Fresh Bucks Vouchers
Background
Despite being a prosperous city, many Seattle residents struggle to access fresh, healthy food to eat. In response to food inequity and rising costs of living, the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) created Fresh Bucks, a food benefit program that helps income-qualified residents buy more fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, local grocers, and participating supermarkets.
The Challenge
When OSE approached us, they were at a critical evolution of the program. For the first few years of the program, benefits were distributed through community based organizations and health clinics serving the programs priority groups, namely communities of color that did not have equitable access to fresh food. For the first time in 2018, with an investment of funding from Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax, Fresh Bucks would offer a public lottery to distribute Fresh Bucks Vouchers to any income-qualified Seattle resident.
Thanks to our work on the Democracy Voucher Program, we knew how to help OSE staff get Fresh Bucks vouchers in the hands of their priority communities.
Strategy
Integrated program management from message to mailbox
Fresh Bucks needed a rapid, secure way to deliver food benefits to their customers, both those who were enrolled through community-based organizations (CBOs) and also the new customers who would be served via the public lottery.
We built a comprehensive workflow that would take our designs of the printed vouchers and image them with variable customer data so each voucher could be tracked on the backend. Then, with custom perforations and a special envelope, each customer would receive their monthly vouchers in the mail.
Design
Branding & Graphic Design
First, a memorable design that helped the vouchers stand out and communicate the benefits of buying fresh fruits and vegetables. Building on the existing Fresh Bucks logo, we extended the design language by illustrating lots of fresh produce, and using a friendly and approachable headline typeface to complement the Seattle Text body typeface. We also designed marketing materials and signage to support OSE’s outreach to farmers markets and their priority communities.
Execution
Data Management & Translation
A beautiful design only goes so far. Fresh Bucks customers may have limited English proficiency, and part of building a more equitable program meant delivering program materials in 14 key languages. We managed the entire translation process for the program to ensure that the Fresh Bucks vouchers, envelopes, educational inserts, brochures, and many other program materials were translated and produced alongside the English versions.
Integrated Print & Mail
The final major step was printing and mailing the translated materials. Each Fresh Bucks customer received a voucher mailing monthly which meant that our print and mail facilities received a new customer roster every month. After verifying the recipient and their address, we also ensured that the customer received their materials in their preferred language out of 14 possible languages.
Results
“Fresh Bucks has helped my family to have healthier eating habits - in addition to saving money at the end of the month. We can now use those savings to cover other basic needs.”
We’re proud that thanks to our help, Fresh Bucks reached 5,075 customers in 2019. Of those, 72% of Fresh Bucks voucher customers were from priority communities. This resulted in over $4.5 million dollars in economic impact, making a significant positive impact on Seattle’s historically underserved communities.
