Recipient Organization
WASHINGTON NATIONALS YOUTH BASEBALL ACADEMY
3675 ELY PLACE SE
WASHINGTON,DC 20019
Performing Department
Family and Community Engagemen
Non Technical Summary
The Academy's Food and Nutrition Plan (AFNP) is a partnership network that connects community members in Southeast Washington, D.C., 130 Mid-Atlantic farmers, and local food educators with the objective of creating an equitable urban food system. The AFNP will encompass two main activities: offering a CSA (community supported agriculture) drop-point at the Academy, providing cooking and meal prep courses. By ncorporating multiple tiers of the local food ecosystem, the AFNP looks to provide hunger relief and nutrition education to food insecure communities, but also seeks to connect small-share local farmers to an underserved market. Through this multi-sector approach, the AFNP targets multiple populations as beneficiaries - after all, complex problems require complex solutions.The CSA program will be located at the Academy, with farm share pick-ups available once a week. The CSA will be managed by AFNP staff and will accept SNAP and other federal subsidy benefits, alongside a program-specific AFNP subsidy. To complement the CSA, other produce sourced from the Field of Greens, the Academy's organic teaching garden, will be made available to families that participate in the CSA. Basic bio- and geographic data will be collected on each participant in the CSA program, serving to map and guide the program's expansion to 10-20 additional drop point throughout Ward 7 and 8 over three years.The second major activity to take place as part of the AFNP is a comprehensive nutrition education and meal prep program that is hosted within the Academy's teaching kitchen and administered by the YMCA team. Two main classes, Cooking I and Cooking II, will be offered throughout the year for community members and their families. The beginner class, Cooking I, focuses on the basic skills and techniques of cooking. Cooking II revolves around taking the everyday diet of the participants and reimagines them to reduce health risks - removing salts and fats in lieu of friendlier alternatives. Additionally, a Meal Prep class, provides a supervised "open kitchen" where families and individuals that have both graduated the cooking classes and are participating in the CSA will be provided with curated recipes (using the produce and dry goods found in their CSA shares), tools, and space needed to prepare a week's worth of meals. Participants will be tracked via pre-and-post surveys, measuring competency levels and changes in nutrition habits. This data will be analyzed by the AFNP partnership at the end of each session to adjust the program as necissary.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The Academy's Food and Nutrition Plan (AFNP)seeks to ultimately create and promote an equitable food system in Wards 7 and 8 by achieving three main goals:Improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income residents in Ward 7 and 8.Establish a CSA (community supported agriculture) program housed in the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy facility to provide produce to families.Create and implement a payment scale specifically for low-income communities, combining federal subsidy programs (SNAP, WIC, EBT, etc.) and program-specific subsidies for families in the program.Revise the current food production capacityat the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy to focus on supplementalcrop yields.Identify and facilitate the expansion of new CSA drop-sites for members of the program.Leverage community partnerships throughout Ward 7 and 8, targeting schools, churches, community centers, and libraries.Improve nutrition and meal prep education in Ward 7 and 8.Expand current food and nutrition education offerings to serve more members of the community.Three courses,Cooking I,Cooking II, andMeal Prep,will be offered to local community members to focus on developing critical skills for improved nutrition:Meal planning and budgeting,Basic and advanced kitchen skills, andElimination of salts and fats from diet by substituting herbs and spices.Increase the number of classes taught, with the goal of teaching 270 families over three years.Eliminate barriers to health, identified by the community.Time - Capacity and schedule to cook a healthy meal for self or family.Meal Prepclasses eliminate set-up and clean-up from cooking, so individuals and families can focus solely on preparation.Tools - The physical assets needed to create meals.Cooking classes provide all necessary tools (knives, cutting boards, blenders, hot-plates, etc.) needed for every meal.Space - Physical space needed to prepare and cook a meal.Using the Academy's teaching kitchen (approximately 1600 sq./ft.)ProductIngredients for every meal provided by YMCA/Academy, withMeal Prepclasses using 4P Foods CSA shares in recipes.KnowledgeYMCA instructors present at every class, for either teaching or guidance.Create access for smallholder farmers to serve low-income communities.Partner with 4P Foods to provide access to untapped channels of wholesale revenue (Ward 7 and 8) for smallholder mid-Atlantic farmers.Increase profits and job reliability for at-risk farms and farming families.
Project Methods
To achieve the identified three goals, AFNP will encompass three main categories of activities, along with the following methods and measurements:1. Activity: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Lead: Tom McDougall & 4P Foods TeamPlanning Work with YMCA & NYBA to develop survey for desired foods.Create detailed distribution plan to coincide with current 4P Foods deliveries.Coordinate crop calendars with program to align harvest with cooking classes.Purchase necessary equipment (EBT readers) and supplies. Plan out logistics of accepting NYBA subsidy and SNAP.Year 1Implementation:Purchase food from 4P Farmers on a weekly basis.Pack orders and bags at 4P Foods warehouse in Elkwood, VA.Distribute and deliver orders to NYBA directly for use in their classes.Evaluation:Measure the amount of dollars being paid directly to small farmers as a result of this program.Keep track of total amount of food being delivered weekly.Work with YMCA & NYBA to develop survey for what worked in Year 1, and what could be done better.Preparing for Year 2:Build on lessons learned in Year 1 to incorporate more families, more farmers, and more distribution sites.Coordinate outreach and identify new drop-off locations with YMCA, NYBA, and participants in Community Conversations.Year 2Implementation:Purchase food from 4P Farmers on a weekly basis.Pack orders and bags at 4P Foods warehouse in Elkwood, VA.Distribute and deliver orders to NYBA directly for use in their classes and additional sites in Ward 7 and 8.Evaluation:Measure the amount of dollars being paid directly to small farmers as a result of this program.Keeping track of total amount of food being delivered weekly.Identify the strength and weaknesses of new locations.Work with YMCA & NYBA to develop survey for what worked in Year 2, and what could be done better.Preparing for Year 3:Build on lessons learned in Year 2 to incorporate more families, more farmers, and more distribution sites.Coordinate outreach and identify new drop-off locations with YMCA, NYBA, and participants in Community Conversations.Goal: 5-10 new drop-off locations.Year 3Implementation:Purchase food from 4P Farmers on a weekly basis.Pack orders and bags at 4P Foods warehouse in Elkwood, VA.Distribute and deliver orders to NYBA directly for use in their classes.Evaluation:Measure the amount of dollars being paid directly to small farmers as a result of this program.Keeping track of total amount of food being delivered weekly. Identify the strength and weaknesses of new locations.Work with YMCA & NYBA to develop survey for what worked in Year 2, and what could be done better.Preparing for Year 3Build on lessons learned in Year 2 to incorporate more families, more farmers, and more distribution sites.Coordinate outreach and identify new drop-off locations with YMCA, NYBA, and participants in Community Conversations.Goal: 10-20 drop-off locations.2. Activity: Cooking I, Cooking II, and Meal Prep CoursesLead: Kristy McCarron and YMCA StaffPlanningDevelop curriculum and recipes for meal prep classes.Coordinate ingredients and food from 4P Foods.Create schedule of classes.Organize community outreach with NYBA.Year 1Implementation:Market and promote classes to CSA participants.Purchase materials for class.Conduct classes (2 Cooking I, 1 Cooking II, and 2 Meal Prep).Disseminate recipes after class via follow-up emails.Conduct community conversations as follow up.Evaluation:Three types of evaluations:Process: Did we do what we planned to doProcess evaluation will be measured by class participants, CSA shares sold, etc.Impact: Short/medium term aka behavior/knowledge changeImpact evaluation will be measured by an increase in nutrition and culinary knowledge positive behavior changes related to food habits.Outcome: QOL and health factorsOutcome evaluation will be measured by increased quality of life/increased perceived control over life qualityPreparing for Year 2:Implement necessary changes to class and curriculum based on evaluation results.Year 2Implementation:Market and promote classes to CSA participants. Purchase materials for class.Conduct classes (3 Cooking I, 2 Cooking II, and 3 Meal Prep).Disseminate recipes after class via follow-up emails.Conduct community conversations as follow up.Evaluation:Three types of evaluations:Process: Did we do what we planned to doProcess evaluation will be measured by class participants, CSA shares sold, etc.Impact: Short/medium term aka behavior/knowledge changeImpact evaluation will be measured by an increase in nutrition and culinary knowledge positive behavior changes related to food habits.Outcome: QOL and health factorsOutcome evaluation will be measured by increased quality of life/increased perceived control over life qualityPreparing for Year 2:Implement necessary changes to class and curriculum based on evaluation results.Year 3Implementation:Market and promote classes to CSA participants.Purchase materials for class.Conduct classes (3 Cooking I, 2 Cooking II, and 3 Meal Prep).Disseminate recipes after class via follow-up emails.Conduct community conversations as follow up.Evaluation:Three types of evaluations:Process: Did we do what we planned to doProcess evaluation will be measured by class participants, CSA shares sold, etc.Impact: Short/medium term aka behavior/knowledge changeImpact evaluation will be measured by an increase in nutrition and culinary knowledge positive behavior changes related to food habits.Outcome: QOL and health factorsOutcome evaluation will be measured by increased quality of life/increased perceived control over life qualityPreparing for future growth:Implement necessary changes to class and curriculum based on evaluation results.3. Activity: Community OutreachLead: Bryant Curry and Academy StaffPlanningCreate a coalition of likeminded nonprofits/community leaders.Develop a cohesive brand message for the residents of Wards 7 & 8.Focus on market perpetration within the 20019 area code (Academy's surrounding community).Year 1Implementation:Conduct coalition monthly meetings, "Community Conversations," to discuss branding and outreach strategy within the community.Based on community feedback develop work with a marketing design firm.Community Conversations to include grasstop leaders fromschools,churchesresidential apartment buildingslocal businesses.Evaluation:Coordinate evaluation surveys with CSA and Cooking/Meal Prep courses to better understand community needs and potential solutions.Year 2Implementation:Continue to conduct monthly Community Conversations. Grow outreach to include new community representatives.Specifically, identify 10+ schools/community centers where the YMCS is active to be new CSA sites.Evaluation:Coordinate evaluation surveys with CSA and Cooking/Meal Prep courses to better understand community needs and potential solutions from experience in Year 1.Outcome evaluation will be measured by CSA enrollment/participation and demand for the creation of new sites.Year 3Implementation:Continue to conduct monthly Community Conversations. Grow outreach to include new community representatives.Specifically, identify 20+ schools/community centers where the YMCS is active to be new CSA sites.Evaluation:Coordinate evaluation surveys with CSA and Cooking/Meal Prep courses to better understand community needs and potential solutions from experience in Year 1.Outcome evaluation will be measured by CSA enrollment/participation and demand for the creation of new sites.