A recent evaluation found positive results for federally-funded programs that have been implemented to encourage low-income people to consume more fresh produce. Published on Tuesday, the evaluation focused on two programs: nutrition incentive programs that provided SNAP recipients with means to purchase more fresh produce; and prescription-based produce provided to at-risk people to address conditions such as food insecurity or chronic disease. Results found that not only did the program’s recipients report they were consuming more fruits and vegetables, but that $20.9 million of incentives were distributed, resulting in over $41 million in economic impact. With the programs recently hitting the two-year mark, the report shows that produced has been perscribed to 1,900+ people and 25,000 bags of food have been distributed.

The early success of these programs is encouraging to program representatives, but they also recognize there is still work to be done. Studies found that while the consumption rates of fresh produce by low-income recipients increased, it still falls below the average of the general U.S. public. Further evaluations of these programs are likely to take place to better understand the impact on overall health and performance of the program’s target market and ways to expand.

Read more on federally-funded produce programs.