Advancing Healthy Food Access Through Regional Partnerships
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The NFCA, Cooperative Fund of New England, and Hunger Free Vermont have worked with NFCA members to implement programs addressing food access and community ownership. Since 2014 seven NE food co-ops have implemented new “Food For All” programs, making healthy food and co-op ownership more accessible to people with limited incomes. This presentation covers how regional co-op collaboration and strategic partnerships helped neighboring food co-ops across New England address food access, enhance community identity, increase the collective impact of co-ops on food security, and how working with USDA helps ensure this model is sustainable and replicable across the country.
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Advancing Healthy Food Access Through Regional Partnerships
- 1. Advancing Healthy Food Access Through Regional Collaboration
- 2. • Bonnie Hudspeth Neighboring Food Co-op Association • Micha Josephy Cooperative Fund of New England • Faye Conte Hunger Free Vermont
- 3. Overview • Introductions • Problem: Food Access in New England • Context & Overview of HFA Program & Work • Food For All Program • Strategic Partnerships • Impact • Replicating the Model: Engaging USDA • What’s Next? • Questions
- 4. The Problem: Food Access in New England
- 8. Who is Food Insecure? • It only takes one emergency to become food insecure • Some households more likely to struggle: – rural households – households with children – households headed by single parents (especially women) – women living alone – Black- and Hispanic-headed households
- 9. Why Are People Food Insecure? • Low wages & high unemployment • Household financial crisis • Lack of affordable housing • High energy costs • Transportation barriers • Lack of financial flexibility to capitalize on deals • High cost of nutritious food • Consolidation and relocation of grocery stores • Limited sources of healthy, affordable food
- 10. Lessons from Food Co-op History • Industrial Revolution • Concentration of economic control, unemployment, poverty • Rochdale Pioneers: Economic democracy, food security • Vision: Co-op Economy What can our co-ops learn from this history?
- 11. The Co-op Advantage in Food Security • Democratic ownership & control • Focus on meeting needs before profit • Develop local skills & assets • Ability to assemble limited resources • Difficult to move or buy-out • Separate community wealth from markets • Mobilize stakeholder loyalty ------------------------------------------------------------------ Leaders in HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS
- 12. Collaboration to Address a Need • NFCA & CFNE identify opportunity • Food co-ops identify community need • Survey & Case studies: interns from UMASS Co-op Certificate & Bridgewater State University • Response: Partnerships for program development • Additional partners • Focus: “Food For All” & “Basics” • NFCA facilitates monthly calls to support progress • Learning & resources housed on NFCA’s website
- 13. Strategic Partnerships • NFCA – promoting relevance of member co-ops to food security and supporting success in a competitive environment • CFNE – lending institution helping co-ops address needs of low income communities • Hunger Free Vermont – developing sustainable models for addressing food security • Creative Partnerships – Ex: New England Farmers Union: supporting programs that make local, family farmer grown food more accessible • Student Partners – UMASS Economics Department / Certificate Program: opportunities for hands-on co-op experience for students • Community Service Providers & Food Security Organizations – mission based partnerships to help address community food security (statewide anti- hunger orgs, local food pantries, etc.)
- 14. Resources Created • Planning Timeline • Toolbox • Audit/Program Evaluations • Sample Brochures & Promo • Food For All: – Structure Document – Checklist for Planning – Community Partner Verification
- 15. Food For All Program • Income-based discount – SNAP/ WIC/ SSI/ Partner Verification • Generally tied to membership • Confidential – Documentation sign off, not stored – POS ties discount to member # • Annual recertification • Program is accessible & inclusive • Partnerships are essential
- 16. Strategic Partnerships Local Service Agencies Other Co-ops/ Associat’ns Anti- Hunger Advocates Local SNAP & WIC Offices Membership Board Staff GM Participants
- 17. Membership Board Staff GM Anti- Hunger Advocates Local Service Agencies Big Picture Strategic Leadership Both Accountability Other Co-ops/ Associat’ns Local SNAP & WIC Offices Participants
- 18. Membership Board Staff GM Other Co-ops/ Associat’ns Preparation Participants Local Service Agencies Anti- Hunger Advocates Local SNAP & WIC Offices Training & Both Program Design Shared Learning
- 19. Launch Membership Board Staff GM Participants Local Service Agencies Anti- Hunger Advocates Other Co-ops/ Associat’ns Local SNAP & WIC Offices Implementation Both Promotion
- 20. Co-ops: Changed Community Perception
- 21. Impact • HFA Program helped over 1,000 low-income households access co-ops’ healthy food • Supported 8 NFCA food co-ops to roll out new FFA programs (11 NFCA co-ops with FFA programs) • Promotion of affordable product mix through programs like NCG’s “Co-op Basics” & Natural Value program with Associated Buyers • Built recognition that food co-ops are valuable partners in addressing food insecurity • Emphasize the co-op difference in a competitive environment • Ensured that the Food For All programs comply with USDA regulations
- 22. Replicating the Model: Complying with USDA • Discount many not be offered exclusively to SNAP or WIC clients • Co-op cannot collect, retain, or share information identifying individuals as a client of SNAP or WIC • Discounts must be an immediate point-of-sale discount
- 23. What’s Next? • Keep learning! • Documented models = easier replication • Resources: Toolkit, audit, promo materials… • Continue evaluation of programs • Start-ups: want HFA programs established • Co-op associations facilitate ongoing learning, collaboration and partnership
- 24. Questions: From You Any questions about what we presented?
- 25. Questions: For You • What challenges do you see making “Food For All” successful at your co-op? • What are you doing to make your co-op more accessible that is different? • What would it look like to expand this? • Who are your partners / potential partners?
- 26. Learn More & Contact Us WWW.NFCA.COOP/HEALTHYFOODACCESS Bonnie Hudspeth, NFCA Bonnie@nfca.coop // www.nfca.coop Micha Josephy, CFNE mjosephy@cooperativefund.org / / www.cooperativefund.org Faye Conte, HFVT fconte@hungerfreevt.org // www.hungerfreevt.org
Editor's Notes
- Bonnie
- Bonnie
- Bonnie
- Similar to the rest of the nation, New Englanders are struggling with food insecurity at an alarming rate. During the recession, many heard about Americans struggling to make ends meet, and heard about the rise in Americans visiting food shelves and receiving food benefits through the SNAP program. What many don’t know is that this struggle has become the new normal for many families throughout the country. Many people are back to work, but for less pay or fewer hours.
- When a budget is tight, food is the most flexible basic need and often the first place to scrimp and save. Food insecurity is a spectrum, and the experience is unique for each household.
- While the experience of food insecurity is unique, it is pervasive. As you can see, food insecurity spiked during the recession, peaking in 2011 at 15%. (1998-2007: 10-11%) What is troubling is that it is holding steady at this new high level. 2012-2014, holding at about 14%. Food insecurity in New England is a bit lower than average at 12.5%, but ranges from 9.6% in MA to 16.2% in ME However, it’s dropping slower than the national average has dropped since the peak in 2011: National: -.4% New England: -.23%, with half the states seeing increases in food insecurity rather than decreases. (if asked) Food insecurity by region: Northeast: 18.3% Midwest: 18.4% South: 20.9% West: 17.7%
- Anyone can become food insecure. By the time we’re 60, nearly 4 in 5 people experience economic hardship. This will likely increase for the younger generations. However, some people are more likely to face hardship and be food insecure:
- IT’S EXPENSIVE TO BE POOR: Low-income households spend more on basic needs than other households because they can’t afford to buy in bulk or stock up during sales. “Having more money gives people the luxury of paying less for things”. Average cost of a meal in US: $2.89 New England: $3.65 (data from Feeding America) - Cost of healthy food vs. processed food – time/equipment needed to cook, etc. There are many ways to address food insecurity and different approaches to take: Increase economic stability: wages, jobs Provide support so that households can meet all their basic needs (affordable housing, transportation, health care costs, etc.) Invest in nutrition programs that feed kids and seniors and teach people how to cook on a budget. Help to make healthy food more affordable… that’s where co-ops come in! The Healthy Food Access Programs that we are talking about today are addressing food insecurity from a wealth/poverty perspective and certainly are not tackling the root causes of poverty and food insecurity, nor are they addressing food access specifically from a racial equity perspective. There are a number of points of intersection here, and would love to discuss this more after the presentation or another time.
- Context of food co-ops’ long history of addressing food insecurity Even though the European co-operative movement labels everything as having started in 1844, almost any society that we look at shows people being involved in some level of economic cooperation, some kind of use of the Commons and strict rules about shared resources. In our country, African Americans, like all other groups, were involved early on in cooperative and collective economic activity such as Mutual aid societies, which were precursors to mutual insurance companies which were really the first cooperatives. We have a long history of mutual aid societies, particularly coming out of fraternal and religious groups and benevolent societies. Those were the early co-ops. As soon as co-ops were officially recognized in Europe, after 1844, the U.S.
- Structure: how co-ops are well positioned to address food insecurity Co-operatives are an excellent strategy for real grassroots community economic development
- Case Studies Articles & Press Presentations
- Have a great structure that has been tried out; best way to set up your program. These points are all on the NFCA website.
- 70% of BFC’s FFA participants are existing co-op members “City Market’s Food For All program allows us to offer a welcoming shopping environment to customers and members of all income levels,” said Allison Weinhagen, City Market’s director of community engagement. “This program has helped us break down the perception that co-ops are only for a certain segment of the population and diversified our member- ship in a way that brings value to the entire organization.” “It opened our eyes that so many current shareholders were eligible for FFA. It challenges our assumptions--and pervasive community scuttlebutt--that the co-op is only for the well-heeled.” (Sabine Rhyne, Brattleboro Food Co-op) “This month we start a monthly SNAP education class held at our 170 Main St meeting space. DTA (Department of Transitional Assistance) organized in partnership with UMass Extension's nutrition education program. Designed to help SNAP/EBT recipients utilize their benefits in the healthiest way possible, by providing cooking classes and recipes for preparing affordable, healthy meals that fit a SNAP supported budget. They came to us, needing an accessible space, but also because DTA staff saw what we were doing and thought it would be a good fit.” (Suzette Snow-Cobb, Franklin Community Co-op) “Thousands of pounds of donated food to organizations and food pantries, community meal program, hundreds of hours of member volunteer time each month to food access and security, long-time sponsor of events and our own educational events on food issues, BUT it wasn't until we started the FFA program and had some real numbers of participants that I began to notice organizational partners (staff and participants) begin to view us as players in making health food accessible to all in our community.” (Also Suzette)
- Faye
- USDA Federal Nutrition Programs like SNAP and WIC have “equal treatment” laws that protect participants from discrimination – either to their benefit or detriment. We wanted to be sure that the Food For All model fit within their guidelines before encouraging co-ops around the country to use our model as a guide. With feedback from co-ops running FFA, we developed a best practices structure off FFA that we believed meets the rules of the nutrition programs and works for our co-ops. Shared this with the UDSA FNS SNAP and WIC offices and received feedback that the program does not violate any laws because of a couple of key components: No information identifying someone as participating in a specific program is retained There is more than one way to be eligible for the program The discount is available for every form of payment
- Bonnie: We are excited by how this collaboration has helped food co-ops across New England change perceptions, address food security in their communities, and increase their collective impact. That said, we have far to go, and we welcome your partnership in this effort. We’d love to take something away. And, now it’s your turn! Connect with co-ops who have started. We documented the FFA model for easy replication, and encourage you to use the tools we have developed. Resources: Toolkit, audit, etc. We’re hearing from start-ups who are interested in having HFA programs in place when they open their doors Co-ops and anti-poverty organizations
- Micha
- Micha
- Micha