Evaluation Support for Washington State’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) initiative in Farmers Markets

One barrier to healthy eating for people with low incomes can be the cost of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. The Washington State Department of Health has implemented a statewide large-scale Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) initiative since 2015 to make it easier for low-income participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to afford fruits and vegetables. With funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Washington is piloting nutrition inventive strategies in three ways: at farmers markets, through “prescriptions” from healthcare providers and other community services, and in Safeway grocery stores. Beginning in 2019, the Washington State Legislature began allocating state funding for the statewide fruit and vegetable nutrition incentive programming. 

As a contracted partner in this statewide initiative, CPHN supports evaluation efforts for nutrition incentive programming taking place in farmers markets. When customers spend their SNAP benefits at participating farmers markets, they received additional tokens or vouchers to spend on fruit and vegetables at the market. CPHN manages the data collection process related to these nutrition incentive transactions and reporting for more than 90 farmers markets and seven regional partners across the state.