Background 

The diet quality of most Americans, including 

households participating in the Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), falls far 

short of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 

(DGAs). Many products in grocery stores and 

other food retail environments have front-ofpackage (FOP) and shelf labels that 

communicate health claims and nutrition 

information to consumers. This study explores 

how such systems could contribute meaningfully 

to improving the food-purchasing decisions of 

SNAP participants. 

There were three main objectives of this study: 

(1) to develop a plan for how FOP and shelflabeling systems could be applied to identify 

healthy choices across all food categories 

(packaged, bulk, frozen, and fresh) and could be 

used as a basis for incentivizing healthy choices 

for SNAP participants; (2) to develop theorybased approaches that leverage FOP and shelflabeling systems to promote healthier food 

purchases by SNAP participants in a manner that 

is consistent with the DGAs; and (3) to identify 

two approaches that warranted further 

exploration through a future pilot study. 

Methods 

This conceptual study used a consultative 

process, including a review of existing literature 

and discussions with leading experts, to support 

the development of a plan for leveraging 

existing nutrition labeling systems for 

incentivizing healthy choices and the 

identification of promising incentive approaches 

for promoting them. 

The literature review included both peerreviewed and more informally published 

literature from 2000 to the present. The 10-

member expert panel included specialists in 

behavioral economics, food and nutrition, health 

communication, psychology of incentives, 

SNAP advocacy, and retail and manufacturer 

operations. These panelists participated in an inperson meeting as well as a Delphi process that 

used a series of surveys and conference calls to 

gather information and reach consensus through 

an iterative process. 

Main Points 

Several key considerations should be taken 

into account in developing approaches to 

incentivize healthy choices for SNAP 

participants: 

 Consumers face difficulty understanding 

nutrition labeling systems; those that do not 

require interpretation or complex processing 

have the most potential for supporting 

incentive approaches. 

 Pricing or financial incentives alone may 

shift purchases toward targeted foods, but 

substitution effects can reduce gains in 

nutritional quality. 

 Incentive approaches must carefully 

consider retailers’ and manufacturers’ 

competitive strategies and business practices 

to ensure feasibility and stakeholder buy-in. 

 Long-standing promotional and placement 

marketing approaches hold great potential 

for use in leveraging nutrition labeling. 

Nutrition guidance systems are better suited 

to support incentive approaches than 

nutrition information systems. Guidance 

systems with numeric scores or ordinal rankings 

can inform benchmarks to target the “healthiest” 

food items across food categories. For example, 

75 points on a 100-point scale—or four stars on 

a five-star scale—could serve as minimum 

ratings for product eligibility. Such a rating 

approach supports flexible application of 

incentive strategies across labeling systems and 

APPROACHES FOR PROMOTING HEALTHY FOOD PURCHASES BY 

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS (SUMMARY)

Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support July 2014 
Page 2 

reflects the desire to focus consumer attention on 

the healthiest items in the retail environment. 

Several criteria were used to identify six 

approaches for promoting healthier choices 

and then determine which two approaches 

were most promising. The decisionmaking 

process focused on feasibility of 

implementation; likely requirements for 

stakeholder buy-in; likely direct and indirect 

costs; ability to sustain the incentive approach; 

potential SNAP and low-income consumer 

impact; and the potential to influence the total 

diet of consumers. Specifications for all six 

approaches (see Table 1) were developed and 

are described in the report. A brief overview of 

the two promising approaches (bolded) is 

provided below. 

Table 1. Proposed Approaches for 

Incentivizing Healthy Choices 

Proposed Approach Type of 

Incentive 

Electronic Benefit Transfer 

(EBT) rebate 

Financial 

2-for-1 price promotion Financial 

USDA MyCart Nonfinancial 

USDA Live Better reward card Financial 

Discount coupon Financial 

Targeted merchandizing and 

concurrent promotions 

Nonfinancial 

One promising approach would allow 

manufacturers to offer discount coupons to 

SNAP participants through a USDAmanaged channel. These coupons would offer a 

financial incentive on targeted healthier items 

(as identified by the FOP and shelf-labeling 

system) by reducing their cost relative to nontargeted items. The discount coupons would 

encourage consumers to purchase a healthier 

product within a food category. Providing a 

means for distributing coupons to lower income 

households participating in SNAP is a potential 

“win-win-win” intervention that could benefit 

participating households, public health goals, 

and manufacturers. 

Another promising approach uses targeted 

merchandizing, including product placement 

and concurrent promotion strategies, to raise 

the profile of healthier products. Retailers 

could merchandize healthier items identified by 

FOP and shelf-labeling systems by using 

signage, lighting, and placement and other 

strategies already available to retailers to make 

these items more appealing to consumers. The 

merchandizing strategies would nudge 

consumers, including SNAP participants, to 

select healthier options by increasing the level of 

attention they receive beyond current sales. 

Materials developed to support the 

merchandizing and promotions would leverage 

the FOP and shelf-labeling system visually 

through a common color, image, logo, or slogan 

to communicate a coherent and consistent 

message to the SNAP shopper, as well as to 

other consumers. 

For More Information 

Gordon, Erika, Nicola Dawkins-Lyn, Reid 

Hogan-Yarbro, Allison Karpyn, Karen Shore, 

Stephanie Weiss, and Sean Cash. Approaches 

for Promoting Healthy Food Purchases by 

SNAP Participants. Prepared by ICF 

International for the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, July 

2014. Available online at 

www.fns.usda.gov/research-and-analysis

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