EBR Food Insecurity Coalition Meeting Notes (January 21)

Food Insecurity Coalition Meeting Notes

(January 21, 2021)

Prepared by Capital Area United Way

Large Group Discussion and Presentation

Presentation from Korey Patty, Feeding Louisiana on policy issues and current state in Louisiana.

Breakout Groups

Goal: 1. Confirm short-, medium- and long-term goals as a group. 2. Create action steps to be achieved by February 18th meeting. 3. What group or information needs to be a presentation to help us achieve our goals?

1. Funders Circle

   1. Confirmed and Accepted Goals:

      1. Short Term:

         1. Finalize organizational standard for funding checklist.

         2. Complete list and prioritize prospective funders for FIC.

      2. Medium Term:

         1. Discuss/create a system for prioritizing what projects, partners, etc. will be funded and how.

         2. Research and discuss grant writer arrangements for long term sustainability.

         3. Consider an organizational assessment tool for prospective grant partners.

      3. Long Term:

         1. Contract with a grant seeker to reach national, governmental and other funders.

   2. Create action steps for February 18th:

      1. Group A will have the comprehensive funders list completed with information that addresses basic information like who is the contact, what are the funding priorities, what is the grant process/cycle, what are the due dates, where are the collaborative opportunities, and matching opportunities.

      2. Mary Bergeron will put together an evaluation rubric to identify and point out where to priorities our funding sights.

      3. Based on the evaluation of grants, the group will identify the key/top five grant opportunities to pursue first. From there, we will use our foundation leads to make connections with these primary funding agencies.

      4. The goal of these foundation leads (Jan, Chloe, George, Lois, and Lori) is to meet separately and identify the full list of potential funders and build out the list to identify our top 5 national funders. The goal I to grab those national dollars first then move into the more local space.

   3. Additional information/presenters: several partners were identified to explore for future presentations.

2. Distributors/Growers/Service Providers

   1. Confirmed and Accepted Goals:

      1. Short Term:

         1. Engage various trusted groups and organizations into the conversation that can help meet immediate needs of FIC.

            1. Faith-based groups

            2. Medical providers

            3. BREC

            4. City Council

            5. Grocery Stores

         2. Create a mechanism to meet the immediate need and fill in the food gaps that currently exist.

         3. Rethink how we engage with clients and partners to better understand the issue and create more impact. For example: face to face conversations with consumers while grocery shopping about their budget, choices and resources. Instead of working with school administration, work with social workers, counselors or teachers who may be able to identify the children needing resources more efficiently.

      2. Medium Term:

         1. Expand partnerships to see how we supplement what partners are doing to create more impact and leverage resources. For instance, if church-based pantry only has non-perishables, how do we supply them with fresh food as well. Or provide more volunteers and best practices to smaller partners to increase capacity.

      3. Long Term:

         1. Transition from just feeding people to helping feed people with healthy food and better food options.

         2. Better access and equal access to healthy and appropriate food resources.

         3. Change the mindset of the population around food and eating.

   2. Action Steps by February 18th:

      1. Compile the information needed to create a map of locations and services available so people can better access the resources. To be included on FIC website in future.

   3. Additional information and presenters:

      1. Healthcare centers and providers in schools to better understand childhood hunger and issues.

3. Data/Policy/Evaluation:

   1. Confirmed and Accepted Goals:

      1. Short Term:

         1. Clear understanding of what currently exists with food insecurity.

         2. What data exists -What's being provided, who is providing it

         3. What is data for – Distribution and resource allocation

         4. Know who we should market programs to

         5. What data FIC wants?: Who needs the food?

      2. Medium Term:

         1. FIC Social Media presence

         2. FIC website

         3. Define root causes

         4. Collaborate on summit

         5. Instead of using data visualization, use the data to create an easier to use toolkit/format

      3. Long Term:

         1. Reduction or mitigation of food insecurity with a # and % goal.

         2. Clear policy interventions for FIC and other organizations.

   2. Action Steps by February 18th:

   3. Additional information and presenters: