Produce Perks

The Perks of Scaling Up

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Spring greens, onions, strawberries, and more! With the arrival of June, it’s officially farmers’ market season in Northeast Ohio and Ohio State University (OSU) Extension Cuyahoga County is gearing up for another season of offering Produce Perks at local farmers’ markets.

The Produce Perks program offers Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers a dollar-for-dollar match, doubling their purchasing power at participating farmers’ markets, farm stands, CSAs, and mobile markets. For every dollar a SNAP customer spends at a participating farmers’ market or farm stand using an Ohio Direction Card, they receive a free additional dollar, referred to as a “Produce Perk,” to use to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Produce Perks allows low-income customers the opportunity to purchase more healthy, locally-grown produce.

The Produce Perks program was piloted in Cuyahoga County in 2010 by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition and is implemented locally by OSU Extension. Produce Perks is now Ohio’s statewide nutrition incentive program, guided by the Ohio Nutrition Incentive Network (OH-NIN).

The Ohio Nutrition Incentive Network

Prior to 2015, regions across Ohio operated independent nutrition incentive programs. In 2015, Wholesome Wave, a national non-profit, received a USDA-FINI grant to build the capacity of nutrition incentive programming in Ohio (among 19 other states).  Over the course of the three years, regional programs came together to form the Ohio Nutrition Incentive Network and to expand and operate one statewide nutrition incentive program, Produce Perks.

OH-NIN is made up of the following organizations:

  • Countryside Conservancy
  • Farmers Market Association of Toledo
  • Farmers Market Management Network
  • Ohio Department of Health
  • Ohio Grocers Association
  • Ohio State University Extension, Cuyahoga County
  • Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, Case Western Reserve University
  • Produce Perks Midwest
  • Wholesome Wave

The formation of this network has provided many perks (pun intended)! One perk has been increased support for local and statewide marketing through new or expanded partnerships with agencies such as Ohio Department of Jobs and Families Services. In addition, with Support from Wholesome Wave and Ohio Department of Health, Produce Perks Midwest has been able to test innovative marketing tactics to help guide outreach efforts. Scaling up has also provided the benefit of increased funding; most notably, OH-NIN was awarded funding from Ohio Department of Health funding to implement Produce Perks across the state in 2018. To learn more about the statewide program impacts in 2017, click here.

Increasing the Match

As of May 1st, OH-NIN increased the match offered through the Produce Perks program to $20. This increase has doubled the SNAP incentive match offered in Cuyahoga County in previous years. OSU Extension and participating farmers’ markets in the county are elated; increasing the match was something we’ve wanted to do for years, but the ability to do so only became possible through the formation and success of OH-NIN. Cuyahoga County saw an increase in demand for incentives and fresh produce immediately after increasing the cap on the matching dollars offered. While most of our farmers’ markets don’t open until June, we have three farmers’ markets in the county that are open year round. When comparing data for May of 2017 and May 2018, North Union Farmers’ Market at Shaker Square has seen a 76% increase in SNAP sales and 104% increase in Produce Perks incentive distribution, increasing sales for small to mid-sized farms. We anticipate seeing similar trends at all markets in the County as the season takes off.

How to Join OH-NIN

In 2018, Produce Perks will be offered at 84 farmers’ markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and CSAs in 20 counties across Ohio.  The Produce Perks program will also be offered at a select number of grocery retail sites.

OH-NIN is looking to expand its network of participating locations. Any farmers’ markets, farm stands, or CSAs interested in offering Produce Perks can complete an application found here. Ideally, new sites applying to join OH-NIN would be SNAP authorized by the USDA and have accepted SNAP/EBT for a minimum of one year. However, those are not hard requirements and OH-NIN can provide technical assistance for SNAP authorization and accepting EBT.

If your organization is interested in supporting the work of OH-NIN through partnerships, promotion, or advocacy, please send an email to info@produceperks.org

Amanda OsborneTo learn more about SNAP at farmers’ markets, Produce Perks, and OH-NIN contact Amanda Osborne, County Extension Educator in Cuyahoga County.

A Prescription for Health!

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Doctors in Ohio are now prescribing fresh fruits and vegetables to their patients! Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Programs (FVRx) have been developed across the country with support from Wholesome Wave, a national non-profit focusing on access to and affordability of healthy, local foods in underserved communities. Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Programs are innovative solutions to treating and preventing chronic diet-related disease. These programs aim to connect individuals with diet-related illnesses to healthcare providers and farmers’ markets. The goal: to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly in underserved communities, via access to such foods and the necessary financial support.

FVRx 2016-06-16.fw

Image credit: www.wholesomewave.org/

Produce Prescription (PRx) is a Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program in Cuyahoga County that is implemented through a broad collaboration; participants include Ohio State University Extension-Cuyahoga County, the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) at Case Western Reserve University, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Produce Prescription (PRx) in Cuyahoga County now focuses on two populations. PRx was piloted in 2014 to support expectant or new mothers (PRx Moms) and increase healthy birth outcomes. The program was expanded in 2015 to include individuals with hypertension (PRx HTN). In 2016, PRx Moms will serve 200 expectant or new moms, and PRx HTN will serve up to 450 individuals.

How it works:

  1. New or expectant mothers or individuals with hypertension are enrolled by their primary care provider as PRx participants.
  2. A primary care provider meets with participants each month to reinforce the importance of healthy eating and evaluate the patients’ nutrition goals.
  3. The provider distributes PRx vouchers worth $40 to patients during each monthly visit, assesses fruit and vegetable consumption, and tracks health outcomes.
  4. PRx vouchers are redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables by participants at participating farmers’ markets in Cuyahoga County.
  5. Participants return to their health care provider each month to monitor goals for healthy eating and receive their monthly PRx vouchers throughout the duration of the program.

PRx programming in Cuyahoga County has had profound impacts on both public health and small to mid-sized farmers. In 2015, participants enrolled in PRx HTN increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables by nearly one serving for each and patients reported fewer weekly fast food restaurant visits. In addition, 79% of participants reported trying a new fruit or vegetable. Analysis for the 2015 PRx Moms program is still being conducted. The majority of PRx vouchers in Cuyahoga County are redeemed at 5 of the 29 participating farmers’ market locations. In 2015, over $24,000 worth of PRx vouchers were redeemed at farmers’ markets in Cuyahoga County, significantly benefiting small to mid-sized farms. PRx programming also serves as an education tool for helping Ohio Direction Card recipients learn how to stretch their SNAP dollars at farmers’ markets through the Produce Perks SNAP incentive program.

To learn more about developing a Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program, contact Amanda Osborne, County Extension Educator, Cuyahoga County & Western Reserve EERA, at osborne.414@osu.edu or 216-429-8200 ext. 212.