Congress Has the Opportunity to Make Nutritious Diets More Affordable in the 2023 Farm Bill
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a powerful tool to stave off hunger and reduce poverty, but over 60% of SNAP participants report cost as a barrier to a healthy diet. Even though the SNAP benefit amount was re-evaluated and updated in 2021, findings show that the modest benefit increase did not change dietary patterns amid rising food costs. The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) represents an important and effective government investment to improve access to fruits and vegetables and, by extension, health outcomes for Americans with low incomes.
With the 2023 Farm Bill negotiations in full swing, Congress has the opportunity to expand and strengthen GusNIP in order to ensure that produce is more accessible. Unfortunately, the House and Senate Budget Committees have refused requests for any increase in funding.
The most important thing Congress can do to support GusNIP is to increase funding. We estimate that funding needs for the program are about $5.3 billion annually for nutrition incentives to serve all 22 million SNAP-participating households. Additional program structure changes are also important to reduce the funds that states must contribute to GusNIP grants and to allow larger programs to scale even as newer programs develop and grow.
GusNIP is made up of two distinct but related competitive grant programs: one for nutrition incentives and one for produce prescriptions. Nutrition incentive programs are often referred to as doubling or matching programs (i.e., Double Up Food Bucks, Market Match, etc.) and serve to increase financial resources for purchasing fruits and vegetables by shoppers who use SNAP. Produce prescription programs, while they share similar goals to nutrition incentive programs, differ in that they are offered to people with chronic diseases and embrace the concept that “food is medicine.” These programs are often referred to as “Produce Rx” or “Veggie Rx.”
Ever since the Healthy Incentive Pilot in 2008 first funded SNAP fruit and vegetable incentives at the federal level, the Farm Bill has been an important source of funding to pilot, prove, and expand nutrition incentives and produce prescription programs. Over the years, GusNIP has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving Americans’ health outcomes. Data shows that program participants report higher levels of fruit and vegetable consumption than average Americans. The program also generates $85 million in local economic impact annually and GusNIP participation is associated with a decrease in food insecurity.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of public investment, the program does not reach everyone who could benefit from it. Both the recent COVID pandemic and high inflation have dramatically increased food insecurity. Demand for the program continues to outstrip available funding, both at the grant award level (where there are more applications than there is available funding) and at the individual program level (where incentives for a day or season often run out early).
Currently, there are three proposals to strengthen GusNIP in the 2023 Farm Bill that will invest in the health and well-being of Americans and secure a thriving, prosperous economy for all. As the graphic below shows, all of these bills seek to improve access to GusNIP through different funding levels, changes to matching requirements for grantees, and other program changes:
Opt for Health with SNAP (OH SNAP) provides the most funding and cuts the match requirement altogether, while the GusNIP Improvement Act and the GusNIP Expansion Act include important structural changes that advocates are asking for. These changes would provide greater certainty around future funding for larger-scale programs and reduce competition between those larger-scale projects and smaller, developing programs. The GusNIP Expansion Act also attempts to address cross-agency challenges that result from the multiple federal and state agencies involved in the administration of GusNIP projects but falls short as it does not propose any additional funding for the program.
Together, these bills represent important and robust investments in effective public health programs that support the health and well-being of our communities. Please join us in urging Congress to abundantly invest in GusNIP to help families afford nutritious food.
By: Ben Feldman (he/him)
Policy Consultant, Center for Science in the Public Interest
