By Sarah Wang | Staff Writer
Serving both the Baylor and Waco communities, the Add Milk! program strives to increase the purchase and consumption of milk in order to foster healthier lifestyles.
The Add Milk! Health Fluid Milk Incentive falls within the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty and partners with Jubilee Food Market, ShopRite grocery stores and Wakefern Food Corporation.
The program also cooperates with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services funds the project through a grant.
Dr. Lori Kanitz, project director for federal grants at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, said Baylor’s role in the Add Milk! program is to collect data for the USDA. She said recorded statistics are then used to develop policies to help people with low incomes have access to nutritious food.
“We are able to study that, research it and make recommendations,” Kanitz said. “This is a great example of how Baylor as a research university can fulfill its mission to contribute to the wider community and be part of making the community healthier.”
Jubilee Food Market — one of the Add Milk! partners — is a local market and collaborator that functions under Mission Waco, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing programs that “empower the poor and marginalized.”
The collaborator plays a role in the Add Milk! program by allowing SNAP recipients to purchase select dairy products. When they pay with their Lone Star Card, a dollar-for-dollar coupon for SNAP-eligible products is granted to them, and they can use it during their next store visit.
John Calaway, executive director of Mission Waco, said Jubilee Food Market is built to meet the community’s needs for affordable and healthy food options. Partnered with Baylor through a grant, the collaborator brings local communities to healthier options.
“Changing behavior is quite challenging, and financial incentives like this are one of the best ways to help change behavior,” Calaway said. “The behavior change that we hope to see is that customers are eating and drinking healthier options at our grocery store, thus improving health across the community.”
Calaway also said the Add Milk! program is a positive addition to the resources that Mission Waco provides to its neighborhoods. According to Calaway, sales on dairy products have been increasing after the implementation of the Add Milk! program, but there are also challenges.
“The particular challenge we face at our grocery store is that we really need more middle-class customers shopping in our store, because they buy the more expensive items that have a higher margin,” Calaway said. “[It] allows us to have better rewards programs that we can make groceries affordable for those in our community.”
Calaway said people can help bring about a better community by visiting the shop.
“They can serve our neighborhood just simply by buying the groceries,” Calaway said. “Even if it was once out of every 10 shopping trips, that would make a huge difference for our community.”
