Operation Food Search Inc

PURPOSE: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING AWARDS ARE AUTHORIZED UNDER THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2022 PUBLIC LAW 117-328 AND THE EXPLANATORY STATEMENT FOR DIVISION L OF THAT ACT. PROJECTS SELECTED FOR COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING ARE LISTED IN THE JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT (JES) THAT ACCOMPANIES A SPECIFIC FISCAL YEAR’S APPROPRIATIONS ACT OR CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. THE JES LISTS PROJECT, RECIPIENT, STATE, AMOUNT AND CONGRESSIONAL SPONSOR.; ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING AWARD PROJECTS INCLUDE A WIDE VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES THAT RESULT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES. HUD WILL NOT KNOW THE FULL SCOPE OF THE PROJECT UNTIL THE RECIPIENT SUBMITS THE REQUIRED PROJECT NARRATIVE AND CONFIRMS ALIGNMENT WITH THE LANGUAGE AS PROVIDED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. TO FIND THE DETAILS OF THE GRANT AWARD AS WRITTEN WITHIN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD USE THE FOLLOWING LINK AND PATH SELECTIONS TO GET TO THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING GRANTS HTTPS://WWW.HUD.GOV/PROGRAM_OFFICES/COMM_PLANNING/EDI-GRANTS, SELECT THE FISCAL YEAR OF INTEREST, SCROLL DOWN TO PROGRAM LAWS AND REGULATIONS, UNDER FISCAL YEAR 20XX CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 20XX: CONGRESSIONAL RECORD (JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT).; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT AS DESCRIBED IN THE JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT (JES) PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SUBSEQUENT APPROVED PROJECT NARRATIVE.; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PROJECT BENEFICIARIES ARE THE INDIVIDUALS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AWARDED GRANT FUNDS OR SERVED BY THE ENTITIES THAT ARE AWARDED GRANT FUNDS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE JES RECIPIENT OR PROJECT DESCRIPTION SECTIONS.; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES ARE UNKNOWN AT THE TIME OF AWARD.

MATERNAL PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION PROGRAM - OPERATION FOOD SEARCH (OFS), A COMMUNITY-BASED HUNGER RELIEF ORGANIZATION SERVING THE GREATER ST. LOUIS REGION, REQUESTS FUNDING THROUGH THE MATERNAL PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION PROGRAM (MP3) TO EXPAND NOURISHING HEALTHY STARTS (NHS), AN ESTABLISHED MATERNAL PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION AND NUTRITION SUPPORT PROGRAM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS AND REGIONAL HEALTHCARE PARTNERS. PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME AND UNDERSERVED URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH RATES OF FOOD INSECURITY, INFANT MORTALITY, LOW BIRTHWEIGHT, AND PRETERM BIRTH. FOOD INSECURITY DURING PREGNANCY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED MATERNAL STRESS, DEPRESSION, AND ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES. MANY COMMUNITIES IN THE SERVICE AREA ARE FOOD DESERTS WHERE TRANSPORTATION LIMITS ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD AND PRENATAL CARE. NHS PILOT DATA FOUND THAT TWO-THIRDS OF PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED VERY LOW FOOD SECURITY AND MORE THAN ONE-THIRD SCREENED POSITIVE FOR CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AT ENROLLMENT, EVEN AMONG THOSE ALREADY CONNECTED TO PRENATAL CARE. THE PROJECT BUILDS ON STRONG REGIONAL ASSETS, INCLUDING OFS’S ESTABLISHED HUNGER-RELIEF NETWORK, HEALTHCARE PARTNERS WITH OBSTETRIC SERVICES AND FOOD INSECURITY SCREENING, AN EXPERIENCED MATERNAL HEALTH WORKFORCE, AND A LONGSTANDING COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP WITH WASHU THAT HAS GENERATED PEER-REVIEWED EVIDENCE SUPPORTING FOOD-IS-MEDICINE PROGRAMS DURING PREGNANCY AND POSTPARTUM. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS IDENTIFIED NEEDS BY EXPANDING ACCESS TO PRODUCE AND NUTRITION EDUCATION DURING PREGNANCY AND THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD THROUGH TWO INTEGRATED TRACKS. FIRST, PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE $20 PRODUCE VOUCHERS REDEEMABLE AT OFS’S METROMARKET MOBILE GROCERY MARKET DURING RECURRING COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND PICKUP EVENTS, HOSTED TWICE MONTHLY AT EACH REGIONAL HEALTHCARE PARTNER SITES, FOR APPROXIMATELY EIGHT EVENTS EACH MONTH ACROSS THE REGION. SECOND, A HOME DELIVERY TRACK WILL PROVIDE BIWEEKLY DELIVERIES OF FRESH, FROZEN, AND SHELF-STABLE PRODUCE TO UP TO 150 CONCURRENT PARTICIPANTS WITH MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS OR SIGNIFICANT TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS. AT 12 MONTHS POSTPARTUM, DELIVERY PARTICIPANTS WILL TRANSITION TO A STEP-DOWN MODEL OF REDUCED-FREQUENCY DELIVERIES, VOUCHER PICKUP EVENTS, OR A COMBINATION BASED ON CLINICAL NEEDS AND PARTICIPANT PREFERENCE. NUTRITION EDUCATION WILL BE INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM THROUGH DIETITIAN-LED CLASSES, COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS, FOOD TASTINGS, AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS INCLUDED WITH EVERY VOUCHER REDEMPTION AND HOME DELIVERY. BENEFITS WILL BEGIN DURING PREGNANCY, IDEALLY BEFORE 16 WEEKS GESTATION, AND CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD AND PROJECT DURATION. THE PROJECT WILL SERVE APPROXIMATELY 500 PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME AND UNDERSERVED URBAN AND RURAL AREAS OF THE ST. LOUIS REGION. HEALTHCARE PARTNERS WILL INTEGRATE FOOD INSECURITY SCREENING AND REFERRALS INTO PRENATAL CARE WORKFLOWS, HOST EVENTS, SUPPORT PARTICIPANT RETENTION THROUGH CLINICAL TOUCHPOINTS, AND CONTRIBUTE OUTCOME DATA THROUGH DATA-SHARING AGREEMENTS. WASHU WILL LEAD A RE-AIM EVALUATION USING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE METHODS TO ASSESS IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOMES WITH BOTH PARTICIPANTS AND IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS. SUSTAINABILITY PLANNING WILL BEGIN EARLY USING A DESIGNING FOR DISSEMINATION AND SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK AND WILL INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS PLAN EXPLORING HEALTHCARE FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING MEDICAID MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATIONS. RESULTS WILL BE SHARED THROUGH RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY CHANNELS, INCLUDING AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAYBOOK, TO SUPPORT REPLICATION OF THE MODEL IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AND TO INFORM NATIONAL MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH PRACTICE.

FARM TO SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM