Figure 1. The New Program Brand

A Marketing Plan for the Food Bank
of the Rockies’ Commodity
Supplemental Food Program

When, in 2004, the City and County of Denver opted not to renew its contract to administer the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) determined that it was its obligation to assume the responsibility of delivering this valuable food assistance to the many thousands of eligible clients throughout the Denver Metro Area. In fact, when Colorado’s Department of Human Services (CDHS) promulgated its Request for Proposal, seeking contractors to administer the program, there was only one submission. Had the leadership at FBR decided not to undertake this task, over 4 million annual pounds of federally purchased and surplus food products would have been diverted elsewhere. Denver’s low-income population would be so much the worse.

Upon viewing the customer service practices at Denver’s distribution facility at 80 South Santa Fe, it was concluded that FBR must go to great lengths to assure that all clients would be treated with dignity. Complaints would not be treated as background noise, but rather addressed respectfully and seized upon as an opportunity to learn how to better meet customer needs. Compassion and professionalism would be hallmarks that would distinguish FBR’s service, from the consumer’s point of view, from the experiences to which they had become accustomed. At the time of this writing, two years after taking on the management of the CSFP program, the Food Bank of the Rockies feels that it has met its goal of enhanced customer interaction.

At this time the greatest challenge for program administers is one of quantity rather than quality. When the distribution center at 80 South Santa Fe was closed, many clients adverse to change were lost. Additionally, during the first year of program management, FBR changed hours of operation at several of the new distribution sites as was dictated by the necessity for cost containment. Further, the initial Federal Budget for fiscal year 2007 eliminated all funding for CSFP. This was widely reported in the media and letters from FBR, urging participants to contact their elected representatives, were widely distributed. The plan to do away with the program was amended in the House Subcommittee, but many clients seem to believe that the program no longer exists. Several issues that are beyond the control of the Food Bank have compounded the confusion experienced by program participants, such as the inability to understand written communications because of limitations in language, literacy and cognitive capacities.

The number of clients who participate in the monthly food distribution program is critically low. If Metro Denver participation is not significantly improved in the coming months, 1,000 caseload allocations may be diverted elsewhere. For all practical purposes this loss could be considered a permanent reduction for the area clients as well as for the Food Bank of the Rockies. The organization would correspondingly forfeit significant annual revenue as indicated by the terms of the state contract.

Under the terms of the contract, monies spent on outreach are reimbursable. When considering a budget for the required outreach project, the Food Bank of the Rockies must consider what is at stake in terms of lost revenue and lost opportunity to lead in service to the community. Implementing a new marketing plan would benefit the Food Bank because it would potentially be reimbursed for monies spent and it would maintain current revenues.

The Marketing Plan should be geared toward increasing client participation above and beyond the current allocation of 10,390 distributions per month. Many program administers in other parts of the country have to contend with caseload management situations wherein new clients are put on a waiting list until a slot becomes available. At first glance a waiting list may seem undesirable from the consumer’s point of view. However, in the event that allocations are diverted from the area, prospective clients will likely face a waiting list anyway. There will simply be fewer of them.

Denver and its surrounding counties deserve this access to this federally funded program as much as any community in the United States. We at the Food Bank of the Rockies believe it is our responsibility to do everything in our power to retain our present caseload for the good of those in our community who are in need.

Background Information

The Commodities Supplemental Food Program provides monthly nutritional supplement packages for seniors over sixty years of age, children under six and women who are pregnant, postpartum (up to one year after birth) or breastfeeding. All participants must meet income guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). Funding for program administration as well as the food itself comes to the Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) through the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) from the FNS.

The Food Bank of the Rockies began administration of CSFP in October of 2004. At that time the allocated caseload was 13,000 clients per month. A national caseload reduction for fiscal year 2006 cut caseload for low-income clients in and around Denver to its present level of 10,390 distributions per month. Recently, the actual number of clients served has been averaging just over 9,000 individuals served per month. CDHS and FNS consider this number to be unsatisfactory. If participation is not increased in coming months, the Denver Area will loose at least 1,000 caseload allocations. This scenario would, in the future, have a negative impact on FBR’s ability to serve the low-income community with monthly food distributions.

Figure 2. A typical food package for participating adults.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Demand

A recent study by Denver County’s WIC office (WIC is an acronym for Women, Infants and Children – a program that is also funded by the FNS) concluded that with the combined efforts of their program and CSFP, only 7% of eligible women, infants and children are served by either program. Using data gathered from the U.S. Census Department and County Web sites, the Food Bank of the Rockies has determined that this percentage is an accurate approximation for low-income seniors in Denver County. A much smaller percentage of eligible seniors participate in nearby counties. In coming years, as more baby boomers reach sixty years of age, demand among this population will likely increase.

Program Strengths

• CSFP is provided at no cost to participants
• No other agencies offer this specific program in Denver or surrounding counties
• Currently over 14,000 certified clients in the data base
• Nine distribution sites in Metro Area
• Easy application process
• Home delivery to approximately 2,700 seniors

The Food Bank of the Rockies has the exclusive responsibility to offer this service to eligible senior residents of all Colorado counties not served by other agencies, although WIC-eligible clients must reside in Denver. The CSFP data base contains the approved applications of over 14,000 clients; unfortunately many do consistently pick up their packages. Great efforts have been made to encourage registered clients to receive their benefits on a monthly basis. Seniors who receive deliveries at their high-density housing facilities, as well as some 300 homebound senior delivery recipients, comprise the most reliably consistent sources of distribution activity.

Program Weaknesses

• Recent changes in distribution hours and locations
• Inconsistent client usage
• Perhaps most importantly, CSFP has no distinctive brand

As mentioned previously, many CSFP clients seem adverse to change and have been confused by the previously mentioned changes. Although these modifications in the program have been necessary, and FBR management has made every effort to communicate these changes in advance, many clients have complained. To program administrators any given alteration might be seen as a needed evolution. To many CSFP recipients such changes are confusing and frustrating. Ultimately, such clients loose faith in the program and their ability to participate consistently.

As mentioned above, many of the more than 14,000 registered individuals in the CSFP data base to not show up to pick up their monthly packages on a consistent basis. Telephone and mail campaigns to encourage monthly participation have yielded only marginal results.

In addition to client confusion and inconsistent participation, the CSFP program has a problem in branding. This is true both locally and nationally. FNS has no guidelines regarding program branding or marketing that might be used as a resource to assure uniform program identity. In the community, the program and the monthly food packages are called by many different names: “Commodities,” “Government Food,” “The Cheese,” et cetera. “Commodity Supplemental Food Program,” is simply unacceptable as a program brand. In lieu of a better national branding strategy, the Food Bank of the Rockies must develop a clear branding concept that will be recognizable to CSFP clients locally.

Program Opportunities

• Much deeper market penetration
• Service to additional counties
• New branding campaign

CSFP program administrators believe that much greater participation can and must be achieved. With the current participation rate of only around 7%, and with no apples-to-apples competition, the environment in which the program operates is rich with prospective clients. This is particularly true when geographic program expansion is taken into consideration. At the present time, the vast majority of senior participants reside in the densely populated counties of Denver, Jefferson, Adams, and Arapahoe. Communities in the eastern plains and nearby mountains are not served, but should be.

In addition to these growth opportunities, the Food Bank of the Rockies has very recently undertaken a new branding campaign that coincides with the move to a new central office and warehouse facility in Denver. This opportunity should be seized upon by CSFP administrators to more strongly identify with FBR’s excellent reputation in the community (see Figure 1).

Program Threats

• Possible reduction is caseload allocations
• Legislative actions

Because the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Food and Nutrition Service base their caseload allocations on program participation, the Denver Area low-income community is in imminent danger of loosing caseload. Should this occur, the reduced number of clients who could participate would remain in effect for the foreseeable future. The Food Bank of the Rockies must make every effort to ensure that caseload is maintained at its current level. This can only be achieved by immediate improvement in program participation.

The inventory of program threats cannot be complete without mentioning that, on a national level, funding is discretionary. This means that there is an annual danger of decreased funding, or as happened most recently, the threat of elimination of all funding. In the event that program funding is threatened in the future, the benefits of encouraging clients to contact their legislators must be carefully weighed against the confusion that such an effort will likely cause among the clientele.

THE MARKET

Due to the immediacy of the need to increase distributions, all eligible populations must be encouraged to participate. This includes WIC-eligible clients who reside in the City and County of Denver and seniors throughout the Denver Metro Area. The immediate benefit of reaching out to women, infants and children is that often these households yield two or more eligible clients per family.

The long-term marketing strategy must focus on outreach to seniors. Recently, Denver County WIC raised the age for children to participate in their program from 3 years to five years (until the child’s 5 th birthday). This will likely have the effect of siphoning clients from CSFP. Additionally, the participation of WIC-eligible clients has long been perceived by legislators as a duplication of services. Although dual participation has never been permitted, the perception remains a vulnerability to CSFP nationally, whenever funding issues are brought forward. Eventually this may result in the elimination of women, infants and children from program participation. Many CSFP programs nationally have client bases that are vastly weighted toward the senior population. The Food Bank of the Rockies should also move in this direction to avoid a sudden loss of clients as a result of possible eligibility changes in the future. As elaborated upon earlier, our market is abundant with prospective clients above the age of sixty.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Branding

The lack of a strong brand image is the central issue for the successful marketing of CSFP in Metro Denver. Henceforth, the term “Commodity Supplemental Food Program,” and its abbreviation should be eliminated from all outreach materials and all other printed and Web materials, internal and external. Although the program is currently referred to by several names within the low-income population that is the target market, the single word, “Commodities,” is the most widely used (at least among English speakers). To achieve brand coherence, this single word should replace all occurrences, printed and verbal, of the longer or abbreviated form.

Program administrators should also seek to emphasize the connection to the Food Bank of the Rockies. This identity already has a very good reputation within the community. The new branding campaign by FBR at-large is an excellent opportunity to seize upon the equity that has been built over the organization’s twenty-seven years of service. The deficit in confidence that may have occurred due to recent program changes may be bridged by this image that clients perceive a reliable name in community service (again, refer to figure 1). This image should be placed prominently and consistently on all materials.

Communications

The literacy of Commodities clients must not be taken for granted. Every opportunity to use photographs, graphic representations and maps must be exploited. These measures will also help non-English and non-Spanish speakers understand program benefits and requirements. Although FBR communications are currently somewhat effective in English and Spanish, other language groups need maximum opportunity to understand program benefits and requirements.

Figure 3. The Cheese – a perennial favorite among Commodities clients

Consideration of verbiage that is potentially stigmatizing must also be made in communications to Commodities participants. Some examples include, but should not be limited to “needy,” low-income,” “government” and “distribution,” and might be targeted for replacement with “eligible,” “community,” and “service.”

MARKETING TACTICS

The easiest way to distribute materials to existing clients is at the service centers where they receive their food packages. This monthly encounter gives the program administrators the opportunity to convey important messages. Here clients are told before their certifications expire that they’ll need to bring their necessary documents with them the following month. Also, reminders of upcoming holiday closures and other pertinent pieces of information are distributed here. In the future, the Food Bank of the Rockies should make every effort to incorporate branded materials in every feasible location inside the distribution site. The trucks where the food packages are actually distributed should be branded and should convey a message of dependability, with well-informed distribution staff that have access to easily understood, branded hand-out materials regarding program participation.

The ongoing effort to increase the number of high-density senior housing facilities must continue. The advantage of these deliveries is a consistent flow of service and a large number of clients at each stop.

Outreach to outlying counties where many seniors are eligible but few are served will also continue. These areas seem to include seniors who may own large properties, but generate limited incomes.

Traditionally, program administrators have placed marketing material (such as they were) in strategic locations like Denver Health Clinics. These efforts have yielded limited results. Although this practice should not necessarily be eliminated, it should take a lower priority to campaigns that will likely achieve greater productivity in terms of clients recruited. Greater efforts must be made to get new outreach materials into the hands of social workers and case managers who will presumably be more likely to read and understand the program benefits and requirements.

MARKETING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• To mitigate confusion and frustration that clients have recently experienced regarding program changes:
• Discard all references to “Commodity Supplemental Food Program,” CSFP et cetera and replace them with simply “Commodities,” as co-branded with the Food Bank of the Rockies in figure 1
• Develop and circulate materials that have graphic representations and maps that permit those who speak other languages, or those who cannot read, to understand program benefits and requirements
• Demonstrate, over time, the reliability of the Commodities program.
• Expand the percentage of senior participants so that future program changes will not have a negative impact on program operation:
• Increase participation in counties where only seniors are eligible
• Increase participation in high-density senior housing facilities
• Increase overall certified client base to 20,000 to allow for seniors who do not receive their packages each month.
• Achieve and maintain branding consistency in all materials:
• Ensure that the co-branded Commodities and Food Bank of the Rockies identity is prominent on all materials received by clients
• Integrate branding promise into the daily business and attitudes of all employees and consistently execute the branding promise
• Achieve greater prominence for the program in the Food Bank of the Rockies’ (at-large) marketing materials.

BRANDING PROMISE

• We enjoy being of assistance to our valued clients. All persons whom we encounter will be treated with the utmost respect.
• We will provide every possible opportunity for our clients to receive the benefits for which they are eligible.
• We will gladly listen and respond to consumer concerns in a timely manner – the community we serve is our mentor in the pursuit of excellence.

Due to the urgency of the possible reduction in caseload this marketing plan must be executed with all due haste. We at the Food Bank of the Rockies consider it our duty and our privilege to attain and protect the most possible resources for the less fortunate in our community. We will exercise all due diligence in the implementation of this marketing plan.