Attachment N Social Marketing and PSE Descriptions from SNAP Plan Guidance FY 8-1 2018

OMB CONTROL NO.: 0584-0523

EXPIRATION DATE: 09/30/2019

Attachment N Social Marketing and PSE Descriptions from SNAP Plan Guidance FY 2018

Social Marketing Programs

(Excerpt from p. 32)

Social marketing can be an important component of some SNAP-Ed interventions and may target the individual in large groups, organizational/institutional, and societal levels. Social marketing emphasizes:

• Targeting an identified segment of the SNAP-Ed eligible audience;

• Identifying needs of the target audience and associated behaviors and perceptions about and the reasons for and against changing behavior;

• Identifying target behavior to address;

• Interacting with the target audience to test the message, materials, approach, and delivery channel to ensure that these are understood and are likely to lead to behavior change; and

• Adjusting messages and delivery channels through continuous feedback using evaluation data and target audience engagement.

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Interventions

(Excerpt from p. 33)

The DGA recognizes that everyone has a role in helping support healthy eating patterns in multiple settings nationwide, from home to school to work to communities in which people live, learn, work, shop, and play. PSE change efforts can be implemented across a continuum and may be employed on a limited scale as part of the multi-level interventions of Approach Two or in a more comprehensive way through the community and public health approaches of Approach Three or a mix of any combination of all three approaches. As previously stated, public health approaches are community-focused, population based interventions aimed at preventing a disease or condition, or limiting death or disability from a disease or condition. Community and public health approaches may include three complementary and integrated elements: education, marketing/promotion, and PSE interventions. Using these three elements helps create conditions where people are encouraged to act on their education and awareness and where the healthy choice becomes the easy and preferred choice, which is facilitated through changes in policy, systems, and the environment. By focusing activities on settings with large proportions of low-income individuals and using evidence-based interventions that are based on formative research with SNAP-Ed audiences, public health approaches can reach large numbers of low-income Americans and produce meaningful impact.

The definitions and examples below can contribute to States understanding more fully SNAP-Ed’s role in implementing PSEs. Policy: A written statement of an organizational position, decision, or course of action. Ideally policies describe actions, resources, implementation, evaluation, and enforcement. Policies are made in the public, non-profit, and business sectors. Policies will help to guide behavioral changes for audiences served through SNAP-Ed programming. Example: A school or school district that serves a majority low-income student body writes a policy that allows the use of school facilities for recreation by children, parents, and community members during non-school hours. The local SNAP-Ed provider can be a member of a coalition of community groups that work with the school to develop this policy. Systems: Systems changes are unwritten, ongoing, organizational decisions or changes that result in new activities reaching large proportions of people the organization serves. Systems changes alter how the organization or network of organizations conducts business. An organization may adopt a new intervention, reallocate other resources, or in significant ways modify its direction to benefit low income consumers in qualifying sites and communities. Systems changes may precede or follow a written policy. Example: A local food policy council creates a farm-to-fork system that links farmers and local distributors with new retail or wholesale customers in low-income settings. The local SNAP-Ed provider could be an instrumental member of this food policy council providing insight into the needs of the low-income target audience. Environmental: Includes the built or physical environments which are visual/observable, but may include economic, social, normative or message environments. Modifications in settings where food is sold, served, or distributed may promote healthy food choices. Social changes may include shaping attitudes among administrators, teachers, or service providers about time allotted for school meals or physical activity breaks. Economic changes may include financial disincentives or incentives to encourage a desired behavior, such as purchasing more fruits and vegetables. Note that SNAP-Ed funds may not be used to provide the cash value of financial incentives, but SNAP-Ed funds can be used to engage farmers markets and retail outlets to collaborate with other groups and partner with them. Example: A food retailer serving SNAP participants or other low-income persons increases the variety of fruits and vegetables it sells and displays them in a manner to encourage consumer selection of healthier food options based on the Dietary

Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. A SNAP-Ed provider can provide consultation and technical assistance to the retailer on expanding its fruit and vegetable offerings and behavioral techniques to position produce displays to reach the target audience. Taken together, education, marketing, and PSE changes are more effective than any of these strategies alone for preventing overweight and obesity. While PSE changes have the potential to reach more people than can be served through individual or group contacts, PSE change efforts will provide additional benefit. This is done by combining them with reinforcing educational and marketing strategies used in SNAP-Ed or conducted by partners such as other FNS programs or CDC, as examples. One way to envision the role of SNAP-Ed is that of a provider of consultation and technical assistance in creating appropriate PSE changes that benefit low-income households and communities. The organization that receives the consultation and technical assistance is ultimately responsible for adopting, maintaining, and enforcing the PSE change. For example, as requirements of the HHFKA are implemented in child care and school settings (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/child-nutrition-programs), SNAP-Ed can build on and complement required changes in menu standards, competitive foods, training, and school wellness policies. Specifically, this is accomplished by providing consultation and technical assistance, while not taking on or supplanting the responsibilities of the cognizant State and local education agencies.

SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework Logic Model