06-14-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO:Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council FROM:Bryce Shearen, CPRP, Parks & Recreation/Community Services Director Sierra Hietala, Recreation Coordinator DATE:June 14, 2023 RE:MRPA Award of Excellence – Inclusive Farmers Market ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED Receive MRPA Award of Excellence. BACKGROUND The Minnesota Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) annually recognizes member agencies for outstanding programs, projects, and initiatives through its Awards of Excellence program. This distinguished recognition is for projects completed the previous year that score highly regarding the Awards of Excellence program criteria. The goal of the Awards of Excellence program is to increase public awareness and appreciation of the excellent parks, trails, and recreation services available in Minnesota. A public presentation of the award will be made at the City Council meeting and the project will be highlighted in an upcoming MRPA member magazine. The Little Canada Parks and Recreation Department submitted for an Award of Excellence in the programming and events category for the inclusive Farmers Market. Shortly after Recreation Coordinator, Sierra Hietala, started her position with Little Canada in August of 2021 she began a plan to create a more inclusive Farmers Market to make fresh food resources available to the community. She began connecting with the Minnesota Department of Health, Ramsey County Health Educator, and North Node Consulting to begin the process of being able to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) benefits at the Little Canada Farmers Market. After successfully applying to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the City was approved to begin allowing SNAP/EBT benefits at the Farmers Market. The City was then able to partner with Hunger Solutions to offer Market Bucks and Produce bucks. This program allowed SNAP/EBT users to triple their spending by purchasing ten dollars worth of SNAP/EBT tokens and then receiving an additional ten dollars of Market Bucks and ten dollars of Produce Bucks. Additionally, Staff was able to get a donation from the Little Canada Recreation Association (LCRA) to implement the Power of Produce Club (POP). This initiative began in Oregon in 2011 and provides youth ages 4-12 two dollars to spend on fruits or vegetables at the Market.