Dive Brief:
- The American Heart Association is advocating a special pilot program be included in the 2018 Farm Bill that allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to get extra money for fruits and vegetables if they choose not to use their food stamp benefits on sugary beverages, according to The Packer.
- Kristy Anderson, the health group's senior government relations advisor, made a pitch for the plan this week at the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Conference.
- The group noted in a Farm Bill policy statement that SNAP is the only federal food program without any nutrition standards. SNAP recipients have poorer-quality diets than income-eligible non-participants and tend to spend more on sugary beverages, the organization added.
Dive Insight:
It's unclear at this point whether the incentive pilot program would work — and even less clear whether Congress would include the proposal in next year's Farm Bill. What is clear is that incentives encouraging people to buy more fresh produce work.
Also at the Sept. 19 United Fresh event was Mike Beal, chief operating officer for Balls Food Stores and Hen House Markets, based in Kansas City, Kansas. Beal said his company has had a positive experience with the Double Up Food Bucks program from the Fair Food Network since 2015. As long as local produce was available, SNAP recipients received a dollar-for-dollar match on local produce up to $25 a day that could be applied to fresh fruits and vegetables purchased on their next shopping visit.
Launched in 2009 and administered by the Michigan-based Fair Food Network, the Double Up incentive program is offered by retailers and farmers markets in 23 states and supported by federal, state and private funds. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $16.8 million in grants to encourage SNAP participants to purchase healthy food.
St. Louis-based Schnucks also participated in the program — with help from a Mid-America Regional Council grant — in all 56 of its Missouri stores. The retailer added in-store signage to help customers identify which produce products were locally grown.
In Michigan, SpartanNash tripled its store participation in the program this year, offering it at select Family Fare, VG's and Valuland stores.
Given the success of the Double Up Food Bucks program, it's likely that some SNAP recipients nationwide would opt to buy fresher and healthier food if the only downside were giving up sugary drinks. At the same time, some might see it as government overreach into their personal culinary preferences and resent the intrusion.
There are more than 44 million SNAP consumers in the U.S., and the program cost the government about $74 billion in 2015. Benefit recipients consequently make up a sizable part of grocery retailers' business.
According to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP recipients spend the same amount of money as non-SNAP consumers and on many of the same items. This includes 40 cents out of every dollar that goes toward “basic items” such as meat, produce and dairy.
But the future of the SNAP program itself is in question, since the Trump administration has been threatening changes.
Retailers don't want SNAP benefits cut, and they also oppose cutting sugary drinks from the list of foods allowed to be purchased with food stamps. Many in the industry are also fighting attempts to disallow soda under the SNAP benefits, with numerous leaders lobbying Congress to not put restrictions in place.
It's uncertain how federal lawmakers will come down on the issue, but the American Heart Association is a potent lobbying force. So are retailers, however, and it's unlikely Congress will bow to public health pressure and jettison soda and other sugar-laden beverages from the SNAP program. They just might compromise and approve the pilot program instead.