One of the most crucial aspects of establishing a GusNIP (Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program) project is relationship-building. Grantees must form connections with interested retailers (and vice versa) that they can trust to serve as stewards for these vital programs. With the pandemic, this has been a difficult endeavor, but this year’s NGA Show served as an excellent opportunity for GusNIP grantees to begin fostering these connections.
GusNIP grantees take to the show floor at the 2022 NGA Show in Las Vegas.
Nine grantees from across the United States traveled to Las Vegas to walk the show floor, participate in educational sessions and seek out retailers who might be a good fit for their nutrition incentive or produce prescription projects. And while you might have missed this opportunity to meet with a grantee from your area, this in-person outreach is only just beginning.
As a sense of normalcy returns and trade shows, conferences and other events begin again, retailers should be on the lookout for these grantees and, in many cases, our team.
Our team, the National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center), will be attending numerous wholesalers shows, industry conferences and other gatherings in the hopes of spreading the word of GusNIP, identifying retail and tech partners, and networking with folks from across the industry. The NGAF TA Center team serves as a valuable connection point for you to begin building an incentive program, so please feel free to approach us, invite us to your booth or request a one-on-one meeting.
The first two shows we will be attending are the AWG Innovation Showcase in Kansas City (March 21-23) and the Affiliated Foods show in Amarillo, Texas (March 24). We will have booths at both shows, are hosting an educational session entitled “Nutrition Incentives 101” on March 23 at 10:45 a.m. CST at the AWG Innovation Showcase and are open to speak to anyone interested in offering nutrition incentives and/or produce prescriptions to their customers. Our calendar of upcoming events continues to grow and evolve, so please keep in touch if you’d like to establish a connection ahead of time.
And while we won’t be able to attend every show, GusNIP grantees are positioned across the country, many of whom are interested in attending events in which they can tap into their local and regional retail partners. Allow our team to help serve as an introduction point between you and these grantees.
Initiating and developing strong partnerships between GusNIP grantees as food retailers is a vital aspect of bringing these healthy, life-changing incentive programs to your community. As in-person events and conferences begin again, please don’t miss out on the opportunity to get started.
To learn more, visit our website at ngaftacenter.org or email the NGAF TA Center team at incentives@nationalgrocers.org.
*The NGAF TA Center addresses the challenges grocers and supermarket operators face in establishing nutrition incentive programs and is a proud partner of the Nutrition Incentive Hub. The Nutrition Incentive Hub, funded through a cooperative agreement from the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is a new resource that provides training, technical assistance, reporting\ and evaluation for those working to launch or expand SNAP incentives or produce prescription programs. The Nutrition Incentive Hub is led by Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition in partnership with Fair Food Network along with a coalition of evaluators, researchers, practitioners, and grocery and farmers market experts from across the country dedicated to strengthening and uniting the best thinking in the field to increase access to affordable, healthy food to those who need it most.
