Update 6/24/09 Outreach Campaigns

Effective July 1, 2009, the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program is changing its approach to outreach. Please note the following changes & guidelines:

1.) NOEP will no longer be using the model of “activities & exposures” for outreach targets. Therefore, exposure counts will no longer be required for outreach targets or approval requests.

2.) Outreach messages may now be blended to include information regarding the economic benefits of food stamps (general population) and eligibility information (potentially eligible population).

3.) The former Outreach Target 1 & Outreach Target 2 are now replaced with a new Outreach Target 1 as follows:

Outreach Target 1: Participate in 6 statewide NCNYS outreach campaigns to educate NYS residents about the benefits of the Food Stamp, Summer Food, and School Breakfast Programs.

The following is an overview of the new campaign approach to outreach for the 2009-2010 contract year:

A.) A statewide campaign is defined as a collective effort amongst all NOEPs to place a specific outreach message in their community during the same month of the contract year.

B.) Each campaign will have a slogan, and will last for one month.

C.) All NOEPs are required to participate in 6 statewide campaigns for the 2009-2010 contract year. The slogans and timelines for each campaign are:

Campaign #1: July 2009- New York Needs to Know About NOEP
Campaign #2: Sept 2009- Start the Day in a Health Way… with School Breakfast
Campaign #3: Nov 2009- Heat or Eat: You Don’t Have to Choose
Campaign #4: Jan 2010- You Work Hard, Now Let Food Stamps Work for You
Campaign #5: May 2010- Eat Better Today- Stay Healthy Tomorrow (Seniors)
Campaign #6: June 2010- Summer Sun, Food & Fun (Summer Food)

D.) Participation in a campaign is defined as a NOEP completing as least one outreach activity that uses the specific campaign slogan, and completes this outreach activity during the month of the campaign.

Possibilities for this one activity are as follows:

Posters
Each NOEP will receive 15 custom made posters for each campaign by the beginning of the contract year. If you place these posters in your community accordingly at the time of each campaign, then you will have fulfilled your minimum outreach requirement.

Campaign Tool Kits
The Consortium will also provide you with a campaign tool kit prior to each campaign. This tool kit will consist of 4 different templates for outreach activities, already customized with the campaign slogan. You may choose one of these templates to fulfill your outreach requirement.

Collaborations
The Consortium strongly encourages collaborations amongst NOEPs. Are there NOEPs that work in neighboring counties or in the same boroughs? Why not work together to develop an outreach effort? This is a great way to be more creative, cost effective, and each of you will receive credit for your collaborative activity.

Develop Your Own
Lastly, you can choose to develop your own activity separate of the poster, campaign tool kit, or collaborations. Just be sure to use the respective campaign slogan.

Two additional points regarding outreach:

1.) Beyond the minimum outreach requirement as described above, you may develop and place outreach efforts at any time during the contract year as needed to best serve your community.

2.) An approval request must be submitted for all outreach efforts, including those that were created by the Consortium. Approval requests also serve an additional fiscal purpose, as well as now being used as a record of your outreach efforts.