WASHINGTON, D.C. — A USDA study published in April indicates some methods are more effective than others to encourage fruit and vegetable purchases by federal nutrition program participants, especially among households not already purchasing many.

 The study, Comparing Alternative Economic Mechanisms to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Purchases, looked at three systems used in pilot programs to increase produce purchases by participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The three systems included matching money spent for fruit and vegetable purchases; a rebate on fruit and vegetable spending; and cash value vouchers for such purchases.

The researchers found cash value vouchers increased fruit and vegetable purchases the most among households not already purchasing them. A bonus or rebate tends to work better for promoting increased fruit and vegetable purchases by households already buying them.

“As the proportion of SNAP consumers who purchase no FV (fruits and vegetables) increases, the ability of the cash value voucher to increase average FV purchases tends to strengthen, while the ability of a rebate or bonus to increase average FV purchases tends to diminish,” concluded the study.

The USDA study acknowledged important differences between types of SNAP recipients. Those differences will have an impact on the effectiveness of the three types of incentives. The researchers focused on how to best get households with little history of purchasing fruits and vegetables to start buying produce.

The researchers found that a cash value voucher will be the best at stimulating those households to start buying produce. Those households will be the most likely to experience long-term health benefits from healthier eating, according to the study.

 

“Together, these two factors suggest that a cash value voucher may increase nutrition and health among the SNAP population by more than a rebate, even if a rebate increases average consumption of FVs by more than a cash value voucher,” wrote Mark Prell and David Smallwood, the USDA researchers.

 

The study, which used economic modeling to predict policy outcomes, mirrors results of programs already in place. The 2014 farm bill funded pilot programs in 27 states, providing various incentives for produce purchases.

Early evaluation of those efforts indicates average fruit and vegetable consumption increased among participating households; still, up to one-third of recipients may not increase purchases, according to USDA.

That group of households could benefit more when produce purchase incentives are accompanied by nutrition education programs, like SNAP-Education and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Other studies have documented participants in those two programs have increased fruit and vegetable intake, said Heather Eicher-Miller, assistant professor of nutrition science at Purdue University.

“However, long-term evaluation of the sustained improvement has not been completed, nor has the change been evaluated against a control group,” she said. Purdue researchers will soon finish a study to address those research gaps.

  

A cash value voucher program has been piloted for participants in the USDA Women, Infants and Children program and found to increase fruit and vegetable purchases among WIC recipients. A recent study recommended maintaining and increasing the value of that voucher, a position supported by fresh produce industry groups.