The Food, Nutrition and Conservation Act
of 2008 (also known as the Farm Bill)
authorized funds to pilot test and
rigorously evaluate the impact of
financial incentives at the
point-of-sale for the purchase of
fruits, vegetables or other healthful
foods on the diet quality of
participants in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) FNS refers to this
effort as the
Healthy
Incentives Pilot or HIP. HIP is
expected to operate for 15 months in one
site.
The legislation authorizing HIP provides
for an evaluation and requires that “the
independent evaluation…use rigorous
methodologies, particularly random
assignment…” To that end, a sample of
about 1,500 SNAP households selected
from the 7,500 participating in HIP will
be randomly assigned to an experimental
group, while the same number of SNAP
households not participating in HIP will
be randomly selected for the control
group. Comparisons between these groups
will form the basis for determining HIP’s impacts. This research design
provides the rigor necessary to
attribute any changes in fruit and
vegetable consumption to the incentive.
Key evaluation objectives are to:
 |
determine if the financial
incentive provided by HIP increases
the amount of fruits and vegetables
consumed; |
|
|
determine if the incentive
substitutes for resources that would
otherwise have been spent on fruits
and vegetables, and if additional
calories consumed in fruits and
vegetables displace calories from
other food groups; |
|
|
identify the household
characteristics and circumstances
that influence any observed impact;
and |
|
|
estimate the Federal, State
and local administrative expenses
and benefits. |
The evaluation will also assess HIP’s
impacts on the State SNAP Agency and its
partners and describe the procedures
involved in planning, implementing and
operating the pilot.
Authoritatively addressing the
evaluation objectives requires a
relatively complex and intensive data
collection plan. Detailed information
on participant dietary intake will be
necessary to answer the main questions
about impacts on food consumption. This
information will be collected on
multiple occasions to assess early
dietary changes after a few months of
HIP participation and again several
months later. In addition, interviews
with SNAP staff, EBT vendors, food
retailers and other pilot team members
will document the implementation
experience, potentially different
effects on each stakeholder group, and
opinions about pilot operations.
More Information
Send questions about HIP to
HIP@fns.usda.gov
