The GusNIP Year 6 Impact Findings is Here
GusNIP Year 6 Impact Findings Release Highlight Record Economic Impact, Improved Health Outcomes, and Expanded Reach Across the United States
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OMAHA, Neb., September 2, 2026 – The Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE) released the Year 6 Impact Findings Report for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), showing that USDA NIFA funded nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects achieved record economic impact, record incentive redemption, and its largest reach to date while continuing to improve the lives of participants and their communities.
Between September 2024 and August 2025, GusNIP generated $128 million in local economic impact and supported $62.2 million in redeemed nutrition incentives and produce prescriptions across 5,538 food retail and clinic locations in 42 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico. During the same period, participants reported increased fruit and vegetable intake, improved food security, and positive health outcomes. “We are thrilled that GusNIP continues to be such an impactful program,” said Dr. Amy Yaroch, CEO of the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Co-Project Director of the NTAE. “We are proud to work alongside nutrition incentive and produce prescription grantees who prioritize improved fruit and vegetable access and health for their participants. We also applaud USDA NIFA for its continued investment in these programs, which improve health while strengthening local food systems.”
Carmen Byker Shanks, Director of Scientific Strategy at the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Co-Project Director of the NTAE adds, "Each year, the GusNIP evidence base becomes stronger. Year 6 shows that nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects are consistently delivering measurable impacts for participants and communities. That growing body of evidence gives decision makers greater confidence that these approaches can and should be scaled to reach even more families."
Driving Impact Through Growth
In its sixth year, GusNIP continued to demonstrate how federal investments in nutrition and food systems creates measurable benefits for American families, farmers, retailers, and communities.
Record economic impact – GusNIP generated more than $128 million in local economic activity, representing the highest annual economic impact in program history.
Record incentive redemption – Participants redeemed $62.2 million in nutrition incentives and produce prescriptions, demonstrating strong utilization and return on investment.
Expanded access to healthy foods – More than 5,500 food retail and clinic locations offered incentives, creating additional opportunities for families to access fruits and vegetables in their communities.
Greater reach and efficiency – Nutrition incentive projects reached an average of 224,509 participants each month, serving more participants compared to Year 5, despite fewer active projects.
“These findings reinforce what communities across the country are already experiencing: nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs are effective—they help communities thrive,” said Holly Parker, CEO of Fair Food Network. “We’re encouraged to see continued nationwide impact and growing momentum to make healthy food more accessible and affordable for everyone.”
Continued Benefits for Participants
Year 6 findings continue to demonstrate the positive impact of nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs on participant health and well-being.
Increased fruit and vegetable intake for both nutrition incentive and produce prescription participants.
Improved food security within participating households.
Greater improvements with longer participation among nutrition incentive participants who participated for six months or longer.
Improved HbA1c and blood pressure in produce prescription participants in a pilot study.
High participant satisfaction, with 89% of nutrition incentive participants and 94% of produce prescription participants reporting positive experiences.
“So many Americans either have chronic disease or are at high risk of developing one over the next few years,” said Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS, Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. “GusNIP produce prescriptions help people afford the food they need to stay healthy, giving health care providers a new strategy for supporting their patients. At the same time, produce prescriptions are supporting local farmers and community food systems.”
Investing in Grantee Success
The NTAE continues to strengthen GusNIP implementation and growth nationwide. In Year 6, the NTAE:
Supported 187 active GusNIP projects across the nation.
Expanded grantee capacity through one-on-one advising, technical assistance, and eight communities of practice.
Developed over 40 new resources to support implementation, reporting, and peer learning.
Aggregated data from more than 5,500 sites and 10,000 participants to strengthen the national evidence base.
Published six peer-reviewed manuscripts and conducted six complementary studies that examined outcomes such as dietary quality,healthcare utilization, andfarmer experiences.
Launched the GusNIP Community Voices initiative to modernize and strengthen future evaluation measures by getting feedback from the GusNIP community.
The Year 6 findings reinforce a clear message: when healthy food is more accessible and affordable, communities flourish. Through continued investment in nutrition incentives and produce prescriptions, GusNIP is helping improve health outcomes, strengthen local economies, and expand opportunities for families, farmers, and food retailers across the country.
About the Nutrition Incentive Hub
The Nutrition Incentive Hub is a coalition of partners created by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE ), which supports nutrition incentive projects, including SNAP incentives, and produce prescription projects.
The GusNIP NTAE is led by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact (CNHI). In partnership with Fair Food Network and the University of California San Francisco, CNHI assembled the Nutrition Incentive Hub, a coalition of evaluators, researchers, practitioners, and grocery and farmers market experts dedicated to strengthening and advancing the field of nutrition incentives and produce prescriptions.
NTAE is supported by GusNIP Program grant no. 2023-70435-38766/project accession no. 1029638 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.