBT, likely to
change in 2014
12. Cleveland-cuyahoga county
food policy coalition
• City and County focused Food Policy Coalition
– In partnership between state extension (OSUE) and Case Western University’s
Prevention Research Center
– Partners representing many diverse stakeholders in the food system
– Collaborate on innovative programming and policy, backed up by research, to address
barriers to growth in a healthier food system
13. • Packaging Incentives:
• economic incentives (for every $1 spent
$1 received up to $10)
• Developed by Coalition partners &
administered by OSUE
• Piloted with 4 markets in 2009 to 20
markets and two farm stands in 2013
• Increased federal food assistance SNAP
sales by over 40% between 2011-2013
with same # of markets participating
• 2013 sales surpassed 2012 in just 6
months
Snap purchase incentives
produce perks
16. administration
• OSUE fiscal agent
• Markets submit monthly “incentive logs” via Excel
– EBT sales tokens purchased & redeemed
– Last four digits SNAP card
– Incentive tokens distributed & redeemed
– ZIP, How customers heard of the program, traveled to
the market, importance of incentives, first time at a
farmers’ market, markets visited in the past
17.
18.
19. REIMBURSMENT & MARKET
GUIDELINES
• OSUE aggregates incentives redeemed and
reimburses markets monthly
• Guidelines for markets:
– Prominent visuals and promotion
– Encourage and facilitate community connections
Collect data and report
– Train and inform vendors
– Come together for 2 meetings a year
20. program outcomes
• 2013 Season report
– Consumers
• Very important to introducing to markets
• Many repeat customers
– Farmers
• Peaked interest in issues in food access
• Increased sales
– Market managers and partners
• $40K in SNAP sales
24. Pilot outcomes
• Almost half (~42%) were first time customers
• 42 out of the 48 participants enrolled came to
the markets
• Effective at filling gaps from DVPP-Orientation
• 310 visits, redeemed over $3,300 from July-
October
• Trouble shooting at the markets (FPC as
customer service)
25. Partnership impact
• Ideal program for convening stakeholders to
support growth and investment in your
market
• Satisfied vendors/farmers and market
managers
• Elaborate on partnerships formed in support
26. NEEDS FOR incentive
PROGRAM EXPANSION
• Comprehensive network and dedicated staff with
capacity
• Understanding market needs, capacity, interest
• Better access to SNAP and farmers’ market data
at many levels
– Emphasis on common metrics to evaluate programs
on a larger scale
• Flexible funding and better agency
communication channels (network priority)
• Innovation for reporting and SNAP transactions
27. Take away considerations
• What are your perceived needs and barriers to
doing this work?
• What does your market(s) look like?
• What kind of partnerships are you building
now-or hope to in the future?
• What could you contribute to a network?
-Covering some of the same info on how our respective programs work-Prx-Wrap it up at end discussing what kind of things we need support on and what kind of things we need to know from FMs to consider how programs like these could be better adapted for more uptake regionally (and state wide)Plug survey!-Thinking we could express needs-like farmers market sales and snap rates of those sales at many levels across the state, working with fm partners to meet expectations on these program outcomes (based on market typology and varying customer base and locations, etc.)
Three farmers’ markets
2009 incentive was not dollar for dollar: For every $10 spent an extra $3 were given, not specific to fruits and vegetables, just a method to attract EBT customers and get them to shop at the market.Began partnership with wholesome wave in 2011, and all our markets accept them. Match began at $20. Made the choice based on the lower-end cost of CSA membership- felt that would have a significant impact on quality of diet. EBT sales increased by 213% from 2010 to 2011, not including Carrot Cash incentive.In 2013, in an effort to stretch reduced funding to reach more customers we lowered the match amount to $15, still feeling that we could have a significant dietary impact with that amount.
Covers our terminal operations fees
We wanted to try to stretch reduced funding to assist more families.
Not sure I’m surprised by this
Add a snapshot of our data tracking, discuss process- vendors pay fees with tokens, we give them cash back immediately for excess tokens
We are a single organization that manages three markets, so implementation is complete and consistent across markets.Summit County, as opposed to Cuyahoga County, has been much more challenging in terms of breaking into the Department of Jobs and family services because we are a single organization; recent years our participation and leadership in the Summit Food Policy Coalition has made it easier- community partners have made connections within their own organizations and also with their existing contacts to help spread the word Additionally, as other local organizations see the benefits to our vendors- especially at Highland Square – they are interested in accepting them going forwardFor us- trying to figure out how to assist these other organizations and partner with them so we can all save on costs and have a bigger community impact is a challenge moving forward.
Packaging-how messaging has changed over time
Human resources, staffing, sales, vendor mix, etc.Manager and vendor input from surveys
By the way- I totally love this!! This could make a really great regional piece.
Aggregate data used for seasonal report (OSUE creates evaluation tools, implements data collection with market’s assistance, crunches the numbers and puts together the report internally).Guidelines:-Prominently display the provided Customer Service banner and locate the EBT Point of Service machine near the main entrance to the farmers’ market or a highly visible location.-Add a tagline to all marketing materials, ‘We proudly accept EBT/Produce Perks.’ All markets will have access to current logos and images to incorporate Produce Perks into their materials.-Distribute postcards/brochures provided by the program to the immediate community at multiple sites, such as social service organizations, community development corporations, libraries, multi-service centers, ward offices, etc.-Promote EBT Incentive Program in neighborhood-based newspaper (i.e. Inside Tremont, Plain Press, Neighborhood News) and submit a copy of this promotion -Complete monthly reports using the provided template and submit for reimbursement by the 5th of each month. Any reports submitted after the 5th of the month will not be processed for reimbursement until the following month. Please note the prompt submission of market logs by all partners allows FPC to reimburse markets in a timely manner, aggregate data to guide the program throughout the season, and to share results with markets and partners during the season as opposed to the end.-Provide training and/or technical assistance to the farmers and market vendors about the EBT and EBT Incentive program as often as necessary. -Attend a minimum of two meetings during the year to discuss outcomes and updates of the program.eason (annual) report on DVPP program
ADD MORE NOTES!
310 visits, redeemed over $3,300 from July-OctoberAnecdotal evidence from PRC:-use of materials (food guide, fm listing, recipe cards-request for coordinated cooking class)-training critical for successful rollout with providers-centering program at NFP and UH (Cleveland) and how that grouped moms together based on expectancy (dedicated time)
Elevates markets to driver of community and economic development with potential to respond to health disparities while contributing to local economy (supporting ancillary small businesses, CSAs, and new farmers)Give reference to market manager input about local innovations, program operation all included in 2013 report