Is your co-op looking for ways to make delicious, healthy locally grown food accessible to all members of your community? A SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program, like Double Up Food Bucks, has helped many NCG co-ops make progress toward this goal. Thanks to increased federal funding for grants that supports these programs, it’s a great time to look into launching a program at your co-op.
What is a SNAP incentive program?
A SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program seeks to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that low income shoppers can buy by offering incentives at the point of sale — usually in the form of vouchers or tokens toward a future purchase. For example, if a customer purchases $10 of fruits and vegetables with their EBT card, they’d receive a voucher for $10 of fruits and vegetables to be used on their next shopping trip.
The benefits to shoppers are clear — but these programs are also designed to have additional benefits for local farmers and communities, which makes them an excellent fit for co-ops. The federal grant program that subsidizes these vouchers is called the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP, formerly Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives, FINI), and it specifically prioritizes funding for programs that are able to offer locally grown fruits and vegetables. Know any grocery stores that fit that bill?
In fact, NCG worked with our partners on Capitol Hill to get “cooperative grocers” called out by name in the Farm Bill for this program — a move which we hope will pave the way for food co-ops to proactively seek out a local government or nonprofit partner that is eligible to apply for a grant, and may just be looking for a food co-op like yours to join them on the project.
Who is eligible for a federal grant?
GusNIP is a federally funded grant program, so for-profit organizations like retailers aren’t eligible to apply for a grant directly. Instead, state or local government agencies and nonprofits can apply for grant money and partner with a food organization — usually farmers markets, CSA farms or local retailers like food co-ops that source and sell locally grown food.
Co-ops that are interested in establishing a SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program subsidized with federal funds should look for a local or national organization that has either already received a FINI/GusNIP grant or that would be eligible to do so. For example, Fair Food Network has a large grant for their Double Up Food Bucks program and currently has partners — including several NCG co-ops — in 29 states (and growing).
For your part, to be eligible to participate in any SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program as a retailer, your co-op must be SNAP-authorized and in compliance with all SNAP regulations and operating requirements.
Collaborate with a partner organization to establish a program at your co-op
Since the grants that fund SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive programs can’t be issued to co-ops directly, co-ops must collaborate individually with a partner organization to work out the details of a program that will best serve your community.
While it may take a little more work on the ground to establish a program, working intentionally with other organizations and people in your community earns your co-op credibility and is a testimony to your commitment to make healthy food accessible to everyone.
Be aware that while it is possible to offer a SNAP incentive program without federal funds, retailers must apply for and receive a waiver from USDA in order to do so. Fortunately, in December of 2020, USDA formalized this option and provided guidance on program eligibility requirements and how to apply for a waiver.
For more information on SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive programs and GusNIP (formerly FINI), check out our FAQ. NCG will continue to advocate at the federal level for GusNIP funding and retention of the program’s prioritization for program design that benefits local economies.
