The California Nutrition Incentive Program, or CNIP, matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—or SNAP and also known as CalFresh in California—dollars spent on fruits and vegetables at certified farmers’ markets and other retail locations. This program is known in many places as Market Match. Nutrition Policy Institute’s latest pilot study evaluation report suggests text messages to SNAP shoppers promoting Market Match may improve their awareness of farmers’ markets as a place to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables but did not increase utilization of Market Match. Selected CalFresh study participants—with no history of using Market Match—who received one text message each week over five weeks reported appreciating the informative messages and frequency with which they received them. Although participants reported increased visits to farmers’ markets to purchase fruits and vegetables, the majority did not seek out and therefore did not utilize the Market Match program as was intended. Interviews with study participants identified key barriers to accessing Market Match, including being unaware of the program despite receiving the text messages, lacking SNAP funds required to receive the match, not stopping by the farmers’ market information booth, where Market Match tokens are distributed, or not referring to the text messages for support or instructions during their visits to the farmers’ markets. This pilot study provides critical findings to inform larger efforts or evaluations of efforts to promote nutrition incentive programs to SNAP shoppers. The evaluation report was prepared by Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Samantha Sam-Chen, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Ron Strochlic and Wendi Gosliner. The report was supported by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, or GusNIP, project award no. 2022-70415-38572, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
