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<p>The overall purpose of this project is to strengthen the capacity of diverse organizations to implement successful, systems-oriented community food projects that will meet the food needs of low-income communities and increase self-reliance. Project goals: </p>
<p>A. To increase CFP grant applicants' and potential applicants' understanding of the CFP Program and ability to develop strong proposals. </p>
<p>B. To build the capacity of CFP applicants and grantees to implement successful projects by increasing their knowledge and skills in key areas of practice. </p>
<p>C. To strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations to qualify for CFP funding and to organize and implement effective projects. </p>
<p>D. To increase opportunities for peer learning and information sharing among community food practitioners, and to link them with contacts and resources. </p>
<p>E. To enhance coordination and synergies among T&TA providers nationally. </p>
<p>F. To build capacity of CFP grantees and applicants to conduct effective and meaningful outcome-based and dialogue-based program evaluations. </p>
<p>G. To expand the knowledge base regarding the outputs and outcomes of CFP projects by collecting and reporting data across programs. </p>
<p>Anticipated outcomes include: -For CFP applicant assistance recipients, increased understanding of the CFP Program guidelines and requirements, and increased skill and confidence in developing proposals. -For national TA service recipients, increased capacity in areas in which technical assistance was provided; learned about specific and successful CFS practices and new informational resources to use in projects; and built valuable connections with CFP practitioners. -For workshop and learning community (LC) participants, increased knowledge and skills in workshop/LC topic area; learned about specific and successful CFS practices new informational resources to use in their work; and developed new contacts that supported their work. -For common output and outcome tracking participants, increased capacity to report against outputs and outcomes in a way that informs and improves program activities; increased ability to track outcomes among CFP grantees, and increased information about the outputs generated by CFP projects. (A more complete list is included in our proposal.) Anticipated outputs: Two updated CFP planning guides CFP applicant assistance to 90 froups each year (70 hours) National TA Service - 100% response rate to requests 580 hrs of TA provided to 85 groups 3 tip sheets developed; 500 distributed 13 CFP & 5 skill-building workshops; 400+ participants 16 full conference scholarships 2 learning communities (LC); 15 LC conference calls; 300 participants Eval Training; 30 participants CFS Whole Measures (WM) Intensive; 9 participants COTF updated; 5 trainings; 90% completion; data report COTF 4-year summary completed CFP Outcome tool & training completed 75 CFP Evaluation Handbooks & Toolkits, 150 CFS Whole Measures Reports distributed to grantees Evaluation data collection and reporting completed.</p>
<p>APPROACH:<br/> The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) and our partners will establish a comprehensive national training and technical assistance program that will address the needs of Community Food Projects (CFP) practitioners at all stages of work and expertise. We will provide potential applicants with written guidance and one-on-one assistance to help them understand the CFP program guidelines and develop competitive proposals. We will help CFP applicants and grantees gain the knowledge and skills they need to implement successful projects through 16-18 in-person skill-building trainings, two national learning communities, and a comprehensive new national TA service that will link practitioners with experienced consultants who will provide them with targeted assistance. All of these training and TA resources will focus on practical issues related to food
project implementation. We will place special emphasis on building the capacity of community-based organizations. We also will support CFP grantees with conducting rigorous program evaluations through an in-person training and a free evaluation handbook and toolkit designed specifically for CFP grantees. And we will compile and share information on the outcomes of CFP projects nationwide. CFSC's training and technical assistance activities will involve multiple levels of evaluation, balancing quantitative tracking of program activities and outputs with thoughtful dialogue, outcome analysis, and impact assessment. The Community Food Security Whole Measures will be used as an overarching framework with partners to reinforce a holistic approach to movement building and training and technical assistance. The program outcomes will be measured against our program goals and the legislative
goals of the CFP Program. Specific evaluation methods used will include participant verbal feedback, written and online evaluation surveys, mid-project and end-of-project interviews, participant reports, outcome and output tracking, and action planning with evaluation results. Appendices 1 and 2 of our proposal contain the project logic model and an evaluation plan that include details of the proposed outcomes and outputs for each activity, as well as the indicators and tools that will be used for measurement.
<p>PROGRESS: 2009/09 TO 2012/08<br/>OUTPUTS: There are 7 core goals to the Roots & Branches project with the following core outputs. Goal 1. To increase CFP grant applicants' and potential applicants' understanding of the CFP Program and ability to develop strong proposals. A. CFSC widely publicized the CFP RFA reaching over 12 lists and websites and thousands of individuals annually. B. Hosted the CFP Applicant Hotline service and provided an average of 103 hours of free TA, annually. C. Annually updated the CFP Planning Guide to reflect the changes in each year's RFA and distributed a combined 317 copies. Goals 2 & 3. To build the capacity of CFP applicants and grantees to implement successful projects by increasing their knowledge and skills in key areas of practice. And To strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations to qualify for CFP funding and to
organize and implement effective projects. A. Hosted 43 skill-building workshops in collaboration with partner organizations building grantee and practitioner capacity in core areas of work, reaching nearly 3,700 individuals. B. Provided direct technical assistance on healthy corner store development to 85 groups including 580 hours of technical assistance provided. C. Developed 3 tip sheets on healthy corner stores and distributed hundreds via print and electronic download. Goal 4. To increase opportunities for peer learning and information sharing among community food practitioners, and to link them with contacts and resources. A. Hosted five National Learning Communities (Healthy Corner Store Network, Whole Measures for Community Food Systems, Food Policy Councils, Racial Equity, Farmer GAP Certification) including 42 calls with over 647 participants. B. Increased number of partners
collaborating on community food security work including dozens of grantee-peer presenters and learning community co-conveners. Goal 5. To enhance coordination and synergies among T&TA providers nationally. A. Launched the Alliance for Building Capacity with over 30 members. B. Hosted three intensive meetings for participants that include peer networking and capacity building. C. Hosted quarterly calls (9 total) for large group and 11 working group calls. Goal 6. To build capacity of CFP grantees and applicants to conduct effective and meaningful outcome-based and dialogue-based program evaluations. A. Hosted 7 comprehensive evaluation workshops including over 300 participants. B. Distributed evaluation materials to all CFP grantees annually to all new grantees and a combined 372 interested practitioners. C. Provided approximately 215 hours of TA to advocates on program evaluation. D.
Intensive mentoring to four organizations on implementation of Whole Measures CFS providing over 278 hours of technical assistance. Goal 7. To expand the knowledge base regarding the outputs and outcomes of CFP projects by collecting and reporting data across programs. A. Hosted 18 CFP Indicators of Success trainings reaching nearly all CFP grantees. B. Collected cross program data on CFP grantees and generated a comprehensive report on findings, annually. C. Distributed over 1,000 reports each year and increased knowledge of the collective CFP impacts. PARTICIPANTS: Major collaborators and partners include: American Community Gardening Association; Center for Popular Research, Education and Policy; Central California Obesity Prevention Program; ChangeLab Solutions; The Food Project; The Food Trust; Growing Power; Healthy Communities/Southwest Marketing Network; Healthy Solutions;
National Farm to School Network; National Research Center, Inc.; Nuestras Raices; OpenSource Leadership; Rooted in Community; Seeds of Solidarity; Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Urbane Development; VISIONS; Weinberg and Vauthier; WhyHunger. The Alliance for Building Capacity (ABC), developed with support from this grant, includes over 30 regional or national training and capacity builders whose work is grounded in racial equity practices. Over the course of the grant, these partners engaged in three intensive meetings (2 days each) that included professional development around effective TCB strategies. A database of ABC partners is being launched on WhyHungers Community Food Security Learning Center. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include Community Food Project grantees and other non-profit organizations working to build community food security, specifically those
organizations active in communities where health disparities and food insecurity are high. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: There were no major modifications to this project. Each year, grantees were surveyed to determine the topic areas of most interest for training, capacity building and learning communities. The core topics identified over the course of the project included innovative and participatory evaluation (Whole Measures for Community Food Systems), food policy councils, healthy corner store work, racial equity practices, and community economic development.
<p>PROGRESS: 2010/09/01 TO 2011/08/31<br/>OUTPUTS: 1. CFSC staff widely publicized the availability of CFP grants and free assistance to applicants reaching over 12 lists and websites and thousands of individuals. CFSC consultants served 89 CFP grant applicants and potential applicants, providing a total of over 70 hours of free assistance. 2. We worked with WhyHunger and Growing Power to develop initial plans for a coordinated national T&TA referral service. A meeting was hosted in September 2009 and 27 community food system technical assistance providers from across the country attending. Follow up conference calls have been held nearly quarterly and plans to develop a resource director. 3. CFSC partnered with ACGA to host a workshop in October 2009. The workshop was attended by 35 participants. CFSC partnered with the SSAWG to host a community food systems
track of workshops at their January 2010 conference in TN. Together, these trainings were attended by nearly 400 individuals working on food system development in the South. CFSC's October 2010 annual conference included a total of 42 workshops, many with a strong focus on skill-building. The conference was attended by over 1,000 participants. 4. The Community Economic Development learning community has continued to host quarterly calls with over 225 participants this past year. The WM CFS learning community has hosted 6 calls with a total of 46 participants. 5. CFSC presented on the Whole Measures for Community Food Systems tool at the annual conference with 65 people attending the workshop. 6. CFSC hosted five trainings for CFP Grantees to learn how to complete the CFP Indicators of Success (CFP IOS). 31 grantees attended these trainings. 34 grantees completed their CFP IOS reports.
CFSC, together with NRC, collected data from these grantees. 7. CFSC sponsored four organizations in an intensive Whole Measures for Community Food Systems mentoring project. Each community logged from 40-89 hours with their mentor including attending a full day training. 8. CFSC distributed copies of the CFP Evaluation Handbook, Toolkit and Tools Only documents, along with a copy of the new Whole Measures CFS tool to all new CFP grantees and over 119 other interested practitioners. Dissemination or Results: Project output results are and will continue to be distributed among participants and stakeholders for each of the above activities. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PARTICIPANTS: The
following individuals acted as mentors for the Whole Measures CFS mentoring project: Chris Paterson and Hank Hererra with C-PREP and Deb Habib with Seeds of Solidarity. Organizations that participated as mentors for this project include Nuestras Raices, Healthy Solutions, The Food Project, and California Center for the Reduction of Obesity Prevention.The Healthy Corner Store Network included significant collaboration with the Center for Law and Public Health, The Food Trust, and the Wallace Center. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include non-profit organizations working to build community food security, specifically those organizations active in communities where health disparities and food insecurity are high. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
<p>PROGRESS: 2009/09/01 TO 2010/08/31<br/>OUTPUTS: 1. CFSC staff widely publicized the availability of CFP grants and free assistance to applicants reaching over 12 lists and websites and thousands of individuals. CFSC consultants served 89 CFP grant applicants and potential applicants, providing a total of over 40 hours of free assistance. 2. We worked with WHY and GP to develop initial plans for a coordinated national T&TA referral service. 3. CFSC partnered with ACGA to host a workshop in October 2009. The workshop was attended by 35 participants. CFSC partnered with the SSAWG to host a community food systems track of workshops at their January 2010 conference in TN. Together, these trainings were attended by nearly 400 individuals working on food system development in the South. CFSC's October 2010 annual conference will include a total of 42 workshops, many with a
strong focus on skill-building. 4. CFSC sent an online poll to all current CFP grantees in November 2009, requesting their feedback on plans and potential themes for a learning community. 37 organizations responded, demonstrating strong interest. "Connecting food system work with local economic development" was the clear top-choice theme. CFSC organized a Local Food and Community Economic Development seminar that meets by conference call. Two calls were held in May and June 2010, with 20 and 17 participants respectively. CFSC co-sponsored two webinars with the National Good Food Network on other food system themes that were rated highly in the grantee poll, one in March (82 participants) and one in May (115 participants). 5. CFSC hosted five trainings for CFP Grantees to learn how to complete the COTF. CFSC presented on the Whole Measures for Community Food Systems tool on numerous
occasions. CFSC distributed copies of the CFP Evaluation Handbook, Toolkit and Tools Only documents, along with a copy of the new Whole Measures CFS tool to all new CFP grantees and over 141 other interested practitioners. 6. CFSC hosted five trainings for CFP Grantees to learn how to complete the COTF. 27 grantees attended these trainings. 37 grantees completed their COTF reports. CFSC, together with NRC, collected data from these grantees. Additionally, we are writing a report on the first five years (2005-2009) of COTF data. CFSC worked with grantees at the October 2009 CFP Project Directors' meeting to glean feedback on a first draft of CFP indicators. This draft is being used to develop the new output and outcome tracking tool (CFP Indicators of Success) that CFP grantees will use beginning with FY10 reporting. 7. An invitation list of 25 leading national and regional T&TA providers
was developed. IThe meeting dates were set for Sept 20-22 and a site was secured near Baltimore. 21 providers have confirmed their planned participation in the session. A draft design for the meeting was created and sent to participants with a request for feedback. Dissemination or Results: Project output results are and will continue to be distributed among participants and stakeholders for each of the above activities. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.