Authors
Susan Bartlett, Jacob Klerman, Lauren Olsho, Christopher Logan, Michelle Blocklin, Marianne Beauregard, Ayesha Enver, Abt Global; Parke Wilde, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University; Cheryl Owens, Margaret Melhem, MAXIMUS
The Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) tested a way of making fruits and vegetables more affordable for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under HIP, SNAP participants received a financial incentive for purchasing fruits and vegetables. The HIP evaluation used a random assignment research design.
Specifically, 7,500 SNAP households in Hampden County, Mass. were randomly selected to participate in HIP, while the remaining 47,595 households continued to receive SNAP benefits as usual.
The final evaluation report – prepared by Abt Global and its partners for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service – found that HIP increased fruit and vegetable consumption of pilot participants; most retailers reported that HIP purchases were easy to process; and that some evidence indicated that program impacts were larger for households who had more positive attitudes about fruits and vegetables before HIP, among other findings.
Visit the USDA web page for the report appendices and summary.