Food Assistance Awareness Campaign

PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES DEPT

County Spending Category
2.7 Food Resources
Federal Expenditure Category
Household Assistance: Food Programs
Project Launch Date
02/10/2023
Anticipated End Date
12/31/2024
Interpretation Languages
  • Cambodian (Khmer)
  • Farsi
  • Korean
  • Tagalog/Filipino
  • Mandarin
  • Cantonese
  • Vietnamese
  • Japanese

Project Contacts

Indicators & Metrics to Date

  • Number of Applicants Approved
    1653
  • Number of Households Served
    1604
  • Number of individuals of LGBTQ+ audiences approved for benefits
    12
  • Number of marketing materials developed to promote the campaign
    227
  • Numbers of Seniors (65+) approved for benefits
    743
  • Number of Individuals with Disabilities approved for benefits
    161
  • Number of First-Time Customers approved for benefits
    1135
  • Number of Asian/API individuals approved for benefits
    960

Target Populations

  • People Experiencing Homelessness
  • People experiencing Food Insecurity, chronic poverty, people below 250% FPL, unemployed, under-employment; lack of housing; suffering from chronic health conditions or lacking access to healthcare, and systemic racism and racial discrimination.
  • Asian/APs, Seniors, LGBTQ+

Project Description

The Department of Public Social Services administers one of the largest food programs in Los Angeles County. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities of need, especially those identified in the highest needs areas of LA County have struggled with long-term lack of regular access to nutritious foods. Food insecurity places people at an increased risks for diet-related diseases like hypertension and diabetes. And according to food experts, the pandemic exacerbated food insecurity across the board, especially for Asian, Asian Pacific Islanders (API), Seniors and LGBTQ+ communities. This project will help these communities most impacted by the pandemic apply for and access public benefits and services through the CalFresh program. Targeting the outreach to these populations will increase accessibility of services through demonstration to encourage other residents to sign-up for benefits. Outreach to these populations and working with community-based organizations with unique information on the customers that they serve and utilize unique data to encourage individuals from these high-need populations to apply for CalFresh benefits. Hard to serve populations are less likely to access to these benefits and this program through direct outreach and more likely to benefit from this project through the use of trusted messengers/partners. This outreach effort will increase utilization of these benefits and will reduce food insecurity resulting from the pandemic. Grant framework: Dept will disburse a $20,000 grant to twenty-five (25) CBOs and consume $500,000 ARP budget. Includes, four (4) installments over 12-months. Payment 1 (startup advance) will be $6,000 to each CBO. Payments 2, 3 & 4 on a fixed installment schedule in equal amounts to consume the balance. Project team will synchronize payments with QBR schedule for better account management. The installment plan is an incentive strategy for continued engagement w/DPSS.

Goals & Objectives

Goal Description Sign-up eligible residents to CalFresh from the target population groups.

Objective Description -Leverage Benefits Cal technology (application portal) to complete the work

Activity Description Setup up CBO infrastructure
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
2 Performance Number of Asian/API individuals approved for benefits 1.00 1000.00
29 Performance Numbers of Seniors (65+) approved for benefits 1.00 1000.00
42 Performance Number of individuals of LGBTQ+ audiences approved for benefits 1.00 1000.00

Outcome Description Increase public awareness of sustainable food programs in LA County.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
28 Performance Number of Applicants Approved 1.00 3000.00
31 Performance Number of First-Time Customers approved for benefits 1.00 1000.00

Goal Description Partner with community organizations, social researchers and dept leaders to gather feedback and insights on the impact of outreach efforts in targeted areas.

Objective Description Collaborate with community organizations, social researchers, and department leaders to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of outreach efforts in targeted areas, with the aim of identifying areas of improvement and optimizing outreach strategies for increased impact.

Activity Description Participate in outreach activities to help support departmental staff and community- based organizations build capacity including learning from existing cross-departmental efforts such as the Promotores Program.

Outcome Description Increase CalFresh enrollments from neighborhoods identified as Highest Needs Areas by 3,000 first-time eligible residents.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
28 Performance Number of Applicants Approved 1.00 3000.00

Goal Description Leveraging local media to help connect with the target populations through demonstrated partnerships with community partners, testing their knowledge and practical understanding of desired goals: build relationships for long-term growth.

Objective Description Conduct outreach to community residents and survey their understanding of CalFresh food benefits and make necessary adjustments to improve their awareness.

Activity Description Track social media mentions, likes, shares, reposts and measure number of attendees per workshops and information sessions; track frequency of requested program information; track number of questions asked; measure email campaigns by recording total emails opened, deleted, read and bounced back.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
35 Performance Number of marketing materials developed to promote the campaign 1.00 1.00

Activity Description Conduct CBO workshops and present CalFresh information to gain buy-in and enroll eligible residents; improve enrollment events by sharing weekly/monthly progress to the community and crowdsource more residents to CalFresh.

Outcome Description Create a model and best practices for reaching these hard-to-reach populations through expanding collaborations with small CBOs and stronger bonds with hyperlocal media.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
30 Performance Number of Individuals with Disabilities approved for benefits 1.00 1.00
31 Performance Number of First-Time Customers approved for benefits 1.00 1000.00
39 Performance Number of Households Served 1.00 1.00

Goal Description Market and outreach to the LGBTQ+ communities to bring awareness about CalFresh in LA County.

Objective Description Use materials such as flyers, radio ads, bus tail aids, and magazine ads to promote CalFresh Awareness.

Activity Description Print 500 flyers, 20 bus tail ads, 2 magazine ads, and 1 radio ads to promote CalFresh, particularly during CalFresh Awareness Month (May) and Pride Month (June).