NATIONAL NUTRITION INCENTIVE NETWORK
Building a Relationship
with Your State
Agriculture Department
State agriculture departments primarily exist to promote the livelihood of farmers
and the agriculture industry in each state, as well as bolster the rural economy.
Nutrition incentive programs support the state’s farmers and producers, so there
is natural synergy between the two groups. NNIN members from across the
country have been using the following strategies to form partnerships with their
state agriculture departments that drive forward the goals of both groups, and
build a better food and farming economy for the state’s residents.
Getting Started
Network Member Highlight
New Hampshire Food Bank
Why Build a Relationship?
Building a relationship with your state agriculture department
is an important early step to grow the impact of your
nutrition incentive program and build toward statewide reach
Partnerships can lead to:
•
Access to grants for market/store infrastructure or
incentive program funding;
•
Connections with producers in new parts of the state;
•
Resources for marketing/branding of products grown in
your state; and
•
Increased political will within your state government for
state funding for nutrition incentives.
Who to Contact
•
Check whether your state ag department has a Buy Local
coordinator – this may be a good person with whom to
build an initial relationship.
•
If your state has a farmers market association, find it
on the Farmers Market Coalition’s website, and ask
whether they have a suggested contact.
•
Search the Farmers Market Coalition’s list of state
agency contacts that work with farmers markets.
•
Find contact and background information for your state’s
ag department on the National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture website.
How To Set Up a Meeting
•
Call or send an email saying you would like to share
information about your program and how it impacts your
local farmers and producers.
•
A good way to present an initial meeting is that you
would like to share information about any new programs
or updates. Data about SNAP, WIC, FMNP and other
incentive dollars may interest them, particularly if you can
translate that into what it means for farmer sales.
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www.wholesomewave.org
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New Hampshire is one of a growing number of states
home to a statewide network of nutrition incentive
programs—more than 30 in 2015 and growing this
season. The New Hampshire Food Bank, is the
‘backbone’ organization for the groups in the NH
Nutrition Incentive Network that work collaboratively
to support and expand Granite State Market
Match, the brand for the state’s program. Market
Match doubles SNAP dollars at farmers markets,
CSAs, and mobile markets, with the incentive going
toward fruit and vegetables. The network has many
meaningful partnerships, including with the state’s
Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food (DAMF).
The department’s Commissioner recently featured
the Market Match program—praising its benefits for
both food-insecure residents and small farmers—in
an article on their website and in a weekly DAMF
publication. The DAMF also creates and publishes a
farmers market directory, highlighting all markets
that offer the program.
203.226.1112
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[email protected]
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June 2016
Building a Relationship: The Meeting
Tips for the Meeting
•
Be willing to travel to their office,
even if it’s far away.
•
Be respectful and on time; don’t
take up more time than scheduled.
•
Keep the first meeting purely
informational – don’t go in with a
list of demands, but do have some
“asks” in your back pocket if they
want to know how they can help.
Arrive Prepared
Bring Materials and Data: Provide
handouts and flyers, brochures, or other
promotional materials that highlight your
program’s accomplishments, data, and
outcomes. Bring concise information
that will make sense to someone who is
not generally exposed to information/
concerns about SNAP or other federal
benefit programs. Demonstrate through
stories and numbers how your program
increased sales for producers in your
state, supported the state’s agricultural
industries, or helped local economies in
rural areas.
Identify Shared Goals: Identify the
specific goals and activities of your
state’s ag department, by reading their
website, news releases, and social
media, or by talking to those who work
with them closely. Discuss shared goals
and opportunities—and ways your work
is complimentary to theirs. In doing so,
you can begin cultivating champions for
nutrition incentives within the agency,
even if they may be focused on the
benefits for farmers and less so on the
healthy eating or food security goals of
your program.
Consider Message and Messengers:
Once you understand the department’s
goals, it will help you to craft the right
messages and identify ideal messengers.
Consider inviting vendors or producers
who benefit from your program to the
meeting, as department leadership
and staff will likely welcome their
input, as they represent their primary
constituency.
Create Partnership Opportunities:
As you build your relationship, identify
opportunities for collaboration, such as
building a statewide incentive program
brand or applying jointly for a federal
grant. Make sure to give credit to state
leaders who have taken the extra step to
support your work.
Moving Forward
Additional Resource
Follow-up After the Meeting
Following up is the most important thing you can do to grow
and maintain a strong relationship with your ag department:
•
Invite them to come to your market or store for the
program launch or another lively day during the season;
don’t forget to invite them to attend events and
fundraisers as well.
•
Add them to any newsletter contact lists about your
market and program.
•
Continue to stay in touch by sending periodic updates on
sales, news about program growth, and photos.
•
If you are working on a press release, invite them to be
quoted or include language that shows them in a positive
light; then you will have an opportunity to follow up with
them to share the good news.
The Network’s Partnering with Your Local/
State SNAP Agency brief can help you begin to
build relationships with your state and local SNAP
agencies. Many of the takeaways for partnering
with the agriculture department will be relevant to
SNAP agencies as well. However, the ag department
represents a distinct audience with a unique
perspective; you may want to highlight
different
Photo
by Clara Moore
aspects of your program based on the priorities of
your state agriculture department.
Log on to the National Nutrition Incentive
Network’s online resource library, under ‘Program
Design and Implementation,’ to download the brief.
Contact Us
Wholesome Wave staff can partner with your organization to think through the best messages and strategy for building these
relationships. Contact us at [email protected].
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Building a Relationship with Your State Agriculture Department