Partnership for Community Care Healthy Food

Pantry: Grant Proposal

By: Caitlin Romm RD LDN and Sheri Vettel MPH RD LDN

Proposal Contents:
Problem Statement.
3
Organizational
Overview.4
Goals and
Objectives
..6
Sustainability
Plan...8
Budget
.9
Appendix
A
10
Appendix
B
11

Problem Statement:
Rosa* is a single mother of 3. She is illiterate and only speaks Spanish.
Because she is not a legal citizen she does not qualify for health care nor
other assistance programs. She is a brittle diabetic and has trouble
controlling her blood sugars. Rosa used to work 3-4 jobs, cleaning houses,
babysitting and 3rd shift at a factory. Last year Rosas health started to
decline, she began to lose sight and feeling in her feet. Given her
deteriorating condition, she is no longer able to hold down a job and has been
recently evicted. In one year, she had over 100 ED visits, all due to
uncontrolled diabetes. After several surgeries and amputations, she is now
legally blind and has to walk with a walker. She was unable to work and
making ends meet has been challenging. Rosa and her family want to make
diet changes but arent sure about what foods to eat and often cannot afford
them.
Larry* is 18 years old. He works two minimum wage jobs to help take
care of his 15 years-old brother Jordan and 9 years-old sister Jessa, who
suffers from cystic fibrosis. During the week, their main meals come from
breakfasts and lunches that they eat at school. On the weekend, they
struggle. Larry barely makes enough to cover the rent, and the food that he
can afford is not the best quality. He constantly worries about running out of
food before he gets paid and can buy more. They are constantly hungry, but
do not eat because they cannot afford food.
Betty* has been relying on SNAP (food stamps) to help subsidize the
food needs of her, her husband Henry, and her 8 years-old grandchild Cara
for years. Recently, however, their SNAP funding has been cut by a third.
Bettys husband suffers from congestive heart failure and has not been able
to work for several years. He also needs several medications. Betty often
has to forego getting food to make sure Henry gets the medication that he
needs. At night, she constantly worries about her empty cupboards and her
granddaughters noticeable weight loss. In the past year, she has had to cut
the size of the familys meals because there wasnt enough money for food.
And she is never able to feed her family a balanced meal because she
cannot afford it.
These are just three of the millions of families who suffer through food
insecurity each day. Families that must face the hard decisions of whether to
spend what little money that they have on medicine or on food. Families that

are constantly sick because they are not getting the nutrients they need
because they cannot afford quality fresh fruits and vegetables. Families that
are constantly worried about their children getting enough to eat. Families
that, every night, must go to bed feeling hungry, feeling hopeless, and
wondering where they are going to get their next meal.
We see these families every day. We see these children walking to
school on our way to work. And while our stomachs are full, they hear their
stomachs constantly rumble with insatiable hunger. While we skip lunch
because their plates are so full, they take as much of whatever meal they can
because they do not know when their next full meal will come. These people
are food insecure and hungry. And they live all over this nation the land of
opportunity. But they are not just in faraway locations in California or New
York. They are right here, in Greensboro, NC, and they need our help. This is
why the Partnership for Community Care, or P4CC, is vital to this community.
Families rely on the P4CC healthy food pantry for their food and dietary
needs. The P4CC healthy food pantry was created to help people like Rosa,
Larry, Betty, and their families. By providing food and nutrition education, the
P4CC healthy food pantry empowers its participants to manage their chronic
disease while on a budget. By having proper nutrition and by receiving
nutrition education, it is the hope that we can help prevent complications and
adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Food insecurity has long been a problem in Guilford County. With
recent policies that have cut funding for food assistance and nutrition
subsidies, the number of hard-working North Carolinians that need access to
our healthy food pantries has increased dramatically. The increase has been
so much so, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with demand.
P4CC strives to provide the healthiest food options in our food pantry
because that is often what our patients, specifically our patients with chronic
disease, need. It has been shown over and over that better access to healthy
food corresponds with healthier eating, and healthier eating is associated
with a decrease in health related complications in people with chronic
illnesses. That decrease on medical care expenses leads to more disposable
income that can be invested into the community.
We at P4CC strive to provide healthy food options and nutrition
education for the many people with chronic illness who are in need. We are
in need of funding that can help us achieve our goals and help the thousands
of families that reach out to P4CC on a daily basis. When you support P4CC,
you do not just support a food pantry. You give proper nutrients to those
most in need of them. You give healthy, hearty meals for people who are
struggling to put food on their dinner table. Giving to P4CC means giving life
to underserved communities and hope to families in need.

*All names have been changed for privacy

Organizational Overview:
Partnership for Community Care Mission:
Empowering our community to improve the quality of their healthcare.
Improving access, maintaining quality, reducing costs of medical care in
Guilford, Rockingham and Randolph Counties.
Partnership for Community Care Healthy Food Pantry:
Food insecurity has continued to rise in North Carolina. In 2011, 18.2%
of the population was considered food insecure, that number has increased to
19.6% this year. In a recent report by the Food Research and Action Center,
Guilford County was ranked the #1 food insecure area in the United States,
with 29.7 % of the residents being food insecure.
In an effort to help reduce food insecurity and improve the
management of chronic disease, Partnership for Community Care (P4CC)
implemented a healthy food pantry for our qualified patients. Food insecurity
and chronic disease are closely related. Many individuals who are food
insecure rely on food banks, which often have a lot of salty and sugary foods
that can make it difficult to manage a chronic disease. The Partnership Pantry
Healthy Food Program hopes to provide low-income patients with healthier
foods and nutrition education that will help empower them to better manage
their chronic diseases.

Goals and Objectives:

Objectives 1: Increase number of Partnership for Community Care (P4CC)
pantry participants to 111 compared to the 81 that benefited from the pantry
in 2014.
Baseline: In 2014, there were 81 patients that benefited from the P4CC
healthy food pantry.
Target: 111 new pantry users
Measurement: Count of completed referral forms
Methods/Tactics:
Both Registered Dietitians (RD) and Care Managers (CM) will identify
eligible pantry participants by completing a pantry referral form on any
and all patients that self-identify as being hungry due to lack of food or
inability to management their chronic disease due to lack of food.
Obtain grant to stock pantry with additional healthy foods for patients
with chronic diseases to keep up with increased referral demand.
Objective 2: Increase the number of attendees at nutrition classes/
education opportunities provided by Partnership for Community Care (P4CC)
pantry by 50 from a 2014 baseline of 75 to 125.
Baseline: An estimated 75 patients attended a P4CC nutrition class in
2014

Target: 125 attendees to P4CC nutrition classes in one years time

Measurement: Class attendance

Methods/Tactics:
Organize and implement education classes in various locations in the
community with the food pantry and P4CC Care Managers.
Sponsor monthly workshops, conducted by trained healthcare
professionals and educators, that address topics of chronic disease
management through nutrition.
o Use both P4CC employees and community leaders who are
experts in the field to speak at these classes.
o Provide incentives (i.e., transportation vouchers, bag of food
from pantry, grocery store coupons or gift cards) for patients
that attend nutrition classes.
Collaborate with healthcare clinics and doctors offices to increase
patient knowledge of nutrition classes
o Create and provide flyers for health clinics and doctors offices
to display and distribute
o Have P4CC care managers inform patients of upcoming nutrition
classes during home visits.
o Have doctors and healthcare professionals discuss P4CC
nutrition classes with patients who may not be receiving
services from P4CC
Objective 3: Increase nutrition knowledge of managing chronic disease
among Partnership for Community Care (P4CC) pantry participants that
attend pantry educational sessions as evidenced by patients self-reports.
Baseline: Pts self-report of a lower level of nutrition
knowledge/understanding on pre-survey
Target: Pts report an increased knowledge/ understanding of nutrition
on post-survey.
Measurement: Use surveys as measurement tool before first pantry
delivery/nutrition class and after they have received their 3 rd and final
food package. This can be provided at patients last pantry drop-off or
class.
Methods/Tactics:
P4CC Registered Dietitians will provide education opportunities
(cooking demos, individual sessions or group sessions, etc.) regarding
healthy eating on a budget or managing their chronic disease.
Obtain grant funding to provide bus vouchers to attend educational
opportunities.
Obtain grant funding to provide incentives for attending classes (food,
bus vouchers, gift cards, etc.)

Sustainability Plan:
The P4CC healthy food pantry continues attempts to become
financially sustainable and self-sufficient in 2016. The pantry committee will
continue to reach out to other organizations to partner with in order to
provide food, education opportunities and/or transportation to pantry
participants. Possible partnerships include the Greensboro Farmers Curb
Market, Farmers Food Share, Share the Harvest and the Department of
Transportation (DOT). The Curb Market, Farmers Food Share and Share the
Harvest provide food by connecting excess foods from farms/community
gardens to food pantries year- round. Many of the P4CC patients identified
transportation as the biggest barrier to accessing healthy foods and nutrition
education opportunities. By partnering with the DOT, P4CC could provide free
or discounted bus passes to pantry participants to increase their access to
nutritious food and education. In addition, the pantry committee plans to
educate other food pantries in the community about how they can offer
healthier foods for their clients, as many of the P4CC pantry participants also
frequent other food pantries.

Budget:
Proposed Grant Budget
Direct Costs

Projected Costs

Calculation

Description

$9,600

($30 X 1.28) X
250 hours

(Estimated hourly rate for one

Registered Dietitian X 1.28 for
estimated fringe benefits)= actual
hourly rate X estimated hours spent
on pantry (developing educational
materials, class preparation, classes,
surveys, outreach and reporting)

$287.50

$.575 X 500
miles

Federal rate of mileage

reimbursement X estimated miles
(delivering food)

Food for pantry

$2,880

Printing costs for

patient education

$32.50

$240 X 12
months
$.05 X 26 X 25

Printing costs for

surveys
Incentives
Bus Passes

$65

$.05 X 1,300

$1,000
$1,950

$5 X 200
$3 X 26 X 25

Bi-monthly estimated cost of food X

12 months
Cost per page X estimated # of
pages per class X estimated # of
patients
Cost per page X estimated # of
pages (two surveys per patients)
Cost of gift card X 200 surveys
Cost of an adult round trip bus pass X
estimated # of classes X estimated #
of adults

Total Estimated Cost

$15,815

Personnel
Registered Dietitian

Travel
Mileage
Other Direct Costs

Table of Program Components/Elements

Partnership for Community Care

Appendix A:

Goal: To increase access to nutritious foods and nutrition education

for Partnership for Community Care (P4CC) patients with chronic
diseases.
Objective 1: Increase
number of P4CC pantry
participants to 111
compared to the 81 that
benefitted from the pantry
in 2014
Program
Components
(Strategies)
Providing
Information

Support from
Influential Others

Barrier Removal

Objective 2: From a
Objective 3: Increase
2014 baseline of 75,
nutrition knowledge of
increase number of
managing chronic disease
attendees at nutrition
among P4CC pantry
classes/education
participants as evidenced by
opportunities provided
patients self-reports.
by P4CC pantry by 50
to 125.
Objectives Program
Targets
Mode or Context
Met
Elements
and Agents of Delivery
(Tactics)
of Change
1, 2, 3
-Pamphlets
Targets
-P4CC building
in clinics/
-Local
-Food trucks
doctors'
Farmers
offices
Markets
-Food trucks -Local
that provide
Grocery
materials
Stores
-Health
-Local
Literacy
health
clinics/
doctors
office
-Local
Hospitals
Agents
-Medicaid
Patients
-Uninsured
Community
members
-Chronic
Illness
Sufferers
2, 3
-Health care
Targets
-P4CC Building
professional
-Volunteers
s
-Local
-P4CC Care
health
Managers
clinics/
-Word-ofdoctors
Mouth of
office
P4CC
-Local
patients
Hospitals
-Food pantry Agents
that also
-Medicaid
educates
Patients
-Uninsured
Community
members
-Chronic
Illness
Sufferers
2, 3
-Food pantry Targets
-P4CC Building
access
-Local
-Food Trucks
-Food
Farmers
sharing
Markets
among
-Local
clients and
Grocery
families
Stores
-Emergency
-Volunteers

10

Appendix B:
(P4CC pantry brochure cover)

11

(P4CC pantry brochure

inside)

12