Understanding Impacts of SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program at Farmers' Markets: Findings from a 13 State RCT

Allison Karpyn; Julia Pon; Sara B Grajeda; Rui Wang; Kathryn E Merritt; Tara Tracy; Henry May; Ginnie Sawyer-Morris; McKenna M Halverson; Alan Hunt

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127443

Understanding Impacts of SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program at Farmers' Markets: Findings from a 13 State RCT

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 17;19(12):7443. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127443.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Research in Education and Social Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA.
² Target, Mountain View, CA 94040, USA.
³ Podium, Orem, UT 84097, USA.
⁴ Mathematica, Washington, DC 20002, USA.
⁵ Robert Half, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA.
⁶ Musconetcong Watershed Association, Asbury, NJ 08802, USA.

Abstract

Disparities in healthy food access and consumption are a major public health concern. This study reports the findings from a two-year randomized control trial conducted at 77 farmers' markets (FMs) in 13 states and the District of Columbia that sought to understand the impact of fruit and vegetable (FV) incentive vouchers, randomly issued at varied incentive levels to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, for use at FMs. Measures included FV and overall household food purchasing; FV consumption; food insecurity; health status; market expenditure; and demographics. A repeated-measures mixed-effects analysis and the Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) were used to examine outcomes. Despite 82% reporting food insecurity in the prior year, the findings showed that financial incentives at FMs had statistically significant, positive effects on FV consumption; market expenditures increased with added incentives. SNAP recipients receiving an incentive of USD 0.40 for every USD 1.00 in SNAP spent an average of USD 19.03 per transaction, while those receiving USD 2 for every USD 1 (2:1) spent an average of USD 36.28 per transaction. The data showed that the incentive program at the highest level (2:1) maximally increased SNAP FM expenditure and FV consumption, increasing the latter by 0.31 daily cups among those who used their incentive (CACE model).

Keywords: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); farmers’ markets; food security; fruits and vegetables; incentive programs; low-income.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Farmers
Food Assistance*
Food Supply
Fruit
Humans
Motivation
Vegetables

Grants and funding

This research was funded in part by three US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grants: (1) Grant # 2015–70018–23350: Ladder for Growth: A National Network to Build Capacity and Test Innovative Strategies for Healthy Food Incentives; (2) Grant # 2015–70018–23350: Fresh Access Bucks: Increasing Food Access and Florida Farmer Sales at Markets Statewide; and (3) Grant # 2016–70025–25227: Incentivizing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in the Big Apple.