Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant Program: Implications for the 2018 Farm Bill and Future Directions

• Published in: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2019-03, Vol.119 (3), p.395-399
• Main Authors: Parks, Courtney A., Stern, Katie L., Fricke, Hollyanne E., Clausen, Whitney, Fox, Tracy A., Yaroch, Amy L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture - legislation & jurisprudence; Farm bill; Farms; Food Assistance - legislation & jurisprudence; Food security; Food Supply - economics; Fruit and vegetable consumption; Healthy food incentives; Humans; Poverty - economics; Program Evaluation; Reimbursement, Incentive - legislation & jurisprudence; SNAP; United States; United States Department of Agriculture - legislation & jurisprudence
• ISSN: 2212-2672; 2212-2680
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2018.12.005

The 2018 Farm Bill was finalized in mid-December of 2018 after months of discussion and debate between policymakers. The Farm Bill has many implications for low-income and food-insecure populations in the United States. One program within the Farm Bill that helps bridge the nutrition gap for low-income Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants is the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grant Program (FINI). This commentary explores the best practices and promising findings of FINI projects to inform future policy discussions and implementation of FINI. In addition, we discuss knowledge gaps and opportunities within the context of the extant literature. Stakeholders and FINI grantees reported positive impacts of FINI grants, describing outcomes across farmers, grocery store owners, local economies, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants (eg, increased fruit and vegetable consumption). The 2018 Farm Bill was largely in alignment with the Academy's recommendations, and preserved the integrity of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as well as increased funding for FINI.