Final Paper 3 Birds Berry Farm

Nicole Guyette

And Partner

Needs Assessment

Service Learning Site Community:

3 Birds Berry Farm and the community of Blacksburg, VA, surrounding towns, and Virginia Tech student

community.

Target Audience:

This needs assessment will address the families living around or beneath the poverty line in Blacksburg,

VA as well as other towns located in Montgomery County. Montgomery County has a predominantly white

population (eighty eight percent). However, it also consists of a five percent Asian population, four percent black

population, and three percent Hispanic population with the remaining population consisting of mixed races. (Food

Environment Atlas) The county makes less, on average, compared to Virginia as a whole. Montgomery County’s per

capita income is $25,821 compared to Virginia’s $34,307 and their average household income is $47,491 compared

to Virginia’s $64,118. (Food Environment Atlas)

Montgomery County can be considered a low income county. Twenty nine percent of the population is

classified as low income. Twenty percent are considered to be living in poverty. (Virginia Community Health Atlas)

Due to these financial limitations in this community, there are many people in the county receiving food assistance.

With eleven percent of the population receiving SNAP and two percent of the population receiving WIC assistance,

many members of Montgomery County struggle to meet their basic food needs. (Food Environment Atlas) While

these numbers may not seem high, there is a significant amount of the population who are eligible for food

assistance but do not participate in the programs. For instance, just under twenty nine percent of the children

population are eligible for free lunch and 8.1% of the children population is eligible for reduced price lunch.

However, only about nine percent of the population actually utilize these benefits. (Food Environment Atlas)

The county is also struggling with health and nutrition concerns. A high portion of the population can be

considered overweight or obese. Twenty nine percent of the adult population is classified as obese. The obesity trend

does not stop with adults-- eight percent of the adolescent (high school aged) population can also be considered

obese. Finally, the low income preschool obesity rate is also high, at around fifteen percent. (Food Environment

Atlas) These obesity statistics are alarming. Obesity can be caused by many factors, but nutrition is one of the top

contributors to weight outcomes. Increased fruit and vegetable intake, in particular, has been correlated with healthy

weights in children and adults. Across the nation, eighty four percent of the entire population consumes less than the

recommended intake of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. There is a significant amount of high-school-

aged youth that do not consume enough fruits or vegetables as well. National statistics show that eighty eight

percent of adolescents eat less than the recommended intake of vegetables and eighty seven percent consume less

than the recommended intake of fruits. (Virginia Community Health Atlas)

3 Birds Berry Farm provides low cost U-Pick raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. During the picking

season (usually June through late September), they open their farm to the public at least three days per week in the

afternoons and on weekends. Bill and Irene, the farm owners, believe in “green” and healthy farming methods. They

do not use pesticides on their berries but instead only use natural methods to keep their produce pest free. These

farmers strongly care about improving their community through making healthier food accessible and they are

willing to do whatever it takes to make their farm’s positive community impact grow. (3 Birds Berry Farm)

Increased attendance at the farm can have a beneficial impact on the community as a whole, but especially

in the lower-income population who are at greater risk for obesity. With a nutrition intervention program put in

place, low-income community members could gain access to fresh berries for themselves and their families which

would cause an increase of fruit consumption throughout this population. For these reasons, we decided to target the

low income families located in Montgomery County, and more specifically Blacksburg, Virginia. The high levels of

poverty, obesity, and malnutrition make this area the perfect target population for a nutrition intervention. The

farm’s low prices and healthy produce have the potential to provide the population with low-cost fruit that could

drastically impact the community’s health status. With all of this data to support the nutritional deficit in this area,

Montgomery County’s low-income population is the perfect target audience to guide this needs assessment.

Goals of Needs Assessment:

To understand why attendance at the farm is not increasing and how we can effectively increase participation and

awareness of the farm for impoverished members of the Blacksburg community.

Objectives of Needs Assessment:

1. Conduct surveys of key stakeholders. This will allow us to understand what is important to them and what

improvements they would like to see.

2. Conduct a focus group consisting of low income community members. This will allow us to understand

what is important to them and what could increase their attendance at the berry farm during picking season.

3. Administer a food-frequency questionnaires to determine the nutritional state of our target audience as it

relates to fruit consumption.

4. Determine what methods and improvements could be utilized by and at the farm to increase attendance and

community participation.

Key Stakeholders:

1. Bill Sembello (Owner and Manager)

2. Irene Lamb (Owner and Manager)

3. Lily (Daughter of Owners)

4. Volunteers (Community members, college students)

Needs Assessment Methods:

A survey was completed by 18 stakeholders to the farm. The survey evaluated three main topics: the farm’s

success, its areas for improvement, and potential methods to improve the farm. The survey was completed through

an online survey program, wherein the participants responded in short-response format. The access to an adequate

population of survey participants was restricted by the limited volunteer base at the farm. Obtaining contact

information of infrequent farm volunteers was difficult because of the needs assessment team’s time limitations and

the farmers’ lack of outside contact with many farm volunteers, specifically student volunteers. This resulted in a

small participant sample for his survey. Given the small sample size evaluated from this survey, and the subjective

evaluation of this data, the results obtained from this survey should not be considered statistically significant.

Due to limited authorized access to low-income populations (for privacy reasons), a diet analysis of 20

Virginia Tech students and faculty was performed. A food-frequency questionnaire was used to determine each

participant’s fruit intake over the course of a week. The analysis was distributed through an online survey, making it

convenient for the students and faculty to complete at home. The students and faculty participating in this analysis

ranged across five academic majors. The individuals who participated in this analysis were volunteers and not

chosen through any randomized method, so this could have potentially created bias in the data collected.

Due to the limitations for accessing our target population without breaking privacy barriers and with the

authority of Virginia Tech students, the public forum group created was not the most accurate and applicable focus

group for our target population. However, a public forum composed of Virginia Tech foodservice employees who

independently earn a salary below the poverty line was the closest approximation to our target population that could

be formulated. We guided discussions about our participants’ overall thoughts about 3 Birds Berry Farm and berry

picking and their concerns about participating in berry picking at the farm.

Working on the farm during the off-season provided great opportunity to get to know the owners and

fellow volunteers, however, customers were not present which limited the data that could be collected from current

farm customers.

Needs Assessment Results

Survey Results

Our eighteen survey participants were all stakeholders and included the farmers Bill and Irene, as well as

frequent and new volunteers to the farm. Of these eighteen participants, twelve were Virginia Tech student

volunteers from various campus organizations. There were four survey participants who are from the Blacksburg

community and are long-time volunteers to the farm. While student volunteers make up the largest portion of

individuals surveyed (sixty seven percent), they are also among the newest volunteers to the farm.. These survey

participants were predicted to offer the freshest impressions of the farm in its current state. The four survey

participants who are members of the Blacksburg community (twenty two percent) have the most experience and

knowledge related to the farm’s growth over the past few years. The farmers, Bill and Irene, bear the greatest

dependence on this farm’s success. This mixture of perspectives allowed for a variety of responses to this survey.

When asked to reflect on the strengths of 3 Birds Berry Farm, sixty seven percent of the responses involved

the overall welcoming and friendly atmosphere that the farm provides, while seventeen percent of responses

involved the strong perceived dedication of the farmers. The following question asked what participants believe are

some of the limitations that prevent members of the community from coming to 3 Birds Berry Farm to pick berries.

All of the responses to this question involved limitations in physically getting to the farm (i.e. transportation,

convenience, locating the farm). As a solution to this problem, survey participants recommended that the farm

implement some kind of transportation service, make it more kid-friendly (e.g. more activities for kids) for the

convenience of parents, and to set up more clearly marked signage for potential customers to locate the farm from

the main road (i.e Prices Fork Road).

Participants were asked how they would improve the picking experience at the farm-- forty four percent

suggested that there was a need for more frequent and thorough weeding around the berry bushes. Another

seventeen percent suggested that parents need to be shown ways they can involve their child in the berry picking

activities or other activities at the farm. This data ties into the convenience for parents to come to the farm,

especially if they bring their children. This issue may be of special concern for low-income families who may only

be able to come to the farm if they bring their children with them.

Only twenty eight percent of the participants believed it would be beneficial for community partners to

come to the farm during picking hours to encourage picking participation. Specifically, survey participants

recommended that community partners, such as retirement communities, the YMCA, and Blacksburg Transit, be

involved with transportation of community members to the farm. The issue of transportation is of particular

importance for low-income individuals who may not be able to afford or access the means of transportation

currently required to get to the farm.

A total of eighty nine percent of survey participants suggested that incorporating on-site berry workshops

and/or providing berry related recipes and preparation recommendations to farm customers would increase farm

participation and potentially create more returning customers. These participants suggested that they perceive the

berry preparation knowledge of the current customer base to be moderate to low, indicating a possible need for

educational materials for customers. Essentially, if customers have the knowledge they need to utilize berries in

recipes and incorporate them in meals, they are more likely to purchase berries, overall.

Another major issue discussed in survey responses was the need for more farm advertisement. eighty three

percent of survey participants indicated that the farm was lacking proper advertisement to the community. Having

effective advertisement for the farm to low-income populations, in particular, is currently a primary limitation to

increasing participation of these populations at the farm.

Diet Analysis Results

The food-frequency questionnaire, combined with additional survey questions provided the following

results:

When asked about average weekly fruit consumption, eighty percent of the survey participants were not

consuming the recommended servings of fruit over the course of a week, on average. This was based on the standard

of two to two and a half cups of fruits per day, as recommended by the USDA for most adults.

Public Forum Results

Of the ten public forum participants involved, none had attended or even heard of 3 Birds Berry Farm

before. Most participants claimed that berry picking is an activity that they would enjoy participating if the

opportunity was made accessible to them (e.g. transportation to the farm, during hours of the day they are available).

Nearly all of the participants discussed an interest in learning how to incorporate berries into their diet in an

affordable way, such as recipes, preparation demonstrations, and cost comparison to grocery store prices. About half

of the participants conveyed a hesitance to participate in berry picking at this farm unless they had family and

friends participating in the experience with them. There was no particular interest in any community partners

coming to the farm during picking hours, however, the forum participants with kids said that they would feel better

about bringing their children to the farm if they knew how to get their kids involved in the process and felt it was a

safe kid-friendly environment.

Discussion of Results

One of the main dietary issues identified for this target population (Montgomery County) is their high rates

of obesity--twenty nine percent of adults, eighty percent of adolescents, and fifteen percent of preschool-aged

children as compared to the Virginia’s overall obesity rate of around twenty six percent for adults and eleven percent

for adolescents, and the national obesity rate of about thirty six percent for adults, seventeen percent for children.

The obesity rates of Montgomery County may be below the national average, but they are above the Virginia

average, which makes this health issue still of great concern.

The obesity rates and overall health status of this community could be greatly impacted in a positive way

by increasing their fruit and vegetable consumption. The dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 discusses the

importance of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption for both children and adults. Increasing fruit and

vegetable intake will both increase one’s vitamin, mineral, and fiber intake, as well as help with weight management

when calorie-dense foods are replaced with fruits and vegetables. (Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010)

Some of the potential contributors to this community’s high obesity rate could be related to the high

poverty rates, low-food access for many individuals, and lack of nutrition education in this population. All of these

risk factors can be addressed with a nutrition intervention program involving 3 Birds Berry Farm. By increasing

transportation to the farm by utilizing the services of community partners, as suggested by our stakeholders and

focus group participants, we can increase the access of fresh fruit to our target population. Despite the competitive

cost of the berries at 3 Birds Farm, as compared to the grocery stores in the target population’s area, additional

financial support may be needed for our target population to afford the berries at the farm. This barrier could be

broken by getting SNAP involved with the farm’s services. If SNAP users could use their SNAP benefits at the

farm, our target population would have an even greater incentive to participate in berry picking at the farm. To

address the issue of nutrition education, the farm could provide a greater abundance of educational resources and

activities for pickers to learn more about berries and how to prepare them. The farm’s stakeholders and focus group

participants suggested that berry preparation demonstrations and berry recipes provided at the farm would be great

tools to increase berry picking participation.

Another community-related issue that may be contributing to the obesity rates in Montgomery County are

the community’s cultural norms around food. As indicated by the food-frequency questionnaire distributed to

community members, most (eighty percent) participants in the questionnaire are not meeting their fruit requirements

as recommended by the USDA. Some potential explanations for this outcome could be a lack of knowledge about

preparing fruits and incorporating fruit in their diet, dislike of fruit, inability to afford fruit, and potentially, lack of

knowledge about their daily fruit needs. Again, the nutrition knowledge deficit regarding fruit consumption and

preparation could be addressed by the berry farm through educational resources. Also, by getting community

partners involved with the farm, such as SNAP , YMCA, and WIC, these groups could help address the nutritional

importance of fruit and potentially direct their clients to 3 Birds Berry Farm as a means to obtain fresh berries--

potentially using these organization’s financial benefits for clients--and additional educational opportunities for

them and their families.

The issue of convenience for families with small children, also came up in the survey and focus group as a

potential limitation to our target population participating in berry picking at 3 Birds Berry Farm. Mothers may be

concerned about their child’s safety when picking berries on the farm and they may not feel like the farm would be a

kid-friendly environment. The farm has started to address this issue by providing children play areas on the farm,

within site of the mothers while they pick berries. The farm simply needs to advertise the opportunities for children

at the farm and provide worried parents with guidelines for involving their child in the picking process.

To summarize the results gathered from this needs assessment, here are the decided recommendations for

addressing the needs of this target population:

● Increase economic accessibility to participation in berry picking at 3 Birds Berry Farm by getting

community partners like SNAP and YMCA involved to provide affordable transportation to the

farm and encourage these partners to allow use of their monetary food benefits (SNAP, WIC) at

the farm.

● Expand the opportunities and activities for engaging children at the farm and advertise these

opportunities and activities to mothers in order to increase the convenience of berry picking

participation for low-income families.

● Increase advertisement for 3 Birds Berry Farm. Encourage community partners such as SNAP and

WIC to recommend 3 Birds Berry Farm to their clients as a fun opportunity for them and their

family. Improve advertisement for the farm off the main road (Prices Fork) to increase local

awareness of the farm.

● Provide berry pickers at 3 Birds Berry Farm nutrition education opportunities through berry

preparation workshops, recipes, and basic berry nutrition resources to help increase the target

population’s comfort and motivation for incorporating berries into their diet.

Resources:

3 Birds Berry Farm. Available at http://3birdsberryfarm.com/. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Atlas. Drug and Nutrition Website. Available at: http://www.atlasdrugandnutrition.com/. Accessed November 15,

2013.

Blacksburg Transit. Accessed at: http://www.blacksburg.gov/index.aspx?page=791. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Boyle MA. Community Nutrition in Action: An Entrepreneurial Approach. Published in 2013. Accessed November

20, 2013.

Montgomery County, Virginia. United States Census Bureau Website. Accessed at:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51121.html. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Food and Nutrition Service Website. Available at:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap. Accessed November 15, 2013.

United States Department of Agriculture. Available at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome. Accessed

November 15, 2013.

YMCA at Virginia Tech. The YMCA Website. Accessed at: http://www.vtymca.org/index.html. Accessed

November 15, 2013.

Program Plan

INTRODUCTION

The following program is designed to increase the accessibility and affordability of fresh berries from 3

Birds Berry Farm to the low-income members of Montgomery County, specifically Blacksburg, VA. Additionally,

this program will provide farm customers with nutrition education and food preparation opportunities, improving

their ability to utilize the berries from the farm in their diets. With these changes, the predicted influx of new

customers to the farm will increase the profit of 3 Birds Berry Farm, enabling the farm to further financially support

the initiatives of this program in the long-run.

Within 1 - 3 years, the program will initiate a free community transportation service, establish SNAP

benefits as a method of payment for berries at the farm, provide educational materials and opportunities to farm

visitors, and install better road signs for the farm.

By the fifth year of the program, the goal is to increase the farm’s customer base by 50%, increasing farm

profitability, and increase volunteer participation by 50% in the off-season months to increase farm maintenance and

develop farm appearance.

The most important goal outcome of this program will be the measured increase in fruit consumption by the

low-income target audience. The goal is to increase community fruit consumption, with at least 50% of surveyed

low-income community members meeting their fruit intake requirements (using food-frequency questionnaire) by

the end of the 10th year of program implementation.

RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE

Montgomery County, including Blacksburg, VA, has a high rate of obesity in both children and adults. This

community also suffers economically--twenty nine percent of the population is classified as low income and twenty

percent are living in poverty (Virginia Community Health Atlas). Many members of this community are using food

assistance programs, twenty percent receiving SNAP benefits, two percent receiving WIC assistance (Food

Environment Atlas). Each of these components of the community assessment indicate that this community has a

high rate of food insecurity and potentially an elevated level of malnutrition. This project will address each of these

issues.

First of all, this program will increase community accessibility to fresh fruit through making berries from 3

Birds Berry Farm financially accessible to those who receive SNAP benefits. One of the main initiatives of this

program is to implement the use of SNAP benefits at the farm as a method of payment for berries.

Secondly, this project will increase nutrition education in the community through increasing educational

handouts and activities at the farm, appropriate for all ages. Through the community needs assessment, it was found

that most (eighty percent) of the community members surveyed were not meeting their daily fruit requirements.

This program will help increase fruit consumption in the target population.

Also, this program aims to increase the awareness about the farm through increased advertisement. This

will help increase berry picking participation at the farm, which will increase the span of the population that this

farm’s services can reach.

There are many reasons to suggest that this project will have success in working with 3 Birds Berry Farm.

● The farmers, Bill and Irene are dedicated to helping their community and are willing to cooperate

in launching this program.

● The farm already has a large volunteer base to help with the efforts of this program. Even with an

increased need for volunteers during the off-season months for farm maintenance, the farm has

only recently begun to reach out to students at Virginia Tech for assistance.Virginia Tech holds a

wide base of clubs,organizations, and academic courses which are currently seeking more

volunteer opportunities.

● With the local climate-appropriate varieties of berries grown at the farm, there is low risk for

failure of the farm to produce an adequate crop to supply an increase in farm customers. This past

season of picking bore more fruit than could be picked by the number of customers the farm

served throughout the picking season.

● Since the farm follows a you-pick system, the farmers will not have much of an increased burden

in workload with an increase of farm customers.

● This program will open the door of opportunity for low-income individuals in the community by

expanding the use of SNAP benefits at the farm, allowing SNAP users to purchase the berries

offered. Currently, the farm may struggle to reach this target population, despite their competitive

berry prices.

APPROACH

In order to achieve the goals of the program, the following steps will be taken in the given order:

Activity 1: License the farm as an authorized SNAP vendor.

Methods

File as an authorized SNAP vendor on the FNP website for Virginia residents and obtain a standard credit/debit card

machine and connect it to the EBT system.

Expected Outcomes

Increased financial accessibility of farm participation for low-income individuals.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

Increased low-income customer base to the farm

over time.

Conduct an anonymous online survey of the current

customer base to identify the current participation of low-

income individuals/families at the farm, and repeat this

survey each year. Ask the following questions in the

online survey:

● How often do you buy berries from 3 Birds

Berry Farm?

● If you have only been to the farm once, do you

plan to come back? Why or why not?

● Are you using SNAP benefits as your main

source of payment for the berries you buy from

the farm?

Limitations

SNAP may disagree to the use of SNAP benefits at the farm and SNAP benefits users may still feel uncomfortable

visiting the farm, even if they can afford to purchase berries from the farm.

Activity 2: Collaborate with community groups such as YMCA, SNAP, WIC, and volunteer organizations to

establish a transportation system and/or carpooling system to provide transportation to the farm at least once per

week throughout the picking season.

Methods

Contact representatives from each of these organizations in person and over the phone to discuss this program’s

need for transportation aid. Provide incentives to these organizations to participate in this effort. For example, the

farm currently provides their volunteers with one pint of berries free for every hour they spend working on the farm.

Transportation volunteers could receive these benefits.

Expected Outcomes

Local community organizations are motivated and willing to volunteer their time as a part of a farm transportation

service or carpooling coordinator for community members. Low-income individuals are more motivated to visit the

farm and purchase berries because of increased availability of free transportation.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

As the transportation services participation increases,

more community members, particularly low-income

individuals, participate in berry picking at the farm.

● Ask transportation coordinators to monitor the

use of their transportation services through

weekly headcounts of participants in the

services. Compare these outcomes with the data

collected from the online survey of customers

(Activity 1).

Limitations

SNAP benefits users may still feel uncomfortable visiting the farm, even if they have viable transportation to the

farm. Community organizations sought out for support in transportation services may not have enough time to

commit to this service.

Activity 3:

Increase advertising and outreach to Virginia Tech organizations and student groups to help increase volunteer base.

Methods

Contact the officers of all Virginia Tech organizations and professors that include service hours as a part of their

curriculum, notifying them of the opportunity for volunteer services at 3 Birds Berry Farm.

Expected Outcomes

Awareness of the volunteer opportunities at the farm increases.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

Optimum farm volunteer base is created. The farmers will keep track of their volunteer participants

and will monitor the headcount of volunteers for each

year and compare this headcount to the percentage of their

maintenance goals that are reached each year. This will be

monitored until an optimum number of volunteers is

reached and then maintained.

Limitations

There may be an overabundance of volunteer opportunities for Virginia Tech students in the community, resulting in

limited participation of volunteers at the farm.

Activity 4:

Create farm advertisement flyers and begin posting them in local vicinities and collaborating with community

partners (SNAP, WIC, YMCA) to advertise the farm to their clients. (see advertisement handouts in appendix)

Methods

Create flyers that highlight the family-friendly atmosphere, the fun activities available, the low prices, and the

acceptance of SNAP benefits at the farm. Provide promotional coupons that can be used at the farm. Personally visit

local businesses and community organizations to promote the program and make relationships with those who wish

to help advertise the farm.

Expected Outcomes

Increased awareness of the farm in the community will increasing farm participation.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

The community becomes more aware of the farm

and what it offers to the community

● Perform a public survey at the farmer’s market

and with SNAP and WIC clients to determine the

general community awareness of the farm each

year for 5 years after advertising efforts begin.

Ask the following questions:

○ Have you ever heard of 3 Birds Berry

Farm?

○ Do you know where 3 Birds Berry Farm

is?

Limitations

Local businesses and organizations may resist the posting of flyers in their vicinity. Also, community members may

not pay attention to flyers posted in the community. There is also may be limited funding for advertisement.

Activity 5:

Install a farm sign at the turnoff of Prices Fork road to advertise the farm and aid in navigation to the farm.

Methods

Contact the City of Blacksburg city council and public works and promote the need for official road markers on

Prices Fork Road for 3 Birds Berry Farm. Create a budget with the farmers for the creation of a sign or payment to

the City of Blacksburg, if necessary. Design a sign that will appropriately direct passerby drivers towards the

location of the farm (specifically identifying the turn-off from Prices Fork Road to the farm).

Expected Outcomes

The farm is advertised more effectively to passerby drivers on Prices Fork Road and it is easier to identify the turn

of the main road to the farm.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

Increased farm awareness in the local community. Use the same survey method mentioned in “Activity 4”

Increased farm participation from the local

community.

Do a financial analysis of the farm’s profit at the end of

each year to determine farm profitability. Include a count

of the number of transactions made.

Limitations

● The City of Blacksburg may not approve the set-up of a sign for the farm on Prices Fork Road.

Activity 6: Create berry-themed educational handouts for farm participants that include family and kid-friendly

nutrition messages and recipes.

Methods

● Use a brochure format that is most appealing to the target audience:

○ Population literacy-appropriate language

○ Simple messages

○ Emotion-based messages

○ Visual appeal

● Use target population-appropriate nutrition messages

● Provide target population-appropriate recipes and materials

Expected Outcomes

● Berry nutrition and preparation information becomes more readily available to farm’s picking participants.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

Increased customer-return due to increased public

knowledge for berry preparation and nutrition

benefits.

Conduct a survey of farm customers at the end of each

picking season to determine the number of returning

customers. Use the responses from the suggested survey

questions from “Activity 1”.

Increased fruit consumption of farm participants. Conduct a food-frequency questionnaire related to fruit

consumption. Use the “Fruit Consumption” questionnaire

posted below. Repeat every 2 years.

Limitations

The nutrition and preparation information is only reaching customers to the farm, not the entire low-income

community, limiting the number of individuals the information can benefit.

Activity 7:

Plan and run berry preparation/education workshops for farm participants during the picking season.

Methods

Create 5 -10 minute mini lesson plans that relate to the nutrition of each type of berry offered at the farm, berry

preparation methods, how to pick berries, and fun berry-themed recipes. Advertise these berry workshops to current

customers by word of mouth, through publicly posting the flyers addressed in “Activity 4”, and through handing out

flyers at the farmer’s market. Designate a volunteer(s) that can facilitate the mini workshops throughout picking

hours at least once per week and provide recipe samples (prepared in their own time) for cooking workshops.

Expected Outcomes

There will be increased opportunities for farm participant nutrition education and berry-preparation knowledge.

Evaluation

Learning Objectives and Proposed Behavioral

Outcomes/Impacts for your Program

How will you evaluate progress toward each of these?

Increased customer-return due to increased public

knowledge for berry preparation and nutrition

benefits.

Conduct a survey of farm customers at the end of each

picking season to determine the number of returning

customers. Use the responses from the suggested survey

questions from “Activity 1”.

Increased fruit consumption of farm participants. Conduct a food-frequency questionnaire related to fruit

consumption. Use the “Fruit Consumption” questionnaire

posted below. Repeat every 2 years.

Limitations

The nutrition and preparation information is only reaching customers to the farm, not the entire community, limiting

the number of individuals the information can benefit. The days/times that the workshops are offered may not be

convenient for all parties interested in participating. Also, potential customers may feel uncomfortable participating

in the mini-workshops.

Timeline:

Projected Date of Completion Activity

1/31/14 1

2/14/14 2

2/28/14 3

3/14/14 4

4/4/14 5

4/11/14 6

4/18/14 7

MANAGEMENT PLAN

Advisory group

The advisory group for this program will consist of stakeholders, community partners, and college dietetic

students. Bill and Irene will be at the center of the group. They own the farm, therefore their opinion holds the most

weight when it comes to decision making. While their opinion will be the strongest, there will be many others

involved in the advisory group.

A figurehead from the YMCA at Virginia Tech would be an important person to include. The YMCA will

have a part in the program and therefore have a stake in the decisions. Therefore, it is important to include them

within the advisory group to ensure their interests and needs are being met.

A figurehead from BTransit would also be an important person to include within the advisory group.

Transportation in incredibly important aspect of our program. It is imperative the BTransit is satisfied with their

aspect of the program in order to ensure their continued involvement.

A representative from WIC and SNAP would also be key members of the advisory group. As our program

targets low income families, it is necessary we maintain our partnership with SNAP and WIC. As a result, their

opinions must be kept in mind when making changes and decisions pertaining to the program. Including them in the

advisory group allows them to share their opinions and remain involved, hopefully ensuring their continuing

participation.

Finally, Radford and Virginia Tech dietetic students would also be important to include in the advisory

group. Each year, new students would be chosen to participate. This allows for a constant turnover of fresh

perspectives and ideas. These students also have a very strong understanding of the Virginia Tech community and

the dietetic field. Their opinions and inputs could be an essential aspect of the advisory group and program as a

whole. The students would also have a key role in maintaining the program. (i.e. coordinating volunteer, holding

workshops, etc.) Therefore, it is important to include them within the advisory group. The key stakeholders,

community partners, and dietetic students are all essential in allowing the program to occur. It is essential that they

each have a say in the program and any decisions and changes made pertaining to the program. The most effective

way to allow this to occur, is to include a representative from each group in the advisory group.

Description

In order to maintain the program, there has to be a governing policy. The advisory group will be the sole

governing officials with this program. With the exception of Bill and Irene, members of the group are considered

equals. They will work as a democracy. Each member has one vote when making decisions that impact the entire

group. However, Bill and Irene, as the owners, have veto power. They make the final decisions, but while doing so,

will respect the opinions of the community partners and dietetic students.

Each representative is the head of their “department.” Therefore, when making decisions that only impact

their aspect of the program, they are able to make the decisions without approval of the group. However, each

representative should maintain communication with Bill and Irene to ensure they are comfortable and agree on the

representative’s plan. The advisory group will adjourn a month before picking season each year. They will discuss

what changes they would like to see for that season. They will also discuss what they are able to provide to the

program that year and emphasize if there have been any changes pertaining to their aspect of the program. They will

also adjourn during if conflicts occur between different representatives or if Bill and Irene feel it is necessary. This

governing program allows each group that has a stake in the program provide their opinions and have a say in what

occurs within the program. However, this also allows the owners, who have the most invested in the farm and

program, have the final say on what occurs.

Strategy

In order for a program to be sustained, necessary funding must be acquired. For this particular program, we

hope it will eventually become self-sustaining. However, to start the program, we will apply for grants to begin

funding. While this may be necessary for the first few years (<5 years), we hope that the increased participation at

the farm will cause an increase in profit. This will allow the owners to have the necessary money to continuously

fund the program each year. In the case of stakeholders, we are prepared to offer them financial compensation the

first year of their participation.

We then hope that their respective organizations will see personal benefits as a result of their participation.

With this in consideration, community partners may be willing to participate in the program with a decreased

compensation or no compensation at all. Considering the dietetic students and volunteers provide free labor,

compensating community partners and providing the materials needed to complete activities (i.e. ingredients of

cooking workshop) would be the predominant financial liabilities. Due to this small amount of financial

responsibility and the likelihood of a decrease in cost for community partners, the program should be self-sufficient

in a matter of a few years.

APPENDICES

Design of Needs Assessment (Instrumentation)

Interview 1. What do you believe are the strengths of 3 Birds Berry Farm?

2. What do you believe are some of the limitations that prevent people from coming to 3

Birds to pick berries? What do you thinking could be done to prevent these limitations from being

a problem?

3. What do you believe could improve the picking experience at the farm?

4. Do you think having community partners on the farm during picking hours will attract

more community members? (ex. YMCA, Grocery Stores, Farmers Market, SNAP, etc.) If so,

what community partners would you be interested in seeing?

5. Do you think berry-themed cooking workshops/demonstrations and educational

handouts would increase picking participation? Please explain.

6. Do you think that 3 Birds Berry Farm currently has enough advertisement in the

community?

7. Do you believe increased advertising for the farm in the community would be beneficial?

8. If yes, what types of advertisement would be the most effective?

9. Do you have any additional comments about 3 Birds Berry Farm? Do you have any

other ideas to increase berry picking participation or improve the farm, overall? Please explain.

APPENDICES

Focus Group

1. Have you heard of 3 Birds Berry Farm?

2. Have you been to 3 Birds Berry Farm?

3. Why have you/ have you not gone to 3 Birds Berry Farm?

4. If you had known about the farm, would you have been interested in going?

5. Do you believe having a direct shuttle to the farm would increase your interest?

6. Would you be interested in learning the proper way to can, freeze, and cook with berries?

7. Would you be more interested in going to the farm if other community partners were present?

(ex. YMCA, Grocery Stores, Farmers Market, SNAP, etc.) 8. What community partners would

you be interested in seeing?

8. Do you believe increased advertising would increase the community’s interest in the farm?

Appendices

Fruit Screener

Appendices

Service Learning Site: 3 Birds Berry Farm

Students in this Group:

Bianca Smith

Katie Henry

Nicole Guyette

Kelsey Young

Target Audience/Population: Low-Income members of Montgomery

County/Blacksburg Community

Goal of Needs Assessment:

To understand why attendance at the farm is not increasing and how we can

effectively increase participation and awareness of the farm for

impoverished members of the Blacksburg community.

Objective(s) of Needs Assessment:

1. Conduct surveys for key stakeholders. This will allow us to understand

what is important to them and what improvements they would like to see.

2. Conduct a focus group consisting of low income community members.

This will allow us to understand what is important to them and what could

increase their attendance at the berry farm during picking season.

3. Conduct a food-frequency questionnaire to determine the nutritional state

of our target audience as it relates to fruit consumption.

4. Determine what methods and improvements could be utilized by and at

the farm to increase attendance and community participation.

Key Stakeholders:

Irene

Bill

Lilly

Volunteers

Nutritional and Health Status – Individual Behavior

Issues to Consider when Selecting Assessment Methods for Your Target

Audience:

Difficulty with decreased amount of customers due to end of season, current

customers fit a specific socioeconomic profile (people we are trying to reach

are not currently utilizing the farm), difficulty in attempting to reach target

population

Questions to be Asked:

What would make this a valuable resource? What would make this more

accessible for you? How do you feel about adding more berries to your diet?

What is your current fruit consumption? 24 hour recall? What would make

this experience worth it?

Types of Data to be Gathered:

Demographics, socioeconomic, values of the target population, schedule,

diet, where theyre currently buying groceries

Method of Obtaining the Data:

Surveys/Questionnaires, Focus Group, Secondary Data, Cost Analysis

Appendices

Community Assessment – Social, Family, and Community Networks; Living

& Working Conditions; Broad Social, Economic, Cultural, Health and

Environmental Conditions and Policies

Type of Data to be

Gathered

Method of Obtaining Strengths and

Weaknesses of this

Method

Which of the following layers of

the socio-ecological framework

do these data address? Check the

corresponding box.

Social, Family

&

Community

Networks

Living &

Working

Conditions

Broad Social,

Economic,

Cultural,

Health and

Environmental

Conditions

and Policies

Demographic

Research – Secondary

Data

(maps, websites, etc.)

Strengths: easy to

gather, cost

efficient, time

efficient

Weaknesses: May

not be able to find

all relevant data,

may not be specific

to Blacksburg, May

not be up to date,

may be unreliable

x

Socioeconomic

Research – Secondary

Data

(maps, websites, etc.)

Strengths: easy to

gather, cost

efficient, time

efficient

Weaknesses: May

not be able to find

all relevant data,

may not be specific

to Blacksburg, May

x

not be up to date,

may be unreliable

Values/What people

want

Focus Group Strengths: open

ended questions

and conversations,

real opinons and

answers from

actual population,

you know they’ll

answer you

Weaknesses: could

not generalizable,

they could be

embarrassed or

uncomfortable,

have to work

around their

schedule

x

Schedule Survey Strengths: easy to

prepare and

administer, time

efficient, cost

effiecient, you can

reach a large

amount of people

Weaknesses: some

people may not

answer, some

people may not

understand,

answers may not

be legible, people

may not be honest

or may not take it

seriously

x

Diet Survey Strengths: easy to

prepare and

administer, time

efficient, cost

effiecient, you can

reach a large

amount of people

Weaknesses: some

people may not

answer, some

people may not

understand,

answers may not

be legible, people

may not be honest

or may not take it

seriously

x

Current shopping

choices

Survey Strengths: easy to

prepare and

administer, time

efficient, cost

efficient, you can

reach a large

amount of people

Weaknesses: some

people may not

answer, some

people may not

understand,

answers may not

be legible, people

may not be honest

or may not take it

seriously

Prices at grocery

stores vs. 3 Birds

Cost- Analysis Strengths: relatively

easy to get that

information,

provides statistics

and strong data,

relatively easy to

perform

Weaknesses: prices

change seasonally,

discounts can

distort data

x

What educational

materials are needed

for this population?

education on how to properly pick berries, educate on awareness of the farm,

education on how to utilize berries in your diet, education on the health

benefits of berries

APPENDICES

Timeline:

Week Needs Assessment Activity Who is responsible?

Sept. 25 Secondary Data Collection

Demographics

Socio-Economic

Prices/Cost Analysis

Nikki

Bianca

Katie

Oct. 5 Create Survey

Design Focus Group

Kelsey

Nikki

Oct. 10 Administer survey and analyze data collected All

Oct. 13 Hold focus group and analyze data collected All

Oct. 21 Contact Potential Community Partners

Current Volunteers willing to operate shuttle

services

SNAP (will they extend their benefits to

pickers?)

YMCA (can they run activities at the farm, can

they provide us support services)

Doctors Offices (will they allow advertisements

for the farm in their facilities?)

Katie

Nikki

Kelsey

Oct. 24 Meet with farm owners and other stakeholders and

interview them about their ideas about improving the

farm and increasing farm participation.

All

Oct. 28 Collect survey data from community members and

analyze.

All

Nov. 1 Collect dietary data of community using food-

frequency questionnaire. Analyze data.

All

Nov. 10 Evaluate all of the data collected from the community

and determine potential methods for addressing the

needs of the community.

All

Appendices

Proposed Program (Instrumentation)

3 Birds Berry Farm Mail in Advertisement:

Appendices

Flyer for Berry Season:

APPENDICES

3 Birds Berry Farm Advertisement for Side of the Bus:

APPENDICES

3 Birds Berry Farm Coupon Passed out to SNAP & WIC Recipients:

APPENDICES

Raspberry Educational Brochure:

APPENDICES

Blackberry Educational Brochure:

APPENDICES

Resources

3 Birds Berry Farm. Available at http://3birdsberryfarm.com/. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Atlas. Drug and Nutrition Website. Available at: http://www.atlasva.com/. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Atlas. Food and Environment Atlas Website. Available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-

environment-atlas.aspx#.UqV50PRDuAV Accessed November 15, 2013

Atlas. The Virginia Atlas of Community Health Website. Available at: http://www.atlasdrugandnutrition.com/.

Accessed November 15, 2013.

Blacksburg Transit. Accessed at: http://www.blacksburg.gov/index.aspx?page=791. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Boyle MA. Community Nutrition in Action: An Entrepreneurial Approach. Published in 2013. Accessed November

20, 2013.

Montgomery County, Virginia. United States Census Bureau Website. Accessed at:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51121.html. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Food and Nutrition Service Website. Available at:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap. Accessed November 15, 2013.

United States Department of Agriculture. Available at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome. Accessed

November 15, 2013.

YMCA at Virginia Tech. The YMCA Website. Accessed at: http://www.vtymca.org/index.html. Accessed

November 15, 2013.