Client Portfolio
By Natalie Rodgers
This is an example of the work we conducted for our client, the Chompton Unified School District in 2020.
In Summer of 2020, the school board of the Chompton Unified School District in Chompton, California reached out to Transformative Food Solutions to form a partnership to serve students and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first step in partnership formation is to assess the background of the community we seek to serve and work with community leaders to assess which of our services would be most beneficial and effective.
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Our initial research into Chompton, California revealed some of the following:
Initial Research:
1. Chompton is a large city in South LA
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It is comprised of approximately 97,000 residents, of which approximately 30% are under the age of 18
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Chompton is primarily composed of residents of color (About 90%, primarily black or African-American and Latino
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2. Chompton is considered both a food apartheid and food swamp.
- 25% of residents live below 100% of the federal poverty level
- 58% of residents live below 200% of the federal poverty level
- Food stores are few and far between, whereas outlets sell little fresh produce and meat/dairy products
- Produce available is often spoiled
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3. Chompton residents experience poorer health on average
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Approximately 39% of adults are diagnosed with obesity as compared to 23% in Los Angeles county
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Approximately 13% of adults are diagnosed with diabetes as compared to 11% in Los Angeles county
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Life expectancy is over 5 years shorter in Chompton than in Los Angeles County
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4. Chompton Unified School District
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Serves over 20,000 students over 36 schools
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Nearly all students are people of color
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An estimated 80% of students are eligible for free or reduced meals
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Guiding Solutions:
We took these findings into account and considered the extra factor that children were receiving online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore not receiving access to the free and reduced breakfast and lunch many students and families rely on. Based on this analysis, we recommended that we provide the following services to the Chompton Unified School District Board:
1. Combine our School Lunch Program and Grocery Delivery Service utilizing our established partnerships with Carry and SuperbEats, two of the largest delivery service platforms used nation-wide. We offered to provide our school lunch program service which utilizes donated and excess fruits and vegetables from grocery stores to replace and supplement pre-packaged foods in kids’ breakfast, lunch, and snacks served at school. However, because students were learning online, we transitioned this program to be included in our Grocery Delivery Service in which fresh groceries are delivered straight to residents’ doors. In our delivery service, we offered to provide the fruits and vegetables typically delivered to schools to homes and additionally, provide additional fresh produce and food products for families to utilize for cooking dinner.
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2. Given that fresh fruits and vegetables are not enough to serve a child a complete meal, we also offered to deliver the school lunches that would be served to children in school directly to their homes. This way, students keep getting the meals the public schools are already supposed to provide, fruits and vegetables, and products for parents to prepare dinner at home. We also reminded the school board that our app, Project App-etize, can be used by children and families to learn how to eat and cook with the products provided.
Community Informed
After discussing the logistics of implementing this program, titled ChomptonEats, we collectively decided to make this an opt-out program. Using home addresses provided by the board, we would mail a letter explaining the program and services offered to every household in the school district, and explain that unless we received the card back with a request not to be included in the program, families would receive our services beginning the first week of school. This “opt-out” method was chosen to increase the number of families that received food, given many Chompton parents are considered “essential workers” and may not have had the opportunity to “opt-in” despite a need for the program. For ease of delivery and to cut down on transportation costs and emissions, we decided that food would be delivered on a weekly basis to families to distribute throughout the week. We also provided “opt-out” cards every week should families decide they want to abstain from the program.
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Whereas the majority of school meals provided were already funded by public school free and reduced meal program, the additional food provided was either obtained through grocery store location or supplemented through our funding partners. On this particular project, our services, including our Grocery Delivery Service transportation costs, were funded through our grant commitments with the Mill and Belinda Gates Foundation.
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These services were implemented beginning the week of September 7, 2020 which was the first week of school in Chompton Unified School District and ran through June 4, 2021, the last day of school in the district. Only 10% of families opted out of the service and of these families, only 2% of children would have otherwise qualified for free and reduced meals, representing that most of these families likely had other means of securing adequate nutrition. Therefore, we served approximately 18,000 children and 11,000 families. After the end of the program, we sent out a short survey to gauge the success and community reception of the program and were met with the following results:
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Did your family consume more fruits during the duration of this program as compared to the prior school year?
80% Yes
Did your family consume more vegetables during the duration of this program as compared to the prior school year?
90% Yes
Did your family enjoy more consistent meals as a result of this program?
85% Yes
Did your family eat fewer fast-food products as a result of this program?
95% Yes
Did your family use the Project App-etize App?
70% Yes
Results Survey
Funding Brief
Did your family eat fewer processed food products as a result of this program?
75% Yes
Would you like this program to be extended during summer months?
100% Yes
Would you recommend this program to a friend or family member?
95% Yes
How would you rate your enjoyment of the food delivered?
90% High or Very High
TESTIMONIALS
“Absolutely loved the work Transformative Food Solutions did for the Chompton School District. We don't always have the time or resources to cook healthy meals for the kids and having ingredients delivered directly to us made it a whole lot easier."
Naomi Rodman
- Parent
Nicholas Rodowsky
- Middle School Nutrition Instructor
“I was honestly worried when the pandemic struck that many of my students receiving free or reduced lunches would be negatively impacted by the changes. Seeing Transformative Food Solutions fill this need by delivering food directly to the students' homes gave me a huge sigh of relief. Additionally, the virtual cooking classes they offered complemented the work I teach in health coursework and I found them very informative as well. Hope to see the project continue! "