Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) North Quabbin Community Meeting October 21, 2016
MA SNAP Enrollment: Summary SNAP Recipients: 774,051 SNAP Households: 447,883 SNAP Enrollment: 1 in 9 MA Residents Average SNAP HH benefit: $220.22/m or $7.22/d 35% SNAP Recipients Age 18 or under 19% SNAP Recipients Age 60+ (145,983) 36% SNAP Recipients with a disability SNAP clients live in every city & town across the Commonwealth Note: DTA, August 2016
Farmers Market Coupon Program WIC (1986 MA pilot) Seniors (1987 MA pilot) Healthy Incentives in MA WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (1989-1992, federal pilot), federal program 1992 Seniors (2001 federal pilot), federal program 2002 SNAP (1998 MA transitions to EBT) Farmers Markets begin to explore SNAP EBT Options: Early 2000 s. SNAP Matching Programs develop around 2008 Veggie Prescription Programs beginning 2011 In 2016,153 farmers markets accept SNAP and over 90 offer a match
Massachusetts SNAP/EBT Sales Year No. of Farmers Markets SNAP Sales* 2007 9 $4,543 Percent Change 2008 24 $7,333 61% 2009 30 $19,119 161% 2010 59 $122,685 542% 2011 90 $221,787 81% 2012 110 $312,835 41% 2013 126 $336,049 7% 2014 134 $366,226 9% 2015 146 $387,239 6% 2007-2015* Farmers Markets Farm Stands Mobile Markets CSAs Source: USDA-FNS, 2015
What is FINI? Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant Program (FINI) USDA-NIFA: National grant program $31.5 million in FY14/FY15 Supports projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among SNAP clients by providing incentives at the point of sale Three categories of projects requested: Tier 1: FINI Pilot Projects-FPP Tier 2: FINI Multi-year Community-based Projects-FP Tier 3: FINI Multi-year Large-Scale Projects-FLSP RFA based on best practice Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) DTA was awarded a Tier 3 FINI grant on April 1, 2015
FINI: Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) Expansion of the Healthy Incentives Pilot = Healthy Incentives Program Massachusetts statewide coalition Builds upon established HIP infrastructure and lessons learned Provides an incentive benefit at following statewide points of redemption: Seasonal, winter and year-round Farmers Markets Farm Stands Mobile Markets Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Programs Dollar for dollar match for F&V purchases, $40/$60/$80 cap per month Available to SNAP clients statewide Incentive instantly applied to SNAP EBT card Culturally appropriate foods
Project goals: HIP Goals & Outcomes Reduce barriers to SNAP client and retailer participation Increase availability of locally grown fruits and vegetables for SNAP clients Assess the impact of the new incentive program on participants purchase of fruits and vegetables to inform future expansion Intended project outcomes: Increased purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP clients Increased usage of SNAP benefits for purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables at the four points of sale Established sustainable statewide matching/incentive program
How Will HIP Work? includes HIP benefit $20 spent on food with your SNAP EBT card $10 spent on HIP target fruits and vegetables $10 credit to your EBT card for future SNAP purchases
HIP Statewide Massachusetts Interdepartmental partnership (DTA, DAR, DPH) Support of broad, diverse coalition of community partners Primary Partners: Southeast, Eastern, Northeast, Central, Western Mass Farmers Markets Buy Locals (9) Project Bread Food Banks (4) UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture DTA Local Offices (21) statewide DTA-SNAP Nutrition Education (SNAP Ed) Providers WIC Program Community Coordinators & Local Offices Mass in Motion (27 Grantees 60 Communities) Mass Convergence Partnership, Associated Grant Makers, MPHA Local Community Partners e.g., non-profits, municipalities, community organizations Direct farms, farmers markets, non-profits
HIP Statewide Structure Region 1 Client Region 2 Client Region 3 Client Region 4 Client Region 5 Client Region 1 Retailer Region 2 Retailer Region 3 Retailer Region 4 Retailer Region 5 Retailer HIP Client Steering Committee HIP Retailer Steering Committee HIP Leadership Team
& Local Partner Roles: Clients Serve as informational resource to SNAP clients and other community partners. Participate in a Group or HIP Steering Committee. Provide referrals to SNAP clients. Support information sessions, HIP trainings, OTG support. Disseminate materials to SNAP clients. Train organizational staff on HIP implementation. Promote the new HIP benefit to SNAP clients and other community partners. Support evaluation activities & HIP project outcomes.
Evaluation & Reporting JSI Research & Training Institute (State contractor) Rigorous self-evaluation (process and outcome) MA Statewide Evaluation Plan Baseline HIP Retailer Core Data Set Baseline Client Data Set IRB Submission/Approval Academic Advisory Group Westat (Independent Federal contractor) Comprehensive program evaluation - Cluster design Required to participate Contribute to minimum data set Collaborate to identify comparison sites State reporting requirements, sub-grantees
HIP Systems Infrastructure Structure HIP Project Sustainability Expanded number of SNAP Retailers Bill S69: An Act Establishing the Healthy Incentives Program H3419: An Act encouraging SNAP purchases at local community farmers markets FINI Trust
HIP Timeframe & Phases April 2015 April 2016 Planning and Start-Up December 2015 October 2016 Systems Development and Testing April 2017 March 2020 Implementation (HIP benefit availability) December 2015 March 2020 Operations and Evaluation April 2020 June 2020 Closeout
For More Information Frank Martinez Nocito Project Director, HIP Department of Transitional Assistance frank.martineznocito@state.ma.us 617.308.5826 HIP (pilot) materials: www.mass.gov/dta/hip HIP (pilot) reports: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/hip/
FINI: Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) On April 1, 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) a grant through the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program. The $3.4 million federal grant will provide DTA the opportunity to expand its Healthy Incentives Pilot into a Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) that will serve participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) statewide. HIP will serve the needs of low-income individuals and families in Massachusetts as well as support the local economy. Under the leadership of a Massachusetts interdepartmental effort which includes the Departments of Transitional Assistance (DTA), Agricultural Resources (DAR) and Public Health (DPH) the Commonwealth has garnered the support of a broad diverse coalition of statewide, community partners. The shared goals of this partnership are to create a sustainable statewide incentive program and to assess the impact of the new incentive program on SNAP clients purchase of locally-grown fruits and vegetables. Healthy Incentives Pilot Implemented in Hampden County, Massachusetts in 2011, the Healthy Incentives Pilot or HIP (Pilot) tested a method of making fruits and vegetables more affordable for SNAP participants. Under the Pilot, SNAP participants received a financial incentive for purchasing targeted fruits and vegetables. For every dollar of SNAP benefits spent on targeted fruits and vegetables at participating retailers, SNAP households received a 30-cent incentive directly on their SNAP EBT card. The incentive could be spent on any future SNAPeligible food purchases. The pilot results showed that the new HIP benefit increased fruit and vegetable consumption among pilot participants. HIP participants ate 26% more targeted fruits and vegetables (about ¼ cup more per day) than non-hip participants. This increase in consumption over non-hip participants is both statistically significant and large enough to be nutritionally relevant, with clear health benefits for participating families. See http://www.fns.usda.gov/hip/healthy-incentives-pilot for more details. FINI: Healthy Incentives Program Building upon this success, the new Healthy Incentives Program or HIP (Program) will provide a 100 percent incentive a dollar-for-dollar match for each SNAP dollar spent on targeted fruits and vegetables purchased at farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs statewide. These incentives will be calculated and instantly applied to the SNAP recipient s EBT card, and information on the incentive earned and SNAP account balance will be provided on the accompanying receipt. The maximum incentive that can be earned each month will be based on household size. Households with 1-2 members will be capped at $40, households with 3-5 members will be capped at $60, and households with 6 or more members will be capped at $80. These monthly cap amounts will allow for substantial increases in the amount of fruit and vegetable purchases by the household yet remain low enough to limit the State s potential exposure to errors or fraud (current reporting and fraud mechanisms will also apply to HIP). Overall goals of the HIP project include to: reduce barriers to participation in the benefit for both SNAP clients and retailers; increase the availability of locally grown fruits and vegetables for SNAP clients; and assess the impact of the new incentive program on participants purchase of fruits and vegetables to inform future expansion. Intended outcomes of the HIP project include: increased purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP clients; increased usage of SNAP benefits for purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables at the four points of sale; and demonstrated model for a sustainable statewide matching/incentive program.
HIP: Project Phases & Timeframes Planning and Start Up: April 1, 2015 April 30, 2016 Systems Design, Development and Testing: January 1, 2016 February 28, 2017 Implementation: April 1, 2017 March 31, 2020 (HIP benefit availability period) Operations and Evaluation: September 1, 2016 March 31, 2020 Closeout: April 1, 2020 June 29, 2020 HIP and Partnerships The HIP partnership is unique and based upon a history of collaborative work given the synergies in missions (crossing agriculture, public health and healthy food access) which brings complementary expertise and provides a foundation to support the work of the HIP coalition. A regional approach will guide the implementation of the new HIP project, and partnership leads will represent each area of the state: Southeast, Eastern, Northeast, Central and Western. The regional partner leads will coordinate the activities of the extended network of community partners in providing guidance on the development of outreach, marketing and education materials, training, and on-the-ground-support. This approach will address the primary needs of clients (participation) and retailers (processing) in accessing the new HIP benefit. It will also take into account the cultural and operational differences of each region and best utilize the existing network of community partners to serve as the primary point of contact for SNAP clients and retailers. Sustainability The Program is designed to be a model for a sustainable statewide incentives program that would positively impact low-income families and local communities. Incentive programs help to encourage the use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets and other agricultural points of sale, further stretching SNAP dollars. It will promote local farms, healthy diets, and incentives for low-income families, increasing availability of healthy foods to SNAP participants as well as supporting local agriculture and increasing customer base at these points of sale. The Program will provide positive benefits to SNAP clients for a 3-year period during the five-year grant cycle. An intended outcome of the project is that this project will lay the foundation for a future program and that if funding is available, these benefits will continue after the completion of the grant period. Specifically, the aspects of this project that will continue beyond the five-year project period include the HIP systems infrastructure, the regional support framework for the two Program stakeholder groups (i.e., clients and retailers), increased client awareness, and an increased number of SNAP farmers markets, farm stands, and CSAs. Based on the successful implementation of the Pilot, its significant findings, and the statewide interest in supporting healthy incentives for SNAP clients at the proposed points of sale, the Massachusetts Public Health Association along with other stakeholders and organizations have secured a legislative sponsor to file legislation that would authorize, subject to appropriation, an ongoing healthy incentives program. The Commonwealth s interdepartmental team commits to leverage support to this endeavor through the work of the FINI grant and its broad coalition of partners. The FINI grant will support the Commonwealth s efforts to build capacity and improve the infrastructure for providing an incentive benefit to SNAP clients, and will facilitate the development of a diverse, regional coalition simultaneously achieving goals that will both increase food access to SNAP clients and expand market demand in the agricultural sector, resulting in strengthened local economies. Additional funding will be required to enable SNAP clients to earn the HIP benefit in the future, beyond the 5-year grant period. For more information, contact: Frank Martinez Nocito Project Director Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance frank.martineznocito@state.ma.us 617-308-5826 Version 10/1/16