Colorado launched a pioneering program that places nutritious eating in reach of hundreds of thousands of low-income families by providing up to $60 a month bonus benefits to those buying fresh fruits and produce. The Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus program is a pioneering strategy in nutrition assistance, encouraging healthy food shopping through dollar-for-dollar matching funds to recipients.
Program overview: Rewarding healthy choices
The Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus program benefits about 584,000 of the state’s SNAP recipients, nearly 10% of all Coloradans. The pilot program, created in collaboration by the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) and Nourish Colorado, gives instant credits on participants’ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards upon a purchase of eligible fruit and vegetable products.
Members receive up to $20 per purchase and up to $60 monthly in bonus rewards with unlimited daily and weekly purchases. No sign-up or paperwork are required, and the program is run automatically: SNAP participants receive funds when they make purchases at participating stores.
How the program works
The Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus offers a simple three-step process that removes obstacles to access. SNAP participants first buy qualifying fruits and vegetables at participating grocery markets, farm stands, or farmers markets. They secondarily receive an automatic dollar-for-dollar match loaded onto their EBT card. Thirdly, participants can spend the bonus money on anything SNAP-eligible to buy at any state-authorized market.
“The Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus program allows families to be able to stretch their food budgets and purchase fruit and vegetables that they might not have otherwise purchased without this incentive program,” said Abby McClelland, director of CDHS’s Food and Energy Assistance Division. This aspect is especially welcome in the wake of recent grocery price hikes on low-income families across the country.
Eligible foods and participating locations
The program offers a variety of healthy foods that are focused on attaining maximum nutritional achievement. Healthy food encompasses whole fruits and vegetables, frozen fruits and vegetables without added salt, sugar, or fat, and dried legumes. In the farmer markets, individuals are also rewarded with bonuses when they buy dried fruits and vegetables without added ingredients.
Today, over 30 sites throughout Colorado are enrolled in the program, ranging from large cities such as Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Loveland to small towns such as Mancos and Hotchkiss. The program includes brick-and-mortar stores as well as farm stands, farmers markets, and mobile markets, providing widespread access throughout and around urban and rural settings.
Forcing success rates and economic effects
Since it began as a pilot in summer 2024, Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus has been a resounding success with a redemption of over 99%. In the first phase, the program has disbursed over $57,000 in federal funds to participating families, which indicates favorable community acceptance.
Local stores witness strong levels of increased customer traffic and sales. “We more than doubled our SNAP customers’ sales,” said Grace Kelley, owner of Further Up Farms. Emma Kottenstette, farm owner of Farm Runners, said that “most customers who shop here are aware of the program and are stoked and then just keep coming back.”
Federal support and expansion plans
Colorado’s effort is the result of close to $8 million in USDA grant money received as part of a $25 million federal investment in electronic healthy incentive pilots. Colorado was accompanied by Washington and Louisiana as two of three states to pilot this new nutrition assistance strategy.
The initiative is part of more comprehensive federal moves to update SNAP benefits and promote healthy eating by low-income citizens. “Research indicates that incentive programs in SNAP are a proven means to promote healthy eating and nutrition security,” said Mario Ramos, acting regional administrator for USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
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