Fruit and vegetable incentive programs
Local governments can invest in this strategy using State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
- This strategy can help promote healthy childhood environments. The U.S. Department of Treasury has indicated that strategies that help achieve this outcome are eligible for the use of Fiscal Recovery Funds.
- Investments in this strategy are SLFRF-eligible as long as they are made in qualified census tracts or are designed to assist populations or communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Program overview
Subsidizing the purchase of healthy foods: Fruit and vegetable incentive programs (also referred to as bonus dollars, market bucks, produce coupons, nutrition incentives, and more) provide individuals with supplemental funds specifically for purchasing healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables. By making fruits and vegetables more affordable, these programs encourage individuals to purchase and consume more healthy foods.
Operated in cooperation with retailers: Fruit and vegetable incentive programs can be sponsored by social service agencies, private foundations, local governments, and other community-based organizations. Typically, program sponsors work closely with area retailers (e.g., grocery stores) to train their staff on qualifying purchase criteria, how to accept benefits for payment, and program eligibility criteria.
Run programs through SNAP: Most often, incentive programs are run through the SNAP Healthy Incentives program, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). In this case, households that receive SNAP benefits receive an additional incentive to purchase healthy foods. To establish an incentive program through SNAP Healthy Incentives, a sponsor must identify a funding source, partner with SNAP-authorized retailers, and receive approval from the FNS.
Serving a broader population: Program sponsors may also operate independent fruit and vegetable incentive programs. In this case, eligibility criteria may be broader, such as for all pregnant women or all households with young children. However, such programs must build out their own infrastructure to track and process benefits to program participants.
Varied approaches to incentivizing healthy foods: Typically, incentives are retroactive. For example, participants may earn coupons or credits based on the amount of eligible food they purchased. The incentive amount varies from dollar-to-dollar matches to designated matching increments (e.g., $1 for every $3 spent). In some cases, however, incentives are provided automatically at certain intervals (e.g., a sum each month based on household size).
- Strategies
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Improving access to healthy food
- Cost per Participant
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$10-$20 per day per participant
Multiple studies with rigorous designs demonstrate that fruit and vegetable incentive programs are a well-supported strategy for improving access to healthy food and increasing the purchase and consumption of fruit and vegetables.
- This assessment is based on evidence from a 2020 research synthesis.
Research and identify community needs and resources: Before implementing a fruit and vegetable incentive program, organizations or governments should conduct a community needs assessment to understand which people in a community would be most likely to benefit from the program, which locations are most likely to be utilized, and what forms of outreach should be used for publicizing the opportunity. This planning process can help implementing organizations identify and proactively address other factors that may reduce uptake of the incentives program, such as language barriers, lack of public transportation, or inaccessibility for people with disabilities.
Promote the program widely and proactively: Once a fruit and vegetable program is established, people need to be aware of the opportunity in order to take advantage of it. Promotional materials should be targeted to all eligible participants in a given area. Promotion efforts should also include clear, actionable guidelines for who is eligible to participate, how benefits can be accessed, what form they will take, and any daily or weekly limits for spending.
Leverage partnerships: Organizations implementing fruit and vegetable incentive programs should establish partnerships with nonprofits, private foundations, or local governments. These partnerships can be leveraged for funding, publicizing the program, educating managers at the locations operating the program, or collecting data and assessing impact over the course of a program.
Make incentives easy to use on a recurring basis: People may be more likely to utilize incentives if they are delivered electronically, such as through a SNAP EBT card, rather than physically. In addition, offering incentives more frequently (e.g., weekly instead of each month) is associated with increases in the purchase and consumption of healthy foods.
Include an educational component: Healthy food incentive programs may be more successful when coupled with educational efforts about the use, storage, and nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. Knowledge of how to prepare vegetables in particular has been associated with higher utilization of fruit and vegetable incentive programs.