A Cincinnati-funded pilot program is delivering groceries to over a hundred households in Winton Hills, and officials say initial results show the project is successful.
"We're seeing more families cooking with fresh ingredients, eating balanced meals, and the number of families in the program who were able to buy all their household items doubled," said Council member Anna Albi, who helped put the program together. "I think these results are truly tremendous."
About 120 households with around 370 people total are participating. Each household gets free delivery from Kroger, plus a $100 monthly credit from the city.
Participants report better mood, health, and more hope for the future compared to when the program started late last year.
"Families repeatedly describe how this reduces their stress, improves stability, gives them the ability to purchase essentials, [and] greater dignity," said Tiffany Brown, deputy director for the Department of Opportunity and Resident Services.
Brown says the pilot was designed to be very low-barrier, with no eligibility restrictions for things like income. Even without that requirement, Brown says the program is reaching the demographic that needs it most, with 81% reporting an annual income of less than $25,000, and 96% also getting SNAP/EBT benefits.
"I think that it's important to note that we're not replacing SNAP benefits, but testing whether a supplemental benefit could be delivered differently and can strengthen existing supports that already exist," Brown said, adding that this program allows people to buy items that can't be purchased with SNAP/EBT, like diapers and cleaning supplies.
The Winton Hills Community Council has been working on food insecurity in the neighborhood for years. President Obalaye Macharia says the program is evidence of how effective it can be when city government works with the community — because trust goes both ways.
"We have to show them that we're ready to show up, and they got to show us that when we show up, that we're not just showing up with empty promises," he told WVXU. "I think that's what's happening. I'm really excited about that and looking forward to what this momentum is going to build for us."
Learn more about the progress report in the presentation slides below (article continues after):
The pilot program is one of the last pieces of the effort to reduce the city’s racial wealth gap and improve financial empowerment through the Financial Freedom Blueprint. That plan also includes medical debt relief and child education savings accounts.
The program was funded to support 200 households, but only 123 had signed up by the time enrollment ended. Macharia says technology was the number one barrier, including internet connectivity problems throughout the neighborhood.
"Winton Hills has terrible connectivity for internet," he said, adding some people didn't enroll because they didn't have a phone or other device needed for an online Kroger account.
"Number two was probably people not having a payment account," he said, meaning a credit or debit card to connect to the account. "For some of the people, they didn't want to give up their personal card information."
Less than full enrollment means there's money leftover. Council member Albi says it's not yet clear how that money will be spent.
"My hope, from my personal perspective, is I would love to keep the families in Winton Hills on the program for as long as we can, while also trying to engage external partners and [create] a longer-term plan," she told WVXU.
Tiffany Brown says the preliminary results are exciting.
"We often think about improving food access and how that requires new programs, new pantries, and maybe even new physical infrastructure [like grocery stores]," she said. "But I think that this pilot is proving that there are other possibilities and ways to look at food access or grocery access."
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