Engaging Local Farmers Markets for Bridge Card Accessibility

Creating a Legacy of Food Security & Supporting the Local Economy

Each year around 200 million dollars enter Kent County through the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), known as the Food Assistance Program (FAP) in Michigan.  In 2009 less than 1/10 of 1% of that money went to local agricultural producers. Gordie Moeller, a retired social worker, is on a mission to change that by increasing Bridge Card Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) participation at farmers markets across the region. 

For the past year Moeller has been working to bring access to healthy foods to SNAP/FAP recipients through local farmers’ markets and farm stands.

“Without the ability to use their Bridge Card at farmers’ markets, about 25% of area families are denied the opportunity to purchase healthy locally grown farm fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Moeller.

Moeller and his wife created the Food Security Fund at the Grand Rapids Foundation for programs and organizations that prevent and alleviate hunger and address critical nutrition issues.

Moeller located markets, visited farmers and explained his win-win strategy: “People eat healthier food, get fresh air and gain nutritional knowledge,” says Moeller. “In turn, the increased sales help local farmers, which benefits other local businesses.  In comparison, 70% of money spent at supermarket chains leaves town.”

Moeller’s work is beginning to pay off.  In 2010 only six farmers and markets accepted Bridge Cards in the region. In 2011, the number is up 750% to 46. Moeller recently received a letter of recognition from the State of Michigan Department of Human Services Director Maura Corrigan, excerpted here:

Two organizations were instrumental in supporting Moeller’s outreach: the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service and the Michigan Farmers Market Association.

The USDA offers free EBT equipment for farmers and markets with electricity and phone service.

The MIFMA works with farmers’ markets and legislators on relevant issues. They publish a Bridge Card manual that can help farmers get started.
Of note to farmers and markets:

• Large markets can accept Bridge Cards for individual farmers.
• Farmers and markets who already accept credit and debit can easily add Bridge Card EBT.

This summer the Double Up Food Bucks program offers a bonus incentive for Bridge Card holders when they buy from participating community farmers markets— they receive extra SNAP credit to buy double the produce for the regular price.

Farmers markets that accept Bridge Cards:
www.mifma.org/find-a-farmers-market/

Double Up Food Bucks:
www.doubleupfoodbucks.org

Gordie Moeller can be reached at 616.293.4727 or gordiemoeller@comcast.net.

Kent County Develops School-based Benefits Access Network

Pilot Program to Improve Benefits Access in Urban and Rural Communities


While the MiBridges web portal expansion will affect the statewide population, one Kent County initiative is set to improve online benefits access for community members through school-based computer kiosks coupled with on-site personal support.

The Community Schools Connecting Parents with Bundled Benefits project is developing the pilot program in two of the Kent School Services Network (KSSN) consortium’s 18 sites.

“We wanted to develop a model that provides personal client support for the MiBridges platform, tax credit assistance, and access to other resources that lead to greater self-sufficiency,” says David Schroeder of the Kent County Essential Needs Task Force (ENTF).

This summer the system is being integrated into the KSSN consortium’s “Bundled Benefits” pilot sites in north Kent County’s Cedar Springs Schools and an urban Grand Rapids Public Schools middle school. Both pilot sites should be ready by the start of the 2011-2012 academic year.

The KSSN was a natural choice for the pilot program as it expands the county-wide network of “community schools” that include onsite Department of Human Services financial assistance workers, along with tax credit help, public and mental health professionals, and other support services.

“The project design—with partner service systems working together—is intended to serve as a clearly defined template for replication in additional KSSN, ENTF, and other outlet sites,” explains Schroeder.


The project is funded by the Kellogg Foundation and led by United Way of Michigan with community partners including the KSSN, Heart of West Michigan’s 2-1-1, Kent County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, along with the ENTF.

For more information contact David Schroeder at dschroeder@hwmuw.org.


www.kentisd.org/kssn/
www.accesskent.com/Health/ENTF/

"Any Door is the Right Door"

United Way Montcalm Ionia Brings Benefits to Rural Population

Amy Rotter, Resource Development VISTA, United Way Montcalm - Ionia Counties

In addition to the state-wide effort to create infrastructure, build capacity and improve efficiency, there is also a local piece to the benefits access puzzle, to ensure that people in our communities are aware of and utilizing the resources that are available to them.

At United Way Montcalm-Ionia Counties, we are working to tailor the goals and resources of the benefits access initiative to best fit and reach the people of our small rural community a great need.

Low incomes, high unemployment rates, and limited transportation are just a few barriers that residents face. Despite the great need, many of our residents are not utilizing the benefits that are available to them.

Some of the reasons for this include:

• the lack of information about how and where to apply,
• the time required to enroll in multiple programs, and
• fears of not qualifying for significant benefits.

The local goal of benefits access for our communities is to break down these barriers by meeting clients where they are, spreading awareness of benefits, and assisting with applications.

Through our established community partnerships, we have set up benefits access stations at our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, as well as at local food pantries.

We screen clients using the Michigan Assistance Referral Service (MARS) questionnaire, available through the MI Bridges website, to show our clients what benefits they may be eligible to receive. After completing the benefits screening, we provide information about each benefit program and the application process. We also provide assistance with the online applications that are available for some benefits.

Through our efforts thus far, we have found that people are much more willing to apply for necessary benefits when they have support. Understanding the application process and the potential value of benefits is a motivating factor.

As our local benefits access efforts unfold, we are collaborating with our community partners to set up more benefits access stations and merging benefits screenings into their client intake processes.

Our goal is to create an “any door is the right door” approach when it comes to serving people in our community. This means that when a person seeks assistance from one agency, they will be connected with a network of additional resources for which they are eligible.

If you're interested in partnering with United Way Montcalm-Ionia Counties or hearing more about our programs, please contact Amy Rotter at 800.417.2622 or arotter.uwm.i@gmail.com.

Asset Building for Your Foster Child

By Ann Stressman, MA

The foster care system today leaves teens that “age out” with few assets for survival. Many end up in jail, homeless, or with nowhere to turn when a minor crisis occurs. In nearly all states, foster care payments stop when the child reaches 18, or graduates from high school. Although some foster parents would willingly keep these young adults in their homes, they cannot because of licensing regulations and agency requirements. 

Recent studies indicate that young adults in America are not truly independent from their parents until age 26, needing money, skills, mentoring or other non-tangibles from their parents for success in building their lives and futures. In some cases, the state provides “Independent Living” or “Transitional” funds for apartment deposits, furniture, and other needs. In many, teens attend Independent Living classes, which can be very helpful, but it is just not enough for any but exceptional children. Therefore, it behooves foster parents to do their best to build assets in these children to help them when they leave their foster homes.


I worked for over 10 years in social work, supervising children in care and licensing foster homes. I also fostered teens for 20 years in my home. Many of my former foster children have kept in contact with me and give me the opportunity to see how they survive on their own. This has led me to develop insight into their needs and failures in their young adulthood. In addition, I raised five birth children and 5 adopted children, which give me a “model” for comparison.

I have learned the following:

• The studies are correct. Parents are needed up to about age 26. Today’s complex society demands a greater length of time than in the past to “learn” to be an independent adult.
• Nearly all foster and adopted children seek out their birth parents when they reach 18 and these parents are frequently unable to help them, lacking in the skills the teens need most.
• Even if contact is limited, they gain much from association with adults who can mentor them, and in fact, probably cannot succeed without a mentor.
• These young adults need a place to call “home,” a place to go on Christmas, grandparents for their babies, and someone to teach them on a continuing basis.
• Many teens spend two or three years rebelling and engaging in self-destructive behaviors, or illegal activities before they mature enough to make a healthy choice and begin rebuilding their lives. During the rebuilding period, they have nowhere to turn. It is that crucial point in their lives that mentors could be the difference in their success or failure.
• Foster or adoptive parents must try to give them coping skills before the age of 18, and can also be the most positive influence in their lives during the first few adult years.
•  Many foster children grew up in poverty, and their families are seriously lacking in the necessary skills for survival.

Dr. Ruby Payne, of aha!Process, Inc. has worked for many years to assist educators with asset-building for their students. Her material has been incorporated into several programs to educate those in businesses, churches, and communities about the needs of those who have lived in poverty.

Payne's book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, (aha!Process, Inc. 1996, revised 2005) has outlined many of the reasons for their lack of success when they attempt entry into the middle-class institutions in today’s world. Foster and adoptive parents should become familiar with those needs and use the knowledge to assist children leaving foster care.

Dr. Payne lists the assets needed for success. They include:

• Financial
• Emotional
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Physical
• Support systems
• Relationships, roll models
• Integrity, Trust
• Motivation, Persistence
• Knowledge of Hidden Rules

The training components for foster parents should include methods of teaching children about these assets, and concrete independent living skills. In my experience, some of the most helpful lessons can be learned in foster care, and carried forward into adulthood. Continuing contact with my own children—birth, adopted and foster—has show me what they learned in my home that helped them the most. Failures can also teach important lessons to us.

In my book, Parenting Someone Else’s Child (aha!Process, Inc. 2004), many of the skills needed are listed. In addition, I developed a structured program for both workers and parents to use for assessment and teaching. It has been gratifying to watch my children succeed and to hear from them what actually helped them do so.

Contact information:

Ann Stressman, annskids@hotmail.com or www.ahaprocess.com

Double Up Food Bucks Offers Healthy Food Incentives

"The Fair Food Network’s Double Up Food Bucks program provides families receiving food assistance benefits -- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- with the means to purchase more Michigan-grown fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The program aims to increase the consumption of healthy food in low-income communities while also creating new sales opportunities for Michigan growers."

Learn how it works for Bridge Card holders.

Here are currently participating Kent County markets:

Grand Rapids Area (Kent County)

Fulton Street Farmers’ Market

1147 East Fulton Street
Days and Times:
Tues, Weds, Fri, Sat 8am – 3pm

Plainfield Township Farmers’ Market

4411 Plainfield Ave, NE
Days and Times:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2 – 7pm

South East Area Farmers’ Market

Garfield Park - 334 Burton, SE
Days and Times:
Saturdays 9am - 1pm

Gerald R. Ford Middle School - 851 Madison SE, 

Days and Times:
 Open Wednesdays 2 - 7pm

Sparta Farmers’ Market

73 N Union Street Sparta, MI
Days and Times:
Wednesdays 2 – 6:30pm

YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids Farmers’ Market

475 Lake Michigan Drive, NW Grand Rapids, MI
Days and Times:
Thursdays 3 – 7pm

Find all participating markets here. 

Building Bridges to Prosperity

Participants at the April 22 Region 3 Roundtable hear about MBAI enhancements.

Michigan Benefits Access Initiative Brings Online Efficiency to MiBridges in 2012

Do you help your clients apply for and access state benefit programs? Are they overwhelmed, tired of trying to be in the right place at the right time with the right paperwork to find the window of opportunity to obtain income support?

Imagine how much easier it would be for all of us if clients could complete one application, one time, and have their eligibility verified for all of the state administered programs: Medicaid; Cash Assistance, Child Development and Care; State Emergency Relief; as well as Food and Energy Assistance.

What if they had access anytime to a single source online portal where they could check their enrollment status, upload documents, exchange electronic correspondence with case workers, and have their continued eligibility determined online—in English, Spanish or Arabic.

This is what MiBridges www.michigan.gov/mibridges will bring to your clients in 2012, thanks to the work of the Michigan Benefits Access Initiative (MBAI) task force, a forty member group that has been working since 2008 to bring close to $1 billion unclaimed benefits back into circulation.

MiBridges Creates One Platform

“Research shows more than 50% of the reason for program failure or dropping out is that people just didn’t know what they were supposed to do,” says Linda Schmidt, Poverty Policy Director at the Michigan Department of Human Services.

“As this system is built out, you will be able to help [clients] figure out exactly what’s going on, report changes, and do whatever they need to do to recertify and maintain their eligibility for the programs that they already have—and to apply directly for all of the DHS programs online.”

The electronic upgrades to the MiBridges system are scheduled for completion from December 2011 through March 2012. The work is being done by Deloitte with funding from the Michigan Association of United Ways.

Getting to the Other Side

“The vision is to get us all on the same page with the same piece of technology...to get the income supports into families so that they can complete their training, get that better job, and really make progress against poverty,” explains Nancy Lindman, Director of Public Policy & Partnerships at Michigan Association of United Ways.

“This doesn’t replace the social work,” emphasizes Lindman. “But we need to move people into financial stability.”

Getting Ready for the Change

Currently MBAI is working to bring together two groups of people: those who help people with the paper booklet applications; and those who have experience with online applications. The goal is that when the system rolls out within a year, everyone who works on benefits access will be ready.

MBAI is forming strong partnerships with a growing number of nonprofit networks, such as Voices for Action, to integrate into community initiatives.

The MBAI three-phase outreach plan will help local community-based organizations prepare for the new technology.

1. Recruit non-profit networks that work with clients on a daily basis as benefits access sites.
2. Train staff and volunteers so they feel comfortable with the MiBridges system and assisting people with benefits.
3. Bring in additional funding to clear away barriers for these networks.

The Intended Benefits

Nancy Lindman presents MBAI's
MIBridges enhancements
in Grand Rapids.

Once the system is up and running DHS expects to see increased benefits enrollment, reduced workload, less recertification errors, and fewer re-applications.

With the MiBridges technology update creating more stable income supports, the “real” work can succeed—helping those who are truly in need cross over from poverty to prosperity.

For information about MBAI or MiBridges benefits access training, contact Nancy Lindman, Michigan Association of United Ways (shown at right) nlindman@uwmich.org or 517.371.4360.♦

Download a 2011 MBAI fact sheet.
Download the 2009 MBAI Executive Summary Report.
Download the April 2011 MBAI presentation.

 Michigan Benefits Access Initiative (MBAI) Partners

• Community Economic Development Association
• Department of Corrections - Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative
• Department of Human Services - Voices for Action
• Elder Law of Michigan
• Food Bank Council of Michigan
• Michigan 2-1-1
• Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
• Michigan Community Action Agency Association
• Michigan Community College Association
• Michigan Head Start Association
• Michigan Primary Care Association
• United Way for Southeastern Michigan

New America Foundation News - The Assets Report 2011

 

Colleagues,  

Every year the Asset Building Program conducts an analysis of the federal budget to provide a more complete understanding of how the federal government encourages the accumulation of assets for families up and down the economic ladder. We seek to shine a light on what policy levers are deployed, who benefits from these programs and policy efforts, and how recent legislation potentially alters the landscape.

In that pursuit, we present The Assets Report 2011, an assessment of federal policies and programs to promote asset building opportunities. Our analysis finds:   

• In Fiscal Year 2012, the President's budget proposes a total of $519 billion in resources to promote asset-building opportunities. This includes $46 billion in direct spending and $473 billion in subsidies delivered through the tax code.  
   
• The federal government will allocate $209 billion in resources to subsidize homeownership and $147 billion for retirement security. $57 billion will be devoted to post-secondary education, $357 million for entrepreneurship, and $106 billion to savings and investment activities.  
   
• The total tax subsidies for asset building in Fiscal Year 2012 are worth $473 billion, which overwhelmingly accrue to middle- and upper-income Americans.  
   
• Tax refunds, which are returned to many households after they file their taxes, represent a significant asset for many families. The combined value of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit is $65 billion, $46 billion of which are delivered as tax refunds. 

By any account, these are substantial sums; however, the efficacy of these policies is less contingent on the scope of the resources being allocated as the scope of households who benefit from those resources. Those families with lower incomes and fewer resources receive a small fraction of the total resources in play, while those with higher earnings receive the lion's share.

The release of this year's report coincides with the broader consideration of federal spending priorities in the context of deficit reduction. As Congress and the Administration discuss options for long-term fiscal reform, they should recognize that targeted policies which enable a greater degree of savings by those at the bottom of the economic ladder are investments that pay off down the line. Not only can these types of policies increase financial security of families still struggling to rebuild their balance sheets two years after the official end of the Great Recession but they can help families achieve economic mobility and invest in their future. We invite you to consult another of our publications, The Assets Agenda, for a fuller description of ideas on how to implement a more inclusive set of savings and asset-building policies to benefit all Americans, but especially those with lower-incomes and fewer resources.

Sincerely,   

Reid Cramer

Director, Asset Building Program

New America Foundation

 www.NewAmerica.net 

Transportation Equity Network News - Help Us Protect Passenger Rail

Help Us Protect Passenger Rail This week, Congressman John Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced a draft bill, the Competition for Intercity Passenger Rail in America Act of 2011.  This bill privatizes Amtrak service in the Northeast Corridor, weakens Amtrak service in the rest of the country, and promotes privatization of the new high-speed and intercity rail program throughout the United States. Let your Member of Congress know that privatizing the rail programs in this country is unacceptable and that full funding of Amtrak and the high-speed and intercity rail program in FY 2012 will lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs in this country. Help us support passenger rail and job growth. Write your Member of Congress today. A Failed Concept We don't need to speculate about the possible effects of passenger rail privatization. Britain privatized its rail service in the early 1990's and the experiment has largely been a failure, leading to higher fares, increased costs, and little incentive to modernize infrastructure. The British government now spends more subsidizing a series of commerically unsuccessful rail operators than it did simply running the publicly-owned British Railways. Privatization of passenger rail in this country is unacceptable and we need to make that clear to Congress. Send a message today. Ask your Member of Congress to stand with Amtrak against privatization. Common-Sense Rules Unfortunately, privatization is a growing trend in cash-starved municipalities nationwide. With this in mind, Senator Dick Durbin has introduced a bill to help bring transparency and oversight to the sale of public transit systems and other infrastructure. The bill (Protecting Taxpayers in Transportation Asset Transfers Act S1230) would set important new precedents regarding the disclosure of anticipated effects on wages, employment and work rules. We at TEN applaud Senator Durbin's focus on worker protection and transparency and have signed a letter of support for this important legislation. Capitol Hill Updates We at TEN are pleased to announce a new resource designed to keep you informed about transportation issues being discussed in Washington. They're called Capitol Hill Updates and our second issue goes soon. Click here to sign up for future updates. Click here to read them on our website. Call for Papers The Transportation Research Board is looking for papers relating to the health impacts of transportation policies, procedures, and actions. Click here for more information. Employment Opportunity TEN affiliate United Congregations of Metro-East is looking for a Lead Organizer in the St. Louis area. Click here for more information. Follow Us on Twitter Join Us on Facebook

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