The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) as a permanent federal food assistance entitlement program beginning in summer 2024. Summer EBT has been tested through evaluations of demonstration projects since 2011. With pending implementation of this new program, this is an appropriate time to reflect on what USDA, FNS research has learned through more than a decade of study.

This report presents findings from the evaluation of the first Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives project. The project tested take-up of incentives delivered through coupons issued to SNAP participants when they purchased "qualifying fluid milk" with their SNAP benefits at four pilot stores in west Texas.

List of FNS completed peer review plans and reports. 

Authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, the USDA Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables was designed to provide states with additional flexibility in the procurement of unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Participating states and school food authorities can purchase approved items with existing USDA Foods National School Lunch Program entitlement funds from any USDA Pilot-authorized vendor in support of the school meal standards.

This report assesses that pilot and includes a qualitative evaluation of the vendor and ITO experiences and an assessment of pilot costs.

The final evaluation report presents findings on the impacts of HIP on fruit and vegetable consumption and spending, the processes involved in implementation and operating HIP, impacts on stakeholders, and the costs associated with the pilot.

The Healthy Incentive Pilot (HIP) is being evaluated using a rigorous research design. The overall goal of the evaluation is to assess the impact of HIP on participants’ intake of fruits and vegetables. 

The Early Implementation Report addresses the processes involved in implementing and operating HIP, focusing on the early implementation period, from pilot inception to March 2012.