SNAP-Ed
Community Partnership Funding
July 2015
Ryan Johnson, Assistant Program Director
Jackie Billhymer, Project Coordinator
Extension Mission
Make a difference by connecting community needs and University resources
to address critical issues in Minnesota.
University of Minnesota Extension Health and Nutrition Programs improve
food literacy, physical activity, and healthy food access for Minnesotans to
promote health and reduce disparities using University resources and
proven educational and engagement strategies.
SNAP Education
SNAP-Ed is a federal program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food
and Nutrition Service. The goal of SNAP-Ed is to improve the likelihood that
persons eligible for SNAP will make healthy choices within a limited budget
and choose active lifestyles consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines
for Americans and MyPlate.
SNAP Education
SNAP-Ed has broadened its approach to include activities that promote
changes in policies, systems, and environments that enable individuals to
make healthy food and physical activity choices. In addition to direct
nutrition education, SNAP-Ed implementers must also:
• Influence multiple organizational and institutional levels.
– For example, a SNAP-Ed Educator might offer nutrition education classes to children in
a school where 50 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price
meals and to adults through a Community Action Agency. In addition, the SNAP-Ed
Educator might also serve on the school wellness committee and work with the local
food shelf to find ways to provide healthier foods.
• Use community and public health approaches.
– For example, an Extension Educator may collaborate with food policy councils to
improve access to healthy foods for people living on limited financial resources. At the
same time, a SNAP-Ed Educator may provide technical assistance to a worksite that
employs a high number of SNAP participants and that wants to establish policies for
offering healthier foods in vending machines.
Introduction
The SNAP-Ed Community Partnership Funding initiative is a chance for the
Extension SNAP-Ed program to learn from partners throughout the state
about ways to incorporate policy, system, and environmental changes within
organizations and communities to promote healthy eating and active living.
Why?
This funding provides a unique opportunity to step back and assess where,
how, and with whom SNAP-Ed staff work in community settings to effect
the greatest positive changes in healthy eating and active living for SNAPeligible persons.
Projects funded through this initiative will help guide future SNAP-Ed work.
How?
• Contract with organizations (or a group of organizations/coalition)
through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process
• Organizations will work with Extension SNAP-Ed staff to develop and
implement strategies for combining education with changes in policies,
systems, and environments.
• Combined approaches are intended to break down barriers and pave
the way for families with limited financial resources to make healthy food
and physical activity choices.
• Tools will be developed to measure and document the success of
projects.
Expectations
• Community partners are expected to develop models for collaborative
planning and delivery of SNAP-Ed programming by fall 2016.
• Community partners will model processes for assessing community
needs, building partnerships, planning projects, and/or piloting projects.
• Over a 6 to 12-month period, each community partner will work with
other organizations and individuals, including SNAP-Ed staff, to develop
one idea that shows promise for improving conditions in order to
facilitate healthy eating and/or increased physical activity among
residents with limited financial resources.
• Each idea, or model, must incorporate at least two levels on the
Spectrum of Prevention AND at least one of those levels must involve
PSE change (levels 4, 5, or 6).
Spectrum of Prevention
Together, we will strengthen individual knowledge and skills, promote
community education, educate providers, foster coalitions and networks,
change organizational practices, and influence policy.
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Benefits to Community Partners
• Financial: Funding for carrying out your work as it intersects with the
purpose of this RFP.
• Social: An opportunity to demonstrate your leadership in making
communities healthier places for Minnesotans with limited financial
resources.
• Support for future opportunities: Technical assistance for evaluation
from Extension staff, which may be used to support further projects and
funding.
How?
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10–20 contracts statewide
$25,000–$100,000
6–12 months
A project brief and a full proposal are both required.
Feedback will be provided on the project brief to inform the full proposal.
Awards are based on availability of SNAP-Ed funding.
Project Briefs
Project briefs must be received by 5 p.m. on July 20, 2015, but applicants
are encouraged to submit briefs as soon as possible so Extension staff can
provide feedback in a timely manner. Project briefs must be submitted
through an online form available at http://z.umn.edu/communitypartnership.
Note: Be sure to save a copy of your project brief before submitting the
online form.
Proposals
Full proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on August 24, 2015. Send
proposals to Jackie Billhymer, billh002@umn.edu. The proposal document
must be no more than 10 pages excluding attachments. The full proposal
must be presented in one PDF document, with consecutively numbered
pages. Text must be no smaller than 11-point font.
Please review pages 7–10 of the RFP for instructions on how to complete
the proposal.
Who?
• Funding open to current SNAP-Ed partners and new partners although
collaboration with Extension SNAP-Ed staff is required.
• Projects will be funded throughout the state.
• A Community Partner may be the lead organization representing a
coalition or collaborative and may be a:
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government agency
non-profit organization
non-profit member-based organization
non-profit educational institution
faith-based organization
• SNAP-Ed staff will work with the organizations that are awarded
contracts.
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SNAP-Ed Educators
SNAP-Ed Regional Coordinators
Extension Educators
Extension Evaluation Team
Extension SNAP-Ed Staff
• SNAP-Ed Educators deliver classes to improve food literacy, food
access, and food skills through partnerships with multiple agencies.
SNAP-Ed Educators promote PSE changes to support SNAP-Ed
participants in making the healthy choice the easy choice.
• SNAP-Ed Regional Coordinators supervise SNAP-Ed Educators
and develop relationships and partnerships with agencies. Regional
Coordinators also promote PSE changes.
• Extension Educators work to bring about PSE changes by:
• Providing support to partners and colleagues in efforts like farm to school, school
gardens, active school day, healthy foods in child care, farmers markets, and
healthy food environments in food shelves.
• Providing training for school foodservice professionals, classroom teachers, and
child care providers.
• Supporting the Extension SNAP-Ed program with content expertise.
• Coordinating regional food networks.
When?
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July 20, 5 p.m. — Project Briefs Due
August 3 (no later than) — Project Briefs feedback provided
August 24, 5 p.m. — Full Proposals Due
September 11 (no later than) — Projects selected
October — Target for contracts to begin
November 17 — Kick-off Meeting for organizations selected and SNAPEd staff
• April 7–8, 2016 — Workshop for organizations selected and SNAP-Ed
staff
Resources
Available at http://z.umn.edu/communitypartnership
• Request for Proposals
• Project Brief questions
• Project Brief submission form
• Project Examples
• Regional Food Access Profiles
• SNAP-Ed information
• Spectrum of Prevention information
• PSE 101 webinar
• Minnesota Food Charter information
Questions
Ryan Johnson
joh04518@umn.edu / 651-431-3854
Jackie Billhymer
billh002@umn.edu / 612-624-6739
http://z.umn.edu/communitypartnership
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