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UC San Diego Center for Community Health’s Food is Medicine Unit is proud to share that our article, “The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project: A Model for Direct Nutrition Incentive Integration for SNAP Participants in the Retail Grocery Store Setting,” has been published in Health Promotion Practice, a leading journal focused on advancing evidence-based public health practice. 

The article highlights findings from California’s first-in-the-nation pilot project to integrate nutrition incentives directly into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT system (known as CalFresh in California), at grocery stores and farmers' markets, removing common barriers like separate enrollment, vouchers, or loyalty cards.

Why This Matters

Although CalFresh plays a critical role in food access, it does not specifically incentivize healthy food purchases. The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project tested a new approach: when participants used CalFresh benefits to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, they automatically earned a dollar-for-dollar incentive (up to $60 per month) that was credited directly to their CalFresh account and could be redeemed at any CalFresh-authorized retailer.

Key Results

  • Nearly 93,000 CalFresh households participated

  • Participants earned almost $18 million in nutrition incentives

  • 98% of incentives were redeemed, far exceeding paper-based models

  • Most participants reported increased fruit and vegetable purchases and perceived health benefits

  • Retailers reported the program was easy to implement and aligned with their values

A Scalable Model for Healthy Food Access 

By embedding incentives directly into the CalFresh infrastructure, the Pilot Project demonstrates a scalable, equitable, and participant-centered model for strengthening nutrition assistance and healthy food access. The technology used in California is deployed in other states and has already been replicated in Colorado, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and Washington, creating strong potential for further expansion of similar programs nationwide.

We’re grateful to the California Department of Social Services, participating grocery store retailers and farmers markets, community-based organizations, and evaluation partners who made this work possible and to Health Promotion Practice for recognizing its contribution to the field.