Make healthy food the easy choice!

TODAY’S PRESENTATION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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This grant-based project was created to provide support for participating sites to implement evidence-based, healthy food policy and environmental changes.

ABOUTBUILDING HEALTHYCOMMUNITIESProject

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About the presenters 4

LINDSEY SCALERAECOLOGY CENTERFarm to Institution Campaign Director

HCWH Regional Organizer

lindsey@ecocenter.org

MEGHAN MCDERMOTTGROUNDWORK CENTER FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIESFood & Farming Policy Specialist

meghan@groundworkcenter.org

NICKI MILGROMECOLOGY CENTERSustainable Food, Healthy Communities Program Director

HCWH Regional Organization

nicki@ecocenter.org

TRICIA PHELPSTASTE THE LOCAL DIFFERENCEOperations Director

tricia@localdifference.org

agenda

1. Role of Promotion2. Key Concepts3. Best Practices4. Examples5. Q & A

GETTING STARTED

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Why promotion?! If you’re doing good work, share it!

! New offerings vs. old purchasing habits

! Give your customers a nudge

! Help educate your community

Key concepts

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Healthy 9

ENVIRONMENTAL NUTRITION§ Healthy food comes from a

healthy food system§ An apple’s path from farm to

plate can result in greater or lesser health

§ Traditional Nutrition = eating the right nutrients & food groups

§ Food components like vitamins, carbohydrates, etc. are a measure of health

§ EN = also examines the public health impacts of social, economic and environmental factors related to the entire food system

Local 10Example: Health Care Without Harm! Grown/raised and processed

within 250-miles of your facility.

! For processed foods with multiple ingredients, including breads and other bakery items, only products with the majority of ingredients (>50% by weight) grown/raised and processed within the 250-mile radius may be considered local

ways to define:! Radius/Travel Time

! “Foodshed”

! Grown in Michigan

! Look for MFIN Study Results later this year!

Seasonal 11

Eating what’s in season§ Peak harvest time usually

coincides with when flavor and nutrients are at their best.

§ Following local Michigan seasonality guides

§ Food wont have to travel far between harvest and consumption, picked at its peak!

From: http://foodsystems.msu.edu/uploads/files/Michigan_Produce_Booklet_.pdf

Sustainable 12Broadly, Sustainability means:Products produced in a manner that limits the harm to the environment, public health and animal welfare and promotes societal and economic well-being.

THIRD-PARTY CERTFICATION! Most food buyers rely on national

or regional distributors to source food

! Visiting the farm and creating your own check list isn’t necessarily going to work for a buyer

! Third-party certifications and verified label claims offer transparency and peace of mind

Healthy Food Environment 13The food environment is…§ The physical presence of food

that affects a person’s diet,

§ A person’s proximity to food store locations,

§ The distribution of food stores, food service, and any physical entity by which food may be obtained, or

§ A connected system that allows access to food.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Spectrum of Scale 14

• Don’t be afraid to start small and scale up

• Try not to bite off more than you can chew

• Learn about successful models and choose what works best for you

Spectrum of scale 15Start small to build toward a big impactPromoting healthy food can include something simple (starting small) like: ! Signage and posters! Monthly local features! A series of brown-bag

lunch discussions

Or something larger & more complex like:! Cafeteria overhaul! A farmers market ! An onsite farm or garden

Best practices

Attractiveness, Visibility & Layout§ Place fresh fruits and

vegetables at the beginning of the shopping/dining area

§ Highly visible and easy to get to

§ Visually appealing displays with signage

§ Repetitive exposure

Convenience§ Prepackaged fruits &

vegetables§ Easy to find§ Healthy recipes near

foods you’d like to encourage

Remind & Prompt§ Use signage, posters and

banners to support§ Provide staff training and

encouragement to engage with customers about healthy items

§ Cooking demonstrations and taste tests

Procurement & Storage

! Direct or indirect, find the solution that works best for you

! Flash-frozen products and storage crops in off seasons

Evaluation§ Demonstrate & communicate your

impact!

§ Make a case for your work

§ Learn & improve

§ 1st = Define the purpose of the evaluation along with end user of findings

§ Determine progress toward achieving outcomes

§ Provide accountability

§ Develop support & resources

§ Improve programs/policies

§ Ideally evaluation includes both process & outcome evaluation

Process EvaluationWill help improve the quality and effectiveness of initiative, + identify strengths, weaknesses & areas of improvement

§ How many people affected? § How many written policies or

formal communications that makes healthier food items available?

§ How many contracts & purchasing agreements adopted language?

§ How many training/education opportunities provided & what was quality?

§ How many placement changes made? How many promotions/labels implemented?

Outcome Evaluation§ Assesses whether the expected

outcomes were achieved. § In developing, consider who will use the

evaluation results.§ Think about short, intermediate & long

term outcomes§ What percentage of food/beverage

offerings meet the defined standard (nutrition, local, sustainable)?

§ What percent of healthier items are promoted with signs or symbols?

§ What percent decrease in meat/poultry purchasing?

§ What percent increase in locally sourced produce?

Evaluation Plan Steps1. Develop evaluation questions

- What do you want to know?

2. Determine indicators:

- What will you measure?

- What type of data will you need toanswer evaluation questions?

3. Identify data sources4. Determine data collection method5. Specify time frame for data collection6. Plan data analysis & interpretation7. Communicate Results8. Designate Responsibility

EXAMPLES

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School§Cafeteria

§Garden

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Health care§ Posters, Decals, & labeled

packaging§ Monthly/Weekly/Quarterly

Features§ i.e. Michigan Month – serving 3

MI-grown veggies every day§ Local or Sustainable featured in

hospital retail§ i.e. MI-grown dry beans bags –

same beans we cook with!§ Establishing farms, CSA pick ups,

farmers markets on site§ Fresh Prescription or other

Nutrition Incentive Programs

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SIGN

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Retail! Signage! Eye-level, floor decals! Local Produce Section! End Caps! Advertising

look up for local choices

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PANTRY! Serving with Dignity! Self-shop! Garden! Promotion! Art! Nutrition Sheets

Father Fred Foundation 38

! Cooking Demonstrations

! Coloring Sheets! Displays! Signage! Recipes! Garden ! Harvest of the Month

Lasting changes

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Sustainability of changes 40How to make an impact that lasts

! Multi-stakeholder engagement throughout the process - it’s not just you!

! Developing a policy

! Integrating Language into contracts & RFPs

! Setting clear, time-bound goals

! Defining metrics to track progress toward goals

! Deciding how often and to whom to report on the progress

! Join a larger network to stay engaged

Sustainability of changes 41How to make an impact that lasts

! Developing a policy

! Integrating Language into contracts & RFPs

! Multi-stakeholder engagement throughout the process - it’s not just you!

! Setting clear, time-bound goals

! Defining metrics to track progress toward goals

! Deciding how often and to whom to report on the progress

! Join a larger network to stay engaged

Making your pitch

Making your pitch: Why?Because we are a Community Anchor

! Redefining commitment to surrounding community

! Model healthier behaviors

Because we can harness our purchasing power to:

! Increase the availability of local & sustainable foods

! Have a positive economic Impact

! Increase transparency in the food system (we know what are we are serving)

! Tell the story of local farmers

RESOURCES

Find us Online

www.localdifference.org www.groundworkcenter.org www.localdifference.org

www.mifarmtoinstitution.org www.cultivatemichigan.org www.ecocenter.org

Find us Online

http://www.feedingamerica.org http://www.farmtoschool.org http://www.schoolfoodfocus.org

http://www.realfoodchallenge.org http://www.letsmove.gov http://whatscooking.fns.usda.gov

Questions & discussion1. What questions

do you have?

2. What are you working on or thinking of trying?

3. Are there resources you have had used?

Contact us

Tricia phelpstricia@localdifference.org

Meghan mcDermottmeghan@groundworkcenter.org

Nicki milgromnicki@ecocenter.org

Lindsey scaleralindsey@ecocenter.org

Thank you!