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Hispanic Health Council Research: Media Blitz Promotes SNAP Participation

The Hispanic Health Council has been a pioneer in using social marketing to increase SNAP participation by low-income immigrants and working poor populations in the Greater Hartford area.

Materials developed by the USDA have been translated and adapted for Spanish-speaking audiences and placed strategically in media outlets likely to be viewed by the target population.

The council launched its first media campaign in 2005, when a banner bearing the message: “You or Somebody You Know May Qualify for Food Stamps,’’ was placed outside the Hispanic Health Council’s building, located at a major crossroads leading into Hartford’s largest, predominantly Latino neighborhood. In addition, billboard-style ads were placed on city buses. Paid and free commercials ran on television, radio and in newspapers, in English and Spanish. Finally, flyers were distributed at various locations throughout the target area.

Research by the Hispanic Health Council indicated that at least 46 percent of people surveyed about the campaign were eligible for SNAP, but not participating in the nutrition subsidy before the campaign began.

More than 13 percent of people surveyed applied for SNAP as a result of the social marketing campaign. There appeared to be a dose-response relationship between the number of exposures to social marketing materials and the proportion of participants who applied after exposure. In other words, the more advertisements people saw or heard, the more likely they were to apply.

The Hispanic Health Council has repeated the USDA-funded social marketing campaign annually since the launch in 2005 and has helped thousands of people apply for nutrition assistance. The use of mass media to promote the SNAP program has since spread to other cities.

For more information, contact Sofia Segura-Perez, associate director, Center for Community Nutrition at 860-527-0856, ext. 260 or sofias@hispanichealth.com