Outreach Creative Strategies to Match Your Food Bank s Capacity
Panel: Darlene Spurgeon Placer Food Bank Brana Vlasic Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County Anna Dyer Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
and Placer Food Bank Finding those who are hungry
About our CalFresh team! Our CalFresh Program began in 2013 We have two on our staff We have an incredible team of volunteers! We work together to build trust and relationships in the community
What has helped our program grow Invested Board Members (AB402 & Sierra College) Dedicated staff and volunteers Training through CAFB, Food Banks, Placer County, and doing our own homework internally The fact that we are a food bank has been very helpful because it fits perfectly with the CalFresh program that offers greater access to more nutritious food Passion for people and getting out into the community Strong relationship with our county Realize that building an effective program takes time
CalFresh Outreach Workshop CAFB Conference 2017 Brana Vlasic CalFresh Capacity Coordinator Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
Agenda Hunger in Orange County Programs at SHFBOC CalFresh Outreach Structure Questions
Hunger in Orange County Numbers More than 335,000 people struggle with hunger in Orange County each month. One in five children are at risk of hunger each month. Our Response Second Harvest provides over 20 million meals per year through various programs and partner agencies Last year, our CalFresh program contributed over 1.3 million of those meals.
Programs at Network of 180 non-profit partner agencies and programs Child Hunger: Kids Cafe Mobile School Pantry Permanent School Pantry Senior Hunger: Senior Grocery CalFresh for Seniors Families and Individuals: Mobile Pantry EFAP and EFSP CalFresh
Outreach Structure CalFresh history at SHFBOC Staff Hubs Subcontractors Outreach Future
CalFresh history at 2009 2014: Workshops 2014: County approved as a CBO. Started doing online applications with mybenefitscalwin.org 2014 now: Partnering with WICs, FRCs, Colleges, nonprofits Online appointment system (Appointment Plus) Access database Streamlining calls and intake (Grasshopper)
Staff 2 full time CalFresh application assistors 1 full time staff overseeing process 1 VISTA managing internship/volunteer program 10-15 interns/volunteers per semester *ALL TRAINED BY OC SOCIAL SERVICES STAFF TWICE PER YEAR
Hubs
Subcontractors Other Subcontractors ICNA Relief Second Harvest Catholic Charities OC SOCIAL SERVICES OC Food Bank 211
Outreach Second Harvest pantries Resource Fairs Libraries Community clinics City Collaboratives Other social services organizations
Outreach Materials Food Assistance HelpLine: (855)2-FeedOC or (855)233-3362
Future More subcontractors Prescreening sites More collaboration with other CalFresh CBOs in Orange County More collaboration with healthcare partners in Orange County
Onward! Contact: brana@feedoc.org 949-208-3155
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties 21
MISSION Lead our community to ensure that anyone who needs a healthy meal can get one. Location: Network: Pounds: People: Staff FTE: Founded: Daly City (border of SF) to Gilroy (south of San Jose) Pacifica to Pescadero on the Coast 330 partner agencies*; 800 distribution sites 69 MM lbs of food this fiscal year; 54% Produce 250,000 served per month ~140 FTE paid staff; ~150 FTE volunteers 1974 (43 years!) *All programs are free to partner agencies
Food Connection Referrals and Food Program Applications since 1987 CALL 8:00am - 5:00pm, Mon-Fri 1(800) 984-3663 TEXT 1-408-455-5181 EMAIL Foodconnection@shfb.org Online Self-Referral Form SHFB.org/getfood Operators speak English, Spanish and Vietnamese, 3-way translation for other languages Referral database 23
CalFresh Outreach Need grew during recession ONLY ~50% of those eligible participating in CalFresh CalFresh Assistance launched in 2008 with Food Connection
CalFresh Outreach Team FY09-FY11: FY12-FY15: FY16-FY17: ~.75-3.0 FTE. Hotline + Americorps ~7-14.0 FTE. Hotline + Field Staff ~9.0 FTE. Hotline + Field Staff
CalFresh Outreach Activities - Current Screen every contact (in-person/phone) for CalFresh AND other programs Outpost Staff, ~10 site visits per day Regular and One-Time or Short-Term sites Pantries, CBOs, housing, K-12 schools/colleges, retail stores, libraries 23 Medical sites 6 WIC sites Resource fairs
GOOGLE Ads
CalFresh Quickly (AKA Same Day Service ) 8 Sites with Benefit Analysts/Eligibility Workers + Food Connection Rep Weekly or Bi-Weekly Half-Day or Full-Day Screen for food program eligibility CalFresh screening, interview EBT card the next day Best Sites: Homeless Service Orgs
Volunteer Promotores 47 active
CalFresh Outreach Activities - Current Indirect Agencies trained and supported to complete CalFresh applications Direct mail to MediCal participants not receiving CalFresh
Tri-Fold, Oversized, Nice Paper
Promoting Food Programs + CalFresh
CalFresh Outreach Activities - Past Bus/Train ads Grocery cart ads Radio ads and interviews TV interviews Craigslist free and paid ads Online newsletters (the Patch ) Faith Community letters, mailings, meetings
What s Unique About Us? Copy Cats! Promotores health model CF Outrach combined with food program outreach CalFresh is only a portion of what we do
Panel Questions: How did your program start and why do CalFresh Outreach?
Panel Questions: What are some low cost options to incorporate CalFresh outreach to existing programming?
Panel Questions: What advice/suggestions do you have for those thinking about starting a CFO program?
Audience Q&A
Thank you!