Healthy Incentives Program enhances access to local fruits and vegetables

In early August, the Baker-Polito Administration announced over 100 new farm vendors for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). HIP connects SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) clients in Massachusetts with locally grown fruits and vegetables, providing a dollar-for-dollar automatic electronic reimbursement for SNAP purchases from approved retailers at farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and community supported agriculture (CSA) farm share programs, up to a monthly limit. In addition to supporting low-income households, HIP promotes a strong local food system.

The recent announcement, which also includes expanded access points for some current HIP vendors, prioritizes service in areas where food insecurity and rates of diet-related chronic disease have historically been disproportionately high. Most newly selected HIP vendors are local, small-scale farmers who have ties to the communities and populations they serve or have demonstrated intent to serve high-need communities through innovative delivery models like mobile markets and targeted outreach. Collectively, newly selected HIP vendors provide access across the Commonwealth in more than 25 languages. For a full list of HIP vendors, visit DTA’s website.

SNAP and HIP are key state and federal GBFB policy priorities and are critical to our mission of ending hunger in Eastern Massachusetts. GBFB’s SNAP Outreach team enrolled over 700 households in SNAP benefits in the 2022 fiscal year, paving the way to increased access to food assistance programs like SNAP and HIP in the communities we serve. Check out GBFB’s SNAP enrollment page for more information.

The addition of new HIP vendors is a big victory for the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative’s Campaign for HIP Funding, driven by a coalition of over 300 farmers, farmers markets, nonprofit agricultural/food system organizations (including GBFB), faith institutions, healthcare institutions, and individuals with lived food insecurity experience. The Campaign also successfully advocated for $20 million in HIP funding for the fiscal year 2023 budget.

About HIP

Launched in 2017, HIP is the only statewide nutrition incentive program in the country that is integrated into the national EBT system through which SNAP recipients obtain and spend monthly benefits. To access a multilingual, mobile-friendly interactive map and find a HIP vendor, click here.

The program, described as “very popular with our Massachusetts farmers” by Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux, is an example of successful collaboration across the environmental and health and human services agencies. “Through programs like HIP, we can work together to not only address the sustainability of local agriculture, but also to combat food insecurity across the Commonwealth,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card.