At the Family & Intercultural Resource Center of Summit County, the motto is “promoting stable families and strong communities since 1994.”
While promoting stable families remains the long-serving organization’s focus, much additional attention is being paid to the experience of those families who use the food resources available there. The intentional shifts to enhance user experience, as well as the intersectional nature of each consumer’s life has resulted in some big changes in stigma reduction, education and improved environments for the organization.
For an idea of the scale of the group’s food access operation, it experienced a 50.2 percent increase in shoppers since October of 2021 increasing from 724 shoppers to 1,442 shoppers in March 2022. FIRC provided more than 35,050 pounds of food in the month of February 2022 alone.
Along with the increased demand, here are some foundational changes FIRC has made to the way they serve their community.
Rebranding and renaming their food pantry as well as implementing healthy shopping options: The pantry is now called the Community Food Market to reduce stigma and be more welcoming to community members by more closely replicating the experience of shopping in a grocery store. They utilize a program called SmartChoice, which allots points to each shopping household based on household size. Folks can order from their smartphone or walk in and use touchpads to fill out their grocery order using categories correlating to the food groups. The points system encourages healthy choices by making fresh produce less points and less healthy foods more points. The volunteers and food market employees receive the orders and fulfill them. Folks can order ahead of time online through their account, or they can opt to be a part of the delivery program if they meet certain access thresholds. The Food Market participates in a Grocery Store Rescue program with local businesses such as Whole Foods, Walmart, Starbucks, and City Market. Its focus is on rescuing and re-distributing fresh vegetables and fruits and other healthy options.
Focus on the intersectionality of the lives of individuals and families who use the Food Market: The organization will add a Bi-lingual Public Benefits Ambassador this month to direct outreach at the Food Market for people who are interested in SNAP, Medicaid and WIC. The Ambassador will develop a trusting relationship with community members as the go-to individual to help connect them with the supports they need. The Ambassador will be able to take private appointments at the Food Market and answer questions as needed. The organization’s Community Health Team will join with the Food Market to host a “Mud Season” event for people transiting off supports after a seasonal position. In addition to the Public Benefits Ambassador, two highly motivated Health Navigators received SNAPPEAS training and work with SNAP and other connectors like PEAK and C4HCO so they have a full scope of the health insurance and public benefits world. Other program team members are encouraged to shadow and learn about SNAP so they can provide personalized wrap-around support to clients in other programs.
Intentional improvements for the experience of non-English speaking customers: The organization partners with local, Spanish-speaking residents who are part of the Summit County Food Equity Coalition. These individuals provide real time feedback on ways to improve the shopping experience for those whose language of their hearts is Spanish and/or culturally identify as Latinx. This partnership with the Food Market is community informed and encourages strong community development for positive change and instills a sense of ownership among community members and the organization.
Visit the Family and Intercultural Resources Center of Summit County.