Healthy Incentives Pilot
The Food, Nutrition and Conservation Act of 2008 (also known as the Farm Bill) authorized $20 million for pilot projects to evaluate health and nutrition promotion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to determine if incentives provided to SNAP recipients at the point-of-sale increase the purchase of fruits, vegetables or other healthful foods. FNS refers to this effort as the Healthy Incentives Pilot or HIP. SNAP was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. Pilot Site: Hampden County, Massachusetts was selected as the Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) site. Hampden County is a mix of twenty-seven urban, suburban and rural cities and towns and approximately 50,000 SNAP households. The Majority of SNAP participants are in the areas of Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee and West Springfield. Pilot Status: The Pilot ended as of December 31, 2012. HIP operated for 14 months, from November 2011 through December 2012. Each of the households randomly selected to participate in HIP were able to earn the incentive for 12 months.