Grantee Name
Public Health Solutions, on behalf of the Mayor's Office of Food Policy
Funding Area
Healthy Food, Healthy Lives
Publication Date
December 2021
Grant Amount
$200,000
Grant Date:
June 2017 - October 2019
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORTNutrition incentive programs are proven to make healthy foods more affordable for low-income consumers and encourage healthy purchases, but there are obstacles to scaling current models.
For example, benefits under some programs can only be redeemed at certain places, such as farmers markets, which may not be useful to New Yorkers who typically purchase their food and other basic necessities at larger chain grocery stores.
NYHealth awarded Public Health Solutions a grant to help the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy pilot an incentive program designed to be more accessible and to support long-term healthy shopping patterns. The pilot aimed to make it easier for residents to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating local supermarkets using a weekly discount card. The Mayor’s Office of Food Policy took the lead in conducting a proof-of-concept study to benefit up to 4,000 food-insecure and/or low-income New Yorkers living in Brownsville and East New York, Brooklyn; the North Shore of Staten Island; and Morrisania in the South Bronx. NYHealth funds specifically supported the Brownsville part of the pilot.