Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) Study Dataset

The Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) investigated the impact of making fruits and vegetables more affordable for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, authorized funds for pilot projects to determine if financial incentives provided to SNAP recipients at the point of sale increased the consumption of fruits, vegetables, or other healthful foods. On the basis of this legislative authority, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) designed the Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP).Under HIP, SNAP participants received on their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card an incentive of 30 cents for every dollar they spent on targeted fruits and vegetables (TFVs). TFVs included fresh, canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables without added sugars, fats, oils or salt (with some exceptions), but excluded white potatoes and 100% fruit juice (the same set of fruits and vegetables eligible for the WIC Fruit and Vegetable Cash Value Voucher). The incentive was capped at $60 per household per month to prevent misuse and ensure that total incentive payments would not exceed $2 million. The cap did not appear to constrain households as very few households reached it.