Massachusetts Food System Collaborative
Massachusetts Food System Collaborative

Campaign for Healthy Incentives Program Funding

The Collaborative leads the Campaign for HIP Funding to ensure that the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which provides fresh, healthy, local fruits and vegetables for SNAP recipients, receives increased funding to meet demand, operates year-round, and adds new farmers to fill gaps in program coverage. The Campaign coalition includes more than 300 farmers, farmers markets, nonprofit agricultural and food system organizations, faith institutions, healthcare institutions, individuals with lived experience with food insecurity, and more.

March 2024: Governor Maura Healey’s administration has committed to fully funding HIP through the end of fiscal year 2024! There will be no program suspension this spring. The Governor has included $5.1 million for HIP in a supplemental budget. The Campaign will advocate to the legislature to ensure this funding is included in the final supp budget. Join the Campaign at our annual HIP Lobby Day at the State House, starting at 11 am on March 26th, 2024! RSVP here.

Governor Healey also funded HIP at $25 million in her fiscal year 2025 budget proposal. We are now turning our attention to the legislature to advocate for $25 million in their fiscal year 2025 budget proposals.

View current campaign updates and calls to action here.

Join the Campaign for HIP funding by signing on here!

Campaign highlights

The hundreds of Campaign members have had significant successes since the campaign began. We especially want to thank the Campaign Steering Committee; Leran Minc and Jen Lemmerman of Project Bread, Shannon Hickey of SEMAP, Kelly Coleman of CISA, Laura Sylvester of the Food Bank of Western Mass, Laura Smith of Lane Gardens and Oakdale Farms, Vickey Siggers of Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, Jonathan Guzman of Groundwork Lawrence, Enrique Vargas of Mill City Grows, Aiesha Washington of Action for Boston Community Development, and Liz O’Gilvie of the Springfield Food Policy Council and Gardening the Community, for their work strategizing and guiding our advocacy.

We have successfully advocated for $59 million for the program since 2017:

  • $1.35 million in funding for the program in the FY18 budget 
  • $2.15 million in a FY18 supplemental budget
  • $4 million in the FY19 budget 
  • $6.5 million in the FY20 budget 
  • $2 million in a FY20 supplemental budget 
  • $5 million in CARES Act funding
  • $13 million in the FY21budget 
  • $13 million in the FY22 budget 
  • $12 million in the FY23 budget, plus a commitment to carry forward $12 million of unspent funds from previous years.
  • $5 million in the FY24 budget, plus a commitment to carry forward $8.8 million of unspent funds from previous years.
  • A commitment for supplemental funding in FY24

In 2022, the program was opened to applications from new vendors, specifically targeting Black SNAP clients, SNAP clients with disabilities, and priority communities with limited access to the program. HIP is a strong racial equity tool and we were excited to see this opportunity and thoughtful approach from the Department of Transitional Assistance that added 107 new vendors to the program!

In 2020 we succeeded in efforts to make the program more equitable when the Department of Transitional Assistance opened the program up to new farmers. 39 farmer vendors were authorized to fill geographic gaps in program coverage, many of them farmers of color committed to serving their communities with limited access to fresh healthy produce.

In 2020 the legislature passed and the governor signed a law making the program year-round, as a way of avoiding the annual suspensions that have undercut the program’s effectiveness.

Finally, we have built significant support in the legislature. The program is one of the top priorities of the Legislature’s bicameral and bipartisan Food System Caucus, which has more than 145 members and counting. 

HIP highlights

The Collaborative has written a report on the history of the Campaign for HIP Funding, which can be found here.

HIP fact sheet

Fact sheet citations

HIP/SNAP outreach resources developed by Campaign members.

Videos and stories from HIP families and farmers, produced by the Campaign.

Media coverage of HIP’s successes ,and history of the program. 

Information about the program from the Department of Transitional Assistance.

For more information about the campaign, please contact Becca Miller.


 

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Massachusetts Food System Collaborative