A healthy food lifeline for people in need

Nestled within the Appalachian mountains of Charleston, the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition operates the SNAP Stretch project, which enables low-income people to make their SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) go further. When people use their benefits at farmers markets or certain retailers, they get extra money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, which are often produced by local farmers. By simultaneously supporting rural economies and providing hungry people with healthy foods, the project is a win-win for everyone involved. “SNAP Stretch lets our locals here feed into our local food economy without having to pay exorbitant prices,” as one grocer in the state puts it.

Another grocer recalls, “The first time a mom stood in the market office in tears, because [SNAP Stretch] was literally that bridge between paychecks that she [needed] to feed her family of four. And when you hear those stories … it really helps energize us and lift us up, and reinforce the fact that we’re doing this for the betterment of our community.” 

SNAP Stretch is one of many efforts that is funded in part by a program known as Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). The program is funded by the federal government through the passage of the Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that funds agriculture subsidies, nutrition assistance programs, conservation efforts, and more. Now, with the debate over the next Farm Bill heating up, Congress will decide on the fate of GusNIP and the life-changing initiatives like SNAP Stretch that it supports.

GusNIP was created in its current form through the 2018 Farm Bill with the goal of expanding access to fresh food and vegetables for SNAP recipients. The program was originally authorized to last through 2023, though this was extended for one additional year along with the rest of the Farm Bill. Now that that extension has expired, GusNIP is once again up for debate in Congress.

GusNIP is made up of three different components:

1) The Nutrition Incentive program funds projects that provide SNAP recipients with additional benefits when buying fresh fruits and vegetables. Examples include West Virginia’s SNAP Stretch and the national Double Up Food Bucks campaign, which provides up to $10 a day in produce funds for each recipient. Many GusNIP-funded projects team up with regional farmers and grocers to connect recipients with locally-grown fruits and vegetables, supporting the local economy.

2) The Produce Prescription program funds projects that give “prescriptions” for healthy food to low-income people at risk of diet-related medical conditions. These projects promote positive dietary changes to help recipients improve their health. 

3) The National Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Centers program supports organizations that provide training and education about GusNIP and other nutrition programs, raising awareness of the effort across our national food system.

Since its creation, GusNIP has helped to fund thousands of programs across 45 states and Washington, D.C., providing over $52 million in nutrition incentives in 2022-2023 alone. Although there is only limited research on the relatively new program, the data is promising. Recipients of the Nutrition Incentive and Produce Prescription benefits experience less food insecurity, more fruit and vegetable consumption, and better self-reported health. An overwhelming majority of beneficiaries who were surveyed viewed the programs positively.

Other research has confirmed the benefits of programs that give out prescriptions for fresh produce as a preventative health measure. Like the GusNIP Produce Prescription Program, these initiatives have helped improve health for those with health concerns such as high blood pressure. Along with supporting recipients’ well-being today, these benefits also help to reduce the risk of developing more serious issues in the future.

Unfortunately, GusNIP’s limited budget means that less than 1% of SNAP recipients currently receive such benefits. To reach more people in need, the program will need increased funding and changes to its rules. For example, the program currently requires that groups receiving its grants must find matching financial support elsewhere, limiting the funding stream to groups who already have significant sources of outside support. This creates a unique challenge for rural states like West Virginia. 

Currently, less than 7% of philanthropic funding reaches rural areas, and only a small number of foundations focus on rural development as their mission. As a result, community-driven initiatives like SNAP Stretch must rely heavily on state support to secure federal matching funds. In the next legislative session, the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition will request these crucial funds from the incoming governor to sustain their matched GusNIP funding. Loosening these matching requirements could allow more groups to participate in GusNIP, helping even more low-income people access nutritious and affordable food.

The good news is that Congress might actually do the right thing on this front. For all of its other flaws, the House of Representatives’ Farm Bill proposal introduced earlier this year makes positive changes to GusNIP. It increases funding for the program, waives matching requirements for areas with “persistent poverty,” allows for GusNIP benefits to be used for frozen and other non-”fresh” produce, and transfers the program from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Health and Human Services. These changes would increase GusNIP’s effectiveness in reaching more people in need with vital nutritional benefits that can support a long, healthy life.

Congress should ensure that these positive reforms make it into the final Farm Bill. They should also continue to work on improving the program in the future. The additional GusNIP funding currently under discussion in Congress is still not enough to fully sate our nation’s hunger for healthy produce. That leaves more work to be done in the push to raise funding levels even further. Still, the proposals for increased funding and loosened matching requirements represent a clear step toward food justice.

As one of many policies in the Farm Bill that can help to reduce hunger in the United States, GusNIP is a great example of communities working together to support human health and prosperity. The next Farm Bill should expand this and other nutrition programs as part of a comprehensive effort to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the United States, with no one left behind.